The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 20 September 2009 / Leave a Comment

At last there's some cheer for the Punter as [1000.0] shot lands the Austrian Open

They'd only been playing in Austria for a couple of hours on Saturday before I was wondering where on earth Lady Luck had disappeared to?

The frustration had started, yet again, with Markus Brier. For the third day running he'd let a very good start slip. This time he'd gotten to three under par through eight holes but then bogeyed the easiest hole on the course, the 9th. There was no coming back this time though, he also bogeyed the 10th and then pared in before birdying the last.

Meanwhile, my halfway plan was failing spectacularly, I'd seen enough and was off out. Almost surreally, I spent the afternoon traipsing around bathroom showrooms with Mrs R. Even that was preferable to watching my motley crew wilt pitifully.

I'd wanted to be against the three players trading in single figures that after two rounds - Benn Barham, Soren Hansen, and Richard Green, but they all fared better than my 'value' in- running halfway picks. Some of which were truly awful!

The best of them was Brett Rumford, who shot three under par, but he still ended the day seven shots off the lead! Dave Dixon shot a level par 71, Martin Erlandsson a woeful 73, and Joost Luiten a deplorable 76!

With the leaders all shooting good rounds I was out of the game and guess what? Mrs R's taste in bathrooms isn't cheap. What a miserable day.

Sunday was a new day and a new dawn, what was I going to do? Leave things as they were, suffer another losing week or try and improve things? Mercifully I went for the later, and Lady Luck was kind enough to make an unexpected return.

I started out laying the two leaders, Benn Barham at [2.70], who with a round to go led by three, and Soren Hansen, his closest pursuer, at [3.20]. Richard Green was a further shot back and traded at around [5.5] and Louis Oosthuizen; yet another shot back was around [15.0]. I still didn't trust any of the leaders and as I was laying two players the downside wasn't awful, and I thought I'd probably get a chance to lay someone else somewhere along the line anyway.

Even though I'd backed him, the first good thing to happen in round four was Brier bogeying the first two holes. He'd started the day eight shots back and trading at around [80.0]. So his pathetic start meant he was once and for all, completely out of the reckoning. Good, he'd got on my nerves all week with his silly great start - rubbish finish routine!

Soren Hansen birdied the first, which wasn't ideal, but Barham started sluggishly and was soon over par for the day, after bogeying the third and I felt I may just get lucky.

My first in-running play was to back Spain's Raphael Cabrera-Bello at [28.0], who was flying along and had just birdied the 8th to get to four under for the day. It proved to be a fortunate punt - he birdied the next three holes too and was soon right in the thick of it.

Minutes later I made my second in-running play - Richard Green played his approach shot on the 8th to within about six feet and I was able to lay him at [3.95]. I felt the price was factoring in a birdie he'd not yet made and luckily for me he hit a good putt but it bobbled on a spike mark and slipped by. And that was the last we saw of Green, the miss got to him and he never got within striking distance again.

It all went swimmingly after that, Cabrera-Bello carried on making birdies at will and beat Barham by one. I did lay some back as the Spaniard played the last at [2.12], and again after he'd finished his round at [1.20], but it was a great result.

Cabrera-Bello had been matched at [1000.0] after day one, had started round four at around [200.0], (which was around the same price he'd started the event at), and had had a putt on the last hole for a record braking 59. As it was he had to settle for a record-equalling 60, but neither he nor I were complaining.

After three losing weeks it's a relief to have turned the corner and you never know...I may even have won enough to pay for the taps!

It's the FedEx Cup finale next week, The Tour Championship, which I'll preview on Wednesday.

Post a comment

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comment: