The Punter

The Punter's De-brief: Marvelous McIlroy backed for long-awaited Masters success

Golfer Rory McIlroy
Rory McIroy with his latest trophy

Rory McIlroy has won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Laurie Canter the Bahrain Championship. Steve Rawlings returns to look back on their victories here...

  • Rory McIlroy wins with ease

  • Canter victorious in extra time

  • Read my Phoenix Open preview here

  • Read my Qatar Masters preview here


Having struggled on the West Coast for much of his career, and having Pebble Beach form figures reading an ordinary MC-9-MC-66, Rory McIlroy was fairly weak in the market before the start of last week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, drifting from an opening show of 14/115.00 out to 16/117.00, and he hit a high of 48.047/1 on Friday when he played holes 12 to 17 at Pebble in four-over-par before an eagle at the 18th kept him within range of the halfway leader, Sepp Straka.

His bogey-free 66 on Saturday in poor weather was a magnificent knock and he went from trailing by six and trading at 18/119.00 to favouritism.

Trailing Straka by just a stroke, Rory was a 5/23.50 chance with 18 to play and his supporters soon knew their fate.

A weary Straka, who had won the American Express last time out two weeks' ago, bogeyed the first and Rory and Shane Lowry were tied for the lead when the two men birdied the par five second.

Rory was left in front on his own when Lowry bogeyed the third and he never looked back after that, sealing the deal brilliantly with this superb eagle three at the tough par five 14th.

There was an awful lot to like about the manner of Rory's victory and it's not a surprise to see there's been plenty of money for him to finally win the US Masters.

Having been matched at a high of 13.5, the 35-year-old is now an 8/19.00 chance to finally don that famous Green Jacket.


Canter wins in extra time

Callum Tarren led the Bahrain Championship by a stroke with 18 to play but it was 11/26.50 the field and a tough tournament to assess.

After a few holes of round four there were as many as a dozen players separated by just a stroke, but it was Spain's Pablo Larrazabal that emerged as the most likely winner on the back-nine when he birdied the par five 13th to get to 15-under-par.

His lead was only ever a stroke but after a run of pars, he arrived at the 18th tee with the tournament in his hands and he was matched at as low as 1.081/12.

The 41-year-old hadn't dropped a shot since the second hole of round three and after a great drive he looked highly likely to win his 10th DP World Tour title, but it wasn't to be.

A poor approach left him with 42 feet to negotiate and after leaving the birdie putt six feet short, he recorded his first bogey in 34 holes at the 72nd hole of the event.

Pre-event 22/123.00 chance, Laurie Canter, was made favourite to win the three man playoff and he was trading at around 2.68/5 with Daniel Brown a 2/13.00 chance and Pablo the outsider at 3.613/5.

Pablo was the first to suffer, driving into the water to the right of the fairway after Canter had nailed his drive down the middle of the fairway. Brown hit his right of the fairway into the wasteland and the writing was on the wall once Canter stiffed his approach to within a couple of feet.

Brown and Larrazabal both recorded bogeys, leaving Canter two putts for the win but he needed just one.

Canter never led at any point until Larrazabal bogeyed the 72nd hole but he was lurking all weekend, trading at 16.015/1 after 36 holes when he trailed by six and at 7.87/1 with a round to go when two off the lead.  

Brown, and in particular, Larrazabal, will be gutted by the outcome but they're not the only two with regrets.

Poor Marcel Schneider lost by the two shots he dropped when he hit a shank on the par three 12th and the first round leader, Brandon Thompson Johnson, Tapio Pulkkanen, Francesco Laporta and Ivan Cantero all dropped shots at the end having got to the 14-uunder mark that would have seen them contend the playoff.


Green Eagle link cemented

Matt Cooper will feel he could have picked out Canter from the off given he'd highlighted the link between the Royal Golf Course in Bahrain and the Green Eagle layout in Germany in his each-way piece.

Paul Casey, who won in Bahrain back in 2011, won the European Open in 2019 and Canter got off the mark on the DP World Tour at Green Eagle back in June last year.


Saturday is just too soon to go odds-on

Rory never looked like losing and he was the only man to trade at odds-on on Sunday, but Straka hit 1.51/2 on Saturday after he'd birdied the first two holes of his third round and Callum Tarren was matched at 1.9620/21 after just seven holes of round three in Bahrain.

It's worth taking anyone on that goes odds-on that early in an event and as always, look to take on the short ones in the Top 5 Finish markets.

Straka just ran out of steam and eventually finished tied for seventh and Tarren, who must now regret doing an on-course interview after his third birdie of the day at the seventh on Saturday, finished tied for eighth.


*You can follow me on Twitter @SteveThePunter


Read more golf tips, previews and analysis here

GET £50 IN FREE BETS MULTIPLES WHEN YOU SPEND £10 ON THE BETFAIR SPORTSBOOK

New customers only. Bet £10 on the Betfair Sportsbook at odds of min EVS (2.0) and receive £50 in FREE Bet Builders, Accumulators or Multiples to use on any sport. T&Cs apply.

Prices quoted in copy are correct at time of publication but liable to change.

Discover the latest articles