Golf Events / Editor / 26 September 2007 /

TQ sifts the wheat from the chaff on a tricky weekend for golf punters...

The fifth Seve Trophy will take place this week in the quaint village of Killenard in the heart of Ireland, where players and fans alike will enjoy a fairly relaxed few days. In contrast to the ever-increasing drama that is the Ryder Cup, it appears that Seve's version is little more than a good excuse for some friends to meet up and get some team golf practice in ahead of the following year's showdown in Kentucky. Take one look at the setting for the event and you can see that the Heritage Golf and Spa Resort has more to offer than just a good golf course. With all the luxury spa facilities you could want set in such a tranquil environment, you may well find some of the players skipping the driving range in favour of soothing the soul and invigorating the body.

Betting on who will win the trophy is tricky, but with Continental Europe at such a big price, it will pay to back them pre-event and lay them off at a suitable juncture for a nice profit. As is nearly always the case with these team events, the underdogs come out firing and inevitably get off to a good start. This was the case in 2005, when the European side were 4-1 up after the first days play, and I expect a similar start this time round. If you can get on Europe at anything over 2.5 it's certainly worth a pre-event investment.

Aside from the outright market, the usual team markets are available, and the one stand out bet amongst them is the Top Continental Europe points scorer. Miguel Angel Jimenez is a team event stalwart, and you can expect the senior member of the side to come away with most points at very attractive odds of around 7.

On paper, the Presidents Cup should be a classier affair, with eight of the top ten players in the world taking part. The International side have a quality look about them and are certainly going to be a force to be reckoned with at the Royal Montreal Golf Club. Recent contests between these two sides have resulted in close run affairs, and the betting suggests this one will be no different.

There has been much criticism of the recent Ryder Cup US losing teams concerning poor team bonding among the players, which is in direct contrast to the European unit. Such accusations are now affecting the prices, and I'm in no doubt that this same US team would have been at much shorter odds if not for these assumptions. I believe this is a misinterpretation of events, and that in fact the US's defeats are more to do with coming across very good European players in top form, rather than their own lack of team unity.

With eighteen tour victories between them this year, the US guys are in good form, and Tiger alone has as many victories this season as the whole of the International side put together. Only one tour event has been played on this course, with Scott Verplank coming out on top in 2001. Couple these facts with the US's tremendous four wins in six attempts at the event and if you only have one wager this week, make it on the US at anything around the 1.8 mark.

From Killenard to Montreal there will be back slapping, fist pumping and high fives galore as the action heats up and the point winning putts start to drop. Faldo, Ballesteros, Player and Nicklaus are some of the greatest players ever to grace the world of golf and this week they will be on the sidelines cheering their charges on. You don't need a periodic table to tell you that if you throw all these elements together they are a formula for great chemistry. Sit back and enjoy the fireworks.

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