The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 23 August 2010 / 2

Peter Hanson clings on in the Czech Republic to bag a ticket to Wales while Atwal wins his Tour card back in the US...

Three men went into yesterday's final round of the Czech Open knowing a victory would also earn them a place on the European Ryder Cup team and the tension of the situation got to them all. Simon Dyson and Miguel Angel Jimenez trailed overnight leader Peter Hanson by four shots but neither could break par. That should have made things easy for the Swede but he was even worse, scrambling around in two over par, which was just enough to get him into a play-off with Peter Lawrie and Gary Boyd, which he won on the second hole.

I don't share Sky's Rob Lee's opinion that Captain Colin Montgomerie will be pleased about the Swede's win. He must be very disappointed that the European cream haven't come over to fight for a place in the team and although credit has to be given to the likes of Hanson and Dyson for trying so hard to get to Newport in October, would Monty really prefer Hanson to Paul Casey?

Hanson only got a place in the field on Monday, thanks to an invite, and there was a similar story in the States where Arjun Atwal became the first Indian to win on the PGA Tour after qualifying for the Wyndham Championship on Monday. It's a great story - Atwal was without a card before yesterday and he's been relying on pre-qualifications and invites just to get the odd start.

My Bets

Having layed back my in-running bet on Dyson and recycled the stakes on Peter Lawrie and Freddie Andersson-Hed, I thought I'd completely messed it up on Saturday, when both of my new recruits were three over par through just three holes of their third rounds, but as it transpired the move led to profit.

Both were poor on Saturday and neither looked to have any chance with a round to go and when Lawrie bogeyed the 2nd hole yesterday he was fully nine shots off the lead and understandably matched at a huge [690.0] but after that he freewheeled his way to a 66 to set a target that no-one could pass and it looked at one point as though it would be enough to win him the event. He was matched at as short as [1.4] before Boyd birdied the last, and Hanson the 16th and mercifully I had the wherewithal to lay some back at [1.5] to lock in some profit.

With a round to go at the Wyndham Championship, I had a slight chance of success with Justin Leonard four off the lead and Richard S Johnson five back - both men were backed pre-event at [65.0]. They should have been in better positions if the truth be told, both had promised plenty on Saturday, with Johnson even hitting the front at one point but both men missed putts from within three feet to stall their progress.

Leonard then did it again yesterday, missing for par on the 7th from two feet nine inches! - Chance gone, or so it appeared.... Seemingly completely out of it, he relaxed and made five birdies in seven holes, and when he stood on the last tee with the lead he was trading as short as [3.0]. I wasn't fast enough to lay any off that short but once he'd driven in to the rough, before going on to make bogey, I managed to lay some [3.55].

In addition to the lay of Leonard I also backed the winner at [3.95], albeit modestly, so it was another winning event and a fair week overall.

Player to swerve

I backed Atwal when it looked highly likely that the event was going to be won by either him or Lucas Glover. The 2009 US Open champ went on a terrific run - making five birdies on the spin, shooting 29 on the front nine and he was even matched at a low of [1.37] but I don't trust him in contention at all and I was right to oppose him as he crashed spectacularly on the back nine, shooting a birdie-free 38. He remains one to take on in the mix, and I still can't believe he's won a major!

Player to watch

2010 has felt like a long slog after his 2nd placed finish back in January at the Farmers Insurance Open but with two top-3 finishes in his last three starts, Michael Sim is finally showing the form I was expecting to see this season and he could just be a force to reckon with over the last few months of the year.

What have we learnt for next year?

I really enjoyed watching the Czech Open, the Prosper Resort course reminded me somewhat of the spectacular Crans-sur-Sierre, home of the Omega European Masters, and as is the case at the Swiss venue, it looks like accuracy is going to be the key to success here.

Only Frenchman Julien Guerrier of the top-ten were in the top-ten for putting this week. Of far more importance was getting to the greens. Hanson was ranked 2nd in Driving Accuracy and 1st in Greens In Regulation and his play-off companions were also accurate with their irons. Boyd was ranked 2nd in GIR and Lawrie 5th. It's a tricky little track that requires accuracy and patience and it's an event I'll look forward to next year.

There's plenty to look forward to way before that though, next week's sees the last counting event for the Ryder Cup in Europe - the Johnnie Walker Championship, whilst in the States the Fed-Ex Cup play-offs get underway at The Barclays and I'll be back on Wednesday with a preview of both events.

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1. vipin | 23 August 2010

   Hello Steven

   I am regular reader of your column and follow your tips as well. Frustrating part is that you trade so much in-play that people like me has no medium to follow that. This week is a losing week for me, whereas u r in profit. is there any way i can contact u to make in-play moves

2. Steven Rawlings | 25 August 2010

   Hi Vipin,
   
   Sorry to hear you had a losing week last week and I totally understand how frustrating it must have been to have read that I didn’t but I’m afraid that what you’re requesting just isn’t workable, and would only lead to even more frustration.
   
   The in-play markets change very quickly and very dramatically and by the time I’d communicated any bets the prices would have altered considerably.
   
   What I would suggest however, and apologies if I’m teaching my Grandmother to suck eggs here, is to consider inputting lay-back bets and just leaving them in the market. How much you want to hedge of any potential winnings is a personal decision but had you, for example, left in a lay of Justin Leonard at [3.0] last week you’d have been handsomely rewarded. But always remember to select ‘keep’ At In-Play when you input your lays.
   
   Also, if you tick the ‘What If’ option under the More Options tab on the market page you can see how any additional bets placed will affect your final pay-out.
   
   Thanks for the feedback, and once again, sorry to hear about last week’s disappointment, here’s to a better week this.
   
   Many thanks
   Steve

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