The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 20 February 2012 / Leave a Comment

Golf fans were treated to an exciting finale to the Northern Trust Open but was the result any good for The Punter?

Jbe Kruger held his nerve to win the Avantha Masters, as all around him failed spectacularly to hold theirs. Whilst in the States, anyone that stayed up late witnessed a quite magnificent finale to the Northern Trust Open.

Phil Mickelson looked the likeliest winner throughout the final round but a few bad breaks off the tee on the 8th and 9th and an ice-cold putter let in Bill Haas as they made the turn. Haas reacted poorly to being left in front and bogeyed back-to-back holes on 12 and 13. Keegan Bradley, after a dreadful start, fought his way back into the mix but he too put the brakes on once he got to the front.

Lefty was left holding the baton but he then made his first three-putt of the week on the 14th to make bogey and we didn't have to wait long for his second. He did the same thing on the 15th, just as Bill Haas was birdying the par five 17th. By the time Bradley and Mickelson reached the very tough 18th, both trailed Haas by a shot and both needed a birdie to take the tournament into extra time. Incredibly they both did - Mickelson from just off the green and Bradley from 13 feet.

After all three had pared the 18th they moved to the short but tricky 10th where Haas put us all out of our misery with a monstrous 43 foot birdie putt. All that was left to do was try and sleep, something I didn't find easy after the day I'd had!

My Bets

As detailed in the In-Play Blog, I was confident of a bumper pay-out at the Avantha Masters with Spanish duo, Jose Manuel Lara and Jorge Campillo, backed at [160.0] and [180.0] respectfully before the off, both in with a great chance after nine holes of the final round. And they were backed up by another pre-event pick, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and in-running lay, Andrea Pavan. At one stage the four of them occupied four of the first five places but it wasn't to be.

Phil Mickelson had been a great result last week and I'd backed him again this. Mercifully he looked like the winner on a couple of occasions last night because given how poor he was playing, I did the prudent thing and layed plenty back at various prices. I would have much preferred a Lefty win but my eagerness to press the pink button paid off handsomely and it turned what could have been a horribly week into a profitable one at least.

I'm still bitterly disappointed today though. I really didn't fancy Kruger one iota and I really fancied my chances in India and Lefty could so easily have won had the odd put dropped. Yes it's been a profitable week, and the fourth in-a-row to boot but it wasn't a million miles from being a week to remember.

What have we learnt for next year?

At the Avantha Masters, yet again the event went to an outsider with bags of Asian Tour experience. Putting was again key, with the winner (ranked 25th) the only player in the top-five not ranked in the top-ten for putting.

Although the leaderboard was once again incredibly congested, the third round leader prevailed. Nobody has ever come from further than a shot back with a round to go at the DLF. A fact I thought was odd at first. But when you consider the calibre of the players in-contention, it's perhaps not that surprising. Those within striking distance all knew that they had a great chance to win and given the majority either hadn't won or hadn't won in donkey's years, it was no real surprise to see all the challengers melt once they got close. This was low grade fare and you can't really expect anything but a few wobbles.

Avoid the jollys. Those towards the front of the market this week had no excuse at all. The likes of Joust Luiten and Gregory Havret were there or thereabouts all week but the truth is, they're not that much better than those at much bigger odds and they can't be trusted in the mix either.

What a result the game of golf got in California last night, with the last major winner, Keegan Bradley, the games most popular player, Phil Mickelson, and the Fed-Ex Cup champ, Bill Haas, all fighting out a play-off. All top-class players and it's no surprise. Riviera demands only the very best all round game and with its infuriating rough and poa annua greens, which can get quite spikey by the end of the day; patience is required in copious amounts.

We've the first of the year's World Golf Championship events to enjoy this week, with the Accenture Match Play starting on Wednesday. Not long to study then, so here are the brackets. Get stuck in. There's no other event on the European Tour but on the PGA Tour there's the Mayakoba Classic from Mexico. I'll be back tomorrow with previews for both events.

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