The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 01 August 2010 /

Ross Fisher denies a massive home crowd a Harrington victory in Ireland and Stuart Appleby fires 59 to deny The Punter a really good win in West Virginia....

Ross Fisher kept his cool after a shaky start to win the 3 Irish Open by two shots from Padraig Harrington. Whilst in the States, Stuart Appleby shot the Tours second 59 inside a month, following Paul Goydos' in round one of the John Deere Classic, to pip Jeff Overton by a shot.

My Bets

At the Irish Open, of my three opening gambits, only Korean Seung-Yul Noh was still in the mix going in to the weekend but he eventually faded out of it on Sunday with a poor over-par round.

My first in-running play was to lay Fisher at [1.7] early on during round three. He looked very short given how much golf was left to play but he made a few more birdies after I'd layed him and shortened up further to below [1.5] before he made a mess of the 8th hole. That seemed to rock him off his axis and he limped home after that, dropping two further shots and drifting out to around [3.4].

I also backed Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano at [25.0] and Padraig Harrington at [11.0] during round three, so with a round to go my book looked ok... Gonzo was two off the lead and Pod three. At the close of play on Saturday I also layed Francesco Molinari at [4.2] and Chris Wood at [6.8] - they were both only a shot behind but I hadn't been impressed with either of them in the mix lately and felt they were worth taking on. I really fancied the front three to get beat and I also made a few plays on a couple of real long-shots in Johan Edfors and Michael Hoey, both at [230.0].

Getting Molinari and Wood layed turned out to be a good decision because although I did lay Fisher again late on yesterday at long odds on, those lays reduced the payout on the winner considerably.

I felt pretty aggrieved that I ended up with a small loss in the event - Pod shot seven under and still got beat! And Fisher looked to be up against it after playing the first four holes in one over par but he was impossible to fault after that, making several tricky par saving putts as well as some impressive birdies and an excellent eagle at the 7th.

If that was a bit aggravating, watching Stuart Appleby, out of form for eons, shoot 59 to beat my main pick at the Greenbrier Classic, Jeff Overton - backed pre-event at [30.0], was agonising. Or at least it would have been if I hadn't layed him back at all. Appleby hadn't broken 65 in a Tour event since 2006 - a run of 358 competitive rounds, so the 59 was a real bolt from the blue to say the least.

In contrast to the faultless Appleby, Overton was shaky all day - particularly on the greens. Without a three-putt over the first three days, he endured three on Sunday. The last of which came on the par five 17th when he had a chance to tie with Appleby from less than four feet but a spike mark on the green seemed to knock the ball off line and a horrid horseshoe spat the ball out of the hole. He then very nearly holed from 52 feet on the last green to tie but the ball just drifted wide of the target and his fate was sealed.

Mercifully I'd layed Overton back at [2.12] at the halfway stage and again at [1.42] with a round to go. And then when it appeared to concern just my man and Appleby, I backed the Australian at [4.4] so I ended up making a decent profit on the event. An Overton win would have been a better result but a profitable week is welcome indeed, and there's always next week.

Player to watch

Having received some putting tips from compatriot José María Olazábal, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano looked a new man on the greens at Killarney and his bogey-free final round 67 was a much improved in-contention effort. The market has quite rightly given 'Gonzo' the cold shoulder in recent months but on this evidence he may soon make an overdue return to the winners circle at a very decent price and he looks one to keep an eye on.

Player to swerve

In fantastic form and somewhat cruelly denied his first Tour win yesterday, it may be a bit harsh to pick out Jeff Overton as a player to avoid but he was shaky yesterday and his reaction to the missed putt on the 17th was particularly noteworthy. He's fidgety at the best of times but in contention that seems exaggerated and I didn't like the way he kept muttering to himself and bemoaning his luck. The wait for the inevitable first win may continue for some time unless he can find a way to become less animated and to stay a little more composed.

And yet again, I find myself compelled to nominate Francesco Molinari. He's a truly fantastic player, who's always capable of stringing birdies together with little fuss but he rarely represents value and nearly always seems to struggle in the mix. He was soon out of the picture yesterday after going bogey - double-bogey at the 5th and 6th holes and on a day when birdies were readily available his one over par 71 was particularly poor.

There's no European golf next week but there are two events in the States - the World Golf Championship - Bridgestone Invitational and the Turning Stone Resort Championship. I'll preview both late on Tuesday or early on Wednesday.

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