Tag Archives: golf

My Tips For The USPGA Tournament

USPGA Odds | James Irons GolfThe USPGA Tournament takes place at the stunning Atlanta Athletic Club this week, with the practise rounds already underway and the tournament itself set to start on Thursday.

As usual for these big tournaments, I’ll have a few pounds riding on the result – here are my tips for the 2011 title:

David Toms is on great form – in 16 tournaments so far this season he has had five top ten finishes. At around 55/1 he is exceptional each-way value.

Jason Day – The Australian has had an brilliant eight top ten finishes in 16 tournaments so far this season and gave fellow countryman Adam Scott a run for his money last week. At 25/1 he’s worth a few pounds of anybody’s money.

Martin Laird – The Scotsman has over $2.5m in prize money so far this season and is no stranger to the loft heights of the leaderboard – he has a first place and a third place to his name this season so is worth a punt at around 90/1.

Luke Donald is still the world’s number one golfer and therefore can never be ruled out – his form over 13 tournaments this season has been outstanding – he has over $4m in prize money to his name and will be looking to add to that this weekend. 14/1 is a little tight but is a useful cover bet based on form.

Paul Casey has been making cuts but fading away from there. He’s a better golfer than his current form suggests so if you can get the 140/1 that’s currently being offered then it’s worth a look.

Kj Choi – The South Korean is in consistent form and looks good value to me at 70/1 – his experience also counts in his favour.

Who are you backing? Let me know over on Facebook.

Scott And Caddie Williams Win WGC Invitational

Adam Scott has won the WGC Invitational by four shots after a superb final round of 65 in Ohio.

The Australian, leading from day one, finish on 17 under, ahead of Rickie Fowler and Luke Donald, who both shot 66.

Rory McIlroy shared sixth place at 10 under after a robust 67, while Lee Westwood was just behind after a fine 65.

However the big story of the tournament centres not around Adam Scott himself, but his caddie Steve Williams, who was sacked by Tiger Woods just a fortnight ago. Incredibly  it was Williams’ eighth victory at the event, having won the event seven times while working with Woods.

Woods himself finished way behind Scott, tied in 37th place.

 

Great Golf Apps: Number 7

Next up in my look at the best golf apps out there, is iGolf Rules.

Golf Digest says that it’s “the best effort yet to decipher the Rules of Golf.”

The golf industry awarded it “Best New Product” at its two largest golf trade shows.

And more than half a million people  are using it in more than 50 countries.

It’s a little on the pricey side, but well worth a look to solve those on-course arguments!

Search ‘iGolf Rules’ at the Apple Appstore for more details.

iGolf Rules

Dyson Wins Irish Open

Simon Dyson yesterday won the Irish Open beating Richard Green by one shot.

Green had a long putt to win the championship on the 18th but bogied the hole which gave the tournament (his fifth European Tour victory) to Dyson on 15 under.

Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher holed a huge putt for birdie on the last which gave him a respectable third place finish.

David Howell, joint leader going into the final day with Dyson and Green, disappointed with a 73 on the Killarney course.

Peter Lawrie was Ireland’s best-placed golfer on nine under while Irish amateur Paul Cutler will be pleased with his week’s work, finishing on five under.

Dyson had just three bogeys all week and his win earns him a place in this week’s Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio.

Woods Set To Return To Golf Next Week

Tiger Woods looks set to return to the game at next week’s Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio.

The former world number 1 has not played competitively since  May due to injuries to his knee and Achilles.

“I’m excited to get back out there,” Woods said on his website.

Woods has some catching up to do in the rankings, having dropped to number 21 going into the tournament. It will also be a transitional time for him as he prepares to move forward with a new caddie having recently split with long-time caddie Steve Williams – although he is yet to officially announce a replacement.

Woods has not won a tournament worldwide since 2009 – I’m sure all eyes will be on him at next week’s event…

 

Great Golf Courses | Number 1 | Wentworth (West Course)

Welcome to the first of my posts looking at the best golf courses in Britain.

To kick things off, let’s take a look at one of my favourite courses, the famous West Course at Wentworth.

There is a tremendous flow and variety to this course, with lots of elevation changes and different length par-3s, par-4s and par-5s to total a challenging Par 73.

The original design of the course, by Harry Colt in 1926, was in recent years becoming too easily challenged by the standard of today’s golfer and the golfing technology available, so with the help of Ernie Els, the course was carefully modernised, with holes lengthened and bunkers re-positioned where necessary and appropriate.

The course re-opened in 2010 following the construction of 18 brand new greens, built to USGA specifications.

Here are some Wentworth West Course Stats:

Wentworth

Opened: 1926
Architect: Harry Colt (modernised/refined between 2005 & 2010 by Ernie Els)
Par: 73
Length: 7,308 yards
Course Record: 62, Robert Karlsson (shot at round 3 of the BMW PGA Championship 2010)
Key tournaments: HSBC Matchplay, 1964 – 2007: BMW PGA Championship, 1984 – present day: Ryder Cup, 1953: Canada Cup 1956

Click here for a hole-by-hole guide to the course.

Click here for a fantastic course flyover (well worth a view).

Click here to view the current scorecard.

Great Golf Apps: Number 6

Here’s an app that every golfer should have – it’s called Golf Shot and it has a huge amount of features, the most notable being that is measures how far you have to the green using GPS on your iPhone or Android device.

It currently includes data on over 35,000 different courses and is remarkably easy to use, there’s nothing more to do than download the app and you are away.

It also allows you to fill in scorecards for each course, gives you course statistics as well as aerial views and ‘Touchpoint Positioning’ – where you can touch your target on the screen and it will give you the distance from where you’re standing!

It retails at around £21 but is money well spent if you’re a precision golfer – and even if you’re not it also tells you how far away the bunkers