Abu Dhabi Championship..

[abc]

Not familiar with the Euro events, but this field is really strong. Might have to add some wagers this week. :00x32

What happened in 2006 was a great run, but I continue to play well and my game is in excellent shape despite not having won last year. That?s golf. You don?t win every day,? said Jeev, at present, ranked 77th in the world.
?I am playing well, striking the ball well and have every reason to believe that I can return to winning ways this season,? said Jeev Singh who almost won his final event in 2007 at the Nippon Series JT Cup.

 

[Cantona7]

Couple of early plays for me to take advantage of the 1-6 at Sunderlands and that will be it i think :

Robert Karlsson at 33/1 - went under 70 in last 3 rounds here last year and comes into this on the back of some decent form at the end of last year. Likes playing in this neck of woods.

Charl Schwartzel at 80/1 - while he hasnt exactly been tearing up trees, he has posted back to back top 20s in SA and on a course he could have won on last year, 80s is way too big.

Was going to hang out and see if I could get 25s on Jimenez but will play the 1-6 at 20s with Sunderland. Don't really need to add a lot of commentary.

 

[phar.lap]

Going to follow you in Cantona....25's for Jimenez is avaialble at Paddy Power (6 places).


Jimenez 25/1 each way (6 places)
At Paddy Power.

 

[Cantona7]

Going to follow you in Cantona....25's for Jimenez is avaialble at Paddy Power (6 places).


Jimenez 25/1 each way (6 places)
At Paddy Power.

Didn't clock that their prices weren't showing on oddschecker. topped it up with a little more at the 25s. fingers crossed.

 

[CANADA MAN]

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi

TO FINISH TOP 10:

Adam Scott +120 LOSER
Miguel Angel Jimenez +200 LOSER


:canada1

 

[abc]

anybody got any lines on jose olazabel?

 

[Cantona7]

No can do on Oli but did notice a couple of decent lines at Pinnacle while browsing, not paid that close attention but look decent on first look and will only be small plays as on a busy week but :

Jaidee ov Randhawa at -110.
McDowell ov McIlroy at -125

 

[phar.lap]

72 holes

Andrew McLardy -111 to beat Ross McGowan
At Sportingbet

 

[JimmyTime]

Dougherty 33 to 1
Kaymer 60 to 1

 

[Andre]

YTD : 1-0 +10 units

This week (all bets 10 units unless stated otherwise)...

Westwood (-115) to beat Casey 72 hole bet

Agree with the earlier selection of Karlsson, couldn't find a favourable matchup with any of my bookmakers. Pretty much just bet matchups so I'll leave it for now.

 

[abc]

First and maybe last Euro play for a bit

Graeme McDowell -140 over Richard Green

Not sure who beat the juice up on this one..

New-look McDowell has sights on third tour win

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

By Peter Hutcheon

It is a more thoughtful and purposeful Graeme McDowell who swings back into action in Abu Dhabi tomorrow.

Ambition number one for 2008 is to make it onto Nick Faldo's Ryder Cup team for Kentucky in September.

But in order to do so, he feels he has to end a run since his second and last European Tour win which dates back now almost four years to the Italian Open in 2004.

Over the past year he has seriously re-thought his strategy and made a significant number of changes geared towards taking him back into the world's top 50.

Last year he switched caddie, with Ken Conboy, Thomas Bjorn's ex-bagman, taking over.

He's recently hooked up with a new swing coach in Clive Tucker and, late last year, switched management companies from Andrew Chandler's ISM to the smaller Dublin-based company Horizon Sports.

" Graeme wanted a change of emphasis and to freshen up his approach and we are delighted to have him as part of the team," said Horizon's Colin Morrissey.

McDowell, Tucker and Conboy flew out to Dubai last week for lengthy preparations for the first event of the European Tour's Middle East swing.

The Portrush man will then play Qatar, the Dubai Desert Classic and the new Indian Open before heading back home.

So good was his form at the tail end of last year, when he finished third at the Volvo Masters in Valderrama and then a sixth-place in Hong Kong a fortnight later, that he seriously considered playing over the holiday period in Australia and New Zealand.

But, instead, he opted for a month-long break, spending some time at his home in Florida before embarking on his 2008 schedule in earnest.

