Outrights:
Adding . . .
Nick Watney(50/1) e.w.
- -
http://www.sacbee.com/golf/story/1763418.html
- - It's that "calm conquering nervous" stare he had at Torrey Pines on Saturday (when I climbed on board at 17/1), which he then carried around all day to victory on Sunday, and that same calming aura again that got him into the final pairing at Doral and was there again on Sunday when he holed out from over the 9th green and then followed with a kick in eagle at the 10th, battling a brilliant Mickelson all weekend long, that has me sort of expecting this to be Nick's time to get a first hand taste of the chills associated with the back nine on Sunday at Augusta.
Pat Perez(125/1) e.w.
- - I said in my earlier post I've had two big prices in mind for some time, well this is the other one.
http://www.patperezgolf.com/blog/2009/04/mike-hartford-reflects-on-bay-hill.html
Phil Mickelson(9/1) e.w.
- - If Lefty manages to keep on swinging within himself, he is driving the ball as beautifully as he was during the Georgia swing in 2006, and the back to basics insights he rediscovered while producing his Secrets of the Short Game video have me on the verge of buying what he's selling when he says he might be playing the best he ever has, but none of this gets a meaningful test until this week.
Tiger Woods(+250) Win Only
- - Insurance against.
Paul Casey(28/1) e.w.
- - This one has been tracking since the start of the season, and while I'd prefer any selection to be mentally fresher than coming off a win while battling a gale last Sunday (on the other hand, he played the weekend with his good mate Ogilvy, and was one of the very few who only had to play the normal 18 holes on Saturday afternoon and 18 holes on Sunday), I've made money before from knowing Casey has thrived on streaks of brilliance since at least his collegiate days. His short game from tight fairway lies has been shining stronger and stronger all season, his putting has been there for him, and his overall driving has been his strength for years and years even though he's still just a youngster. His bunker play definitely remains a concern, and while he can be a creative shotmaker when the occasion demands it, long term he's going to have to get some better control over his high trajectory iron shots before he can test the limits of his potential. Anyway, the die is cast, and Casey getting my cash leaves me with just a saver on my inkling about Ernie Els, has me turning down a strong notion to back Kenny Perry, leads me to cutting out any further plays at the top of the market on Padraig Harrington or Geoff Ogilvy, and has me forsaking further consideration of Fred Couples, Lee Westwood and even Steve Stricker.
Adding . . .
Ernie Els(48/1 to Win; +1050 for Top 5)
- - WTF. I thought Goosen was close, and played him a week too soon. I've thought Els was closer, but I've been keeping my powder dry for this one.
- -Els: "First of all, it was unbelievable to see Trevor win. I missed the cut, unfortunately. I stayed in Augusta on Saturday watching television, watching the broadcast, and you know, I thought he was swinging the best of all the guys they showed that day. I called him and I said exactly that to him. I don't know how much he took in, but I just wanted him to know that -- because you don't see other players play while you're playing. But I just wanted him to know that I thought he was swinging the best of everybody playing there. And he was playing the most solid golf . . . You know, obviously, Gary called him, a lot of people called him and he had a lot of support, but at the end of the day, he had to do the job the next day, and I thought he did a great job. You know, basically, nobody has won the Masters since Gary, since '78, so it was a big deal for South Africa and a big steppingstone for him in his career . . . I've known Trevor ever since he was five, six years old. He used to play amateur golf a lot down in the Cape, Cape Town area. Used to play a lot with his brother, and Trevor always used to be around hitting shots playing shots around the course, kind of bothering us. (Laughter)."
Matchups:
Marksaeng(-125) over Hamilton (Tournament)
Els(+100) over Stenson (Tournament)
Z.Johnson(-110) over Kim (Tournament)
Harrington(-145) over Garcia (Tournament)
Watney(-120) over O'Hair (Tournament)
Perez(-145) over McDowell (Tournament)
ODDS and ENDS:
(1) Props to
DTB for (April of '05) post on the course setup:
(Dead Link from 2005 at augusta.com)
- - "(Thursday) has a 90 percent chance of being brutal, with pins tucked and tees tipped. Friday should let up a little, giving players a chance to shoot for the cut line. Saturday will turn harsh again, separating contenders from pretenders . . . Then Sunday will be fair pins with scoring conditions optimal and 100 percent chance of high drama . . . "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," Masters (Tournament) Chairman Hootie Johnson said of the formula that has worked for more than 70 years . . . "We've been doing this 68 years," he said. "We know the golf course" . . . We try to test all parts of the game all week with a bias toward the finesse players," said Will Nicholson, the former USGA president who leads the Masters' rules and competition committees. "On Sunday, we let the shotmakers take over."
(2) Rory McIlroy:
http://www.golf.com/golf/tours_news/article/0,28136,1888614-1,00.html
GL
