Golf - Australian Masters 2010

[Big Al]

Any thoughts on the masters this year
Will tiger go back to back?
Who are the chances at decent odds?
Who are the local aussies who know the course backwards?
Im having a dabble on Garcia @ 23's E/W

[mighty_tiger_79]

Tiger is the fav to win the event as per usual

I dont think he can win and there is some value around him if you can find the winner.

anyone got any idea on someone to watch at odds?

[dodgingandweaving]

Michael Sim's ready to win. $17 I think?

[CK]

Michael Sim's ready to win. $17 I think?

Sim has had a steady year on the US Tour, and been in good positions a few times without saluting. Not sure if $17 is his right price in this field, however, that seems quite short.

Having said this, it is not an overly strong field, despite Tiger's presence. Nathan Green has also been in solid form in the US this year, and at $34, looks pretty reasonable each way value. Brett Rumford has been in winning positions a number of times on the European Tour this year and is in Tiger's group tomorrow, so the $41 is not too bad. Alistair Presnell is the sort of player who, with a good start, can really build momentum, and has been specked from $81 into $67 in the last day. Would be prepared to risk the overseas contingent largely.

[Dogmatic]

Steven Bowditch $41 has been good on the Nationwide Tour this year.
If he is focussed he could be dangerous however now he has a tour card for the PGA next year he may be back for a holiday.
Matt Jager $501 is the next Australian on the rise and could show at odds.
Allenby $7 has had a great year without a win and is due.
Pass on Appleby, not in form.

[dragonsphere]

I have $10 on Nathan Green at 34s

[CK]

Day 1 leaderboard:

T1 Adam Bland -6 18 -6 65# -- -- -- 65
T1 Daniel Gaunt -6 18 -6 65# -- -- -- 65
T1 Alistair Presnell -6 18 -6 65# -- -- -- 65
T4 Kurt Barnes -4 18 -4 67# -- -- -- 67
T4 Luke Bleumink -4 18 -4 67# -- -- -- 67
T4 Steve Collins -4 18 -4 67# -- -- -- 67
T4 Craig Hasthorpe -4 18 -4 67# -- -- -- 67
T4 Matthew Millar -4 18 -4 67# -- -- -- 67
T4 Gareth Paddison -4 18 -4 67# -- -- -- 67
T4 Andre Stolz -4 18 -4 67# -- -- -- 67
T11 Mitchell Brown -3 18 -3 68# -- -- -- 68
T11 Greg Chalmers -3 18 -3 68# -- -- -- 68
T11 Daniel Fox -3 18 -3 68# -- -- -- 68
T11 Nathan Green -3 18 -3 68# -- -- -- 68
T11 Michael Hendry -3 18 -3 68# -- -- -- 68
T11 Brad Kennedy -3 18 -3 68# -- -- -- 68

I follow golf very closely, but apart from Presnell, wouldn't have picked too many of that Top 10 so far.

Tiger Woods at -2
Appleby, Villegas both even
Ogilvy, Rumford both +1
Allenby +2

[CK]

Leaderboard at the start of Day Three:

1. 1 Bland, Adam -10 65 67 - - 132

2. 2 Stolz, Andre -8 67 67 - - 134

3. 3 Gaunt, Daniel -5 65 72 - - 137

4. 4 Garcia, Sergio -4 73 65 - - 138

5. 5 O'Malley, Peter -3 -1 18* 69 70 - - 139

5. 5 Brown, Anthony -3 70 69 - - 139

5. 5 Green, Nathan -3 68 71 - - 139

5. 5 Lyle, Jarrod -3 69 70 - - 139

5. 5 Millar, Matthew -3 67 72 - - 139

5. 5 Paddison, Gareth -3 67 72 - - 139


11. 11 Appleby, Stuart -2 71 69 - - 140

11. 11 Bransdon, David -2 69 71 - - 140

11. 11 Choi, Michael -2 70 70 - - 140

11. 11 Hall, Ashley -2 71 69 - - 140

11. 11 Joon Lee, Won -2 69 71 - - 140

16. 29 Sheehan, Paul -1 -2 3 71 72 - - 143

16. 16 Bleumink, Luke -1 67 74 - - 141

16. 16 Hendry, Michael -1 68 73 - - 141

16. 16 Pratt, Kieran -1 69 72 - - 141

16. 16 Townsend, Aaron -1 73 68 - - 141

16. 16 Villegas, Camilo -1 71 70 - - 141

16. 16 Woods, Tiger -1 69 72 - - 141

[Swooper16]

Good luck to Adam "Bomber" Bland. A good Aberfoyle Park lad. Would be great if he can continue this form over the weekend..!!