"He was almost reluctant to take a break but if he had played through December then he would have needed to take a break now," added Morrissey.

 

[Stanley]

Round 1 plays (1pt)

Charl Schwartzel to beat Mads Vibe-Hastrup -154 @ Unibet
Far shorter odds than I like for a 1st round match, but I can't find any reason to expect Vibe-Hastrup to play well this week - he's far too erratic even on courses he has played previously. Schwartzel has looked good in the last 2 events in South Africa and may match his top-10 finish last year

Oliver Wilson to beat Markus Brier -133 @ Unibet
Wilson was a runner-up in the South African Open just before Christmas and has finished ahead of Brier by seven and four shots on this course in the last two years

Padraig Harrington to beat Adam Scott -115 @ Five Dimes
A top-5 finish on this course vs. no previous course experience makes Harrington the favoured player here. The bonus is that Scott is reportedly 'ring-rusty' and 'not picked up a club for three weeks'

 

[lostinamerica]

Outrights:

Darren Clarke(33/1) e.w.
- - Sticking with my sentiments from last week: I'm all in for a good while I suspect. I finally got a few crumbs, but less than I invested, when my ruminations took me to a similar commitment to playing Justin Rose to start the 2006 season, and continued right on into the 2007 season, playing Rose every time a spot or a price or a glimpse of form or an angle from a prior appearance suggested a play (and FWIW it was definitely the wagers suggested by "prior course/event form" that came out the farthest from the mark) . . . Everything tells me Darren is keen to go, and he just needs to not want it so badly that he gets in his own way, and he'll tap into his class in really short order. A candidate to soar - I mean soar - in 2008 IF his balky putter then gets uncommonly friendly, and that then happening would not surprise me in the least.

Graeme McDowell(50/1) e.w.
- - I've never touted Graeme for his long term prospects - his swing and loose shots bother me a lot, and he looks a bit lost on developing a complete game and taking it to the next level - but he doesn't lack for confidence and can get off to flying starts or streaky stretches, regardless of how he then goes about closing the deal, and his name pops up on my radar for a splashy start.

Nick Dougherty(33/1) e.w.
- - Along comes the name I have never doubted for his long term prospects; no clue though what this week has in store.

GL

 

[sports student]

1st round at 5 dimes:

Schwartzel +132 over Edberg/Vibe-Hastrup

Schwartz is best of 3, played last week and played here 2 years ago finishing 8th. Others have not played this year or this course.

 

[abc]

Sometimes I wonder if we over think these tournies. I mean Henrik is the best desert golfer in the world and also the defending champion and we all back away from him. :mj07:

 

[abc]

Anyone see any rd 2 plays that stick out. I didnt get to see any of the coverage. I was looking through stats, Im not too familiar with this course, so i dont know whats important. I heard the rough was pretty thick.

 

[abc]

Lets try Anthony Wall -128 over Phillip Archer (Rd 2)

abc and his european plays

 

[Stanley]

Round 2 plays (1pt):

Raphael Jacquelin to beat Gregory Havret -123 @ Unibet
Jacquelin's the better player and it should be difficult for Havret to pick up his game again tomorrow after finishing 6-6 today

Graeme Storm to beat Richard Finch -133 @ Five Dimes
Finch has missed the cut both times on this course and if he putts as badly tomorrow as he did today, he may well make it a hat-trick

Paul Lawrie to beat Marc Warren -135 @ Unibet
Warren is runs the risk of making it three missed cuts in three visits and being in 99th place, it looks very likely. A best finish of 34th since winning the Johnnie Walker Championship also suggests he will not turn his game around tomorrow

Shiv Kapur to beat David Howell -103 @ Five Dimes
Howell is in an even bigger rut with his game (he has two sevens on his card today). Kapur has finishes of 45th and 20th in the last two years and looks far more likely to make the cut

 

[abc]

Need the cut to go to +2 :shrug:

 

[Andre]

YTD : 1-0 +10 units

This week (all bets 10 units unless stated otherwise)...

Westwood (-115) to beat Casey 72 hole bet

Agree with the earlier selection of Karlsson, couldn't find a favourable matchup with any of my bookmakers. Pretty much just bet matchups so I'll leave it for now.

YTD : 2-0 +20 units