The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 16 August 2008 /

The Punter is having a bad week on the golf betting front on both sides of the Atlantic so far but an unlikely win for veteran Paul Broadhurst could still change all that

I've not had the greatest of starts at either event this week and I'm already behind the eight ball somewhat.

At the SAS Masters Nick Doherty is making a last gasp dash for the Ryder Cup team. He and Sweden's Peter Hanson share the lead two clear of the field after both players shot two rounds of 66.

The best of my original picks is Graeme Storm, who's four shots back on four under par.

I've had a couple of in running plays already, backing Marc Warren at [75.0] after the first round and Nicolas Fasth at [34.0] during yesterday's round but they both look like stray bullets.

It was a frustrating day yesterday; a few of my original picks got to within touching distance of the lead but failed to kick on.

One of them, brand new professional Chris Wood, backed at [140.0], was four under through six holes yesterday but hit a wall after that, eventually finishing on three under. But he impressed me immensely when interviewed afterwards, he certainly doesn't lack confidence! To cut a long interview short he basically expressed his belief that he was better than most of the others on tour already. Not sure he's endearing himself to his fellow professionals but if he's as good as he thinks he is he'll be winning soon enough.

I don't like either of the leaders and have considered laying both but the immediate chasers don't inspire me either and its hard to envisage both players dropping away today so discretion is the better part of valour.

I've had one more punt though, a small interest in veteran Paul Broadhurst at [32.0], who was a shade too big at that price.

There are plenty of similarities between the two events this week and it's another Swede leading in the states at the Wyndham Championship.

Carl Pettersson could quite conceivably have shot the Holy Grail 59 yesterday. Had he birdied the par 5 16th hole, the 2nd easiest hole on the course, instead of bogeying it, he would have done. As it transpired his 61 still sees him in a commanding position three shots clear of the field.

Not commanding enough for me though. I'm not a big fan of his and have witnessed plenty of stuttering finishes from him in the past and knowing that it's very common for a player to struggle the day after a low round I've layed Pettersson in the hope that he'll falter today.

In common with the European event, the chasing pack wouldn't put the fear of God up anyone but I still thought he was worth taking on at [2.2].

Best of my original picks is Mark Hensby, but he's seven back and still available at [80.0].
I'm not particularly confident of securing a profit this week but regardless of the weekends outcome I'll post my review on Monday.

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