[CK]

Australian Open tees off tomorrow, and promises to be a very interesting opening day with weather conditions. Looks like a wet and windy start, which will bring a few players into the mix.

It's a fairly strong field, although not a big overseas contingent. Of those, Fred Couples has had a sound year on the Seniors Tour, but back issues may be his undoing.

Stuart Appleby would have to be in the mix again with a great Masters final round, but I would be more than happy to risk Geoff Ogilvy, who has had a very ordinary year by his standards. At odds of $5.50 to miss the cut, that may be value for a player who doesn't generally play that well in wind.

Be wary of taking short odds on a number of Australian contenders, such as Rod Pampling (who just lost his US Tour card), Nick O'Hern (first up for six months from knee surgery) and Peter O'Malley (whose form before last week's NSW Open win was very moderate).

Players like Stephen Leaney and Brett Rumford look suited by the early conditions, and suspect Scott Strange and Marcus Fraser will both be pushing hard at various stages after solid European form this year.

[overloaded]

John Daly is overs

[mighty_tiger_79]

overweight and over the hill

[CK]

Australian PGA at a very interesting stage with the final groups about to finish their third round:

1 Bobby Gates -1 17 -12 64# 69# -- -- --
T2 Peter Senior -4 18 -11 70# 67# 68# -- 205
T2 Aaron Townsend -2 18 -11 68# 67# 70 -- 205
T4 Peter Fowler -2 18 -10 66# 70# 70 -- 206
T4 Andre Stolz -2 18 -10 67# 69# 70# -- 206
T4 Akio Sadakata -5 18 -10 67# 72# 67# -- 206
T7 Nick O'Hern -4 18 -8 70# 70# 68# -- 208
T7 Steven Bowditch -6 18 -8 66# 76# 66# -- 208
T7 John Senden 2 17 -8 69# 65# -- -- --
T7 Gary Simpson -4 18 -8 71# 69# 68# -- 208
T11 LIANG Wenchong 3 17 -7 66# 68# -- -- --
T11 JUNG Ji-ho -1 18 -7 71# 67# 71# -- 209
T13 Geoff Ogilvy -1 18 -6 70# 69# 71# -- 210
T13 Matthew Griffin E 18 -6 68# 70# 72# -- 210
T13 Richard Green -2 18 -6 72# 68# 70# -- 210
T13 Robert Allenby E 18 -6 70# 68# 72# -- 210

Good luck to South Australia's Gary Simpson, poised very well in equal 8th, for a real tilt tomorrow. Nick O'Hern, a course specialist, beautifully positioned also.

[CK]

Not an Australian tournament, but the Dubai Desert Classic is set for a great finish. After winds yesterday of over 40km/h, most of the breakaway group came right back to the field, with 32 players within five shots of joint leaders Thomas Aiken, Rory McIlroy and Anders Hansen, all on -8. This includes Australians Brett Rumford, who is on -7, and Scott Strange on -5.

At such a tight leaderboard, the markets are wide open, and while the wind is expected to be less today, it is still forecast around 25km/h, making for a challenging final round.

[Dutchy]

Looking forward to watching the final round tonight on FOX, one of the few ET events that is on at a reasonable time. Rumford $32 to win, will do some study but might be a worth a wager.

[CK]

Looking forward to watching the final round tonight on FOX, one of the few ET events that is on at a reasonable time. Rumford $32 to win, will do some study but might be a worth a wager.

Rumford is considered one of the better players of strong wind on the tour, with many of his best results coming in these conditions.

[Dutchy]

Have taken Rumford @ $36, huge price for a guy one off the lead and a little on Westwood @ $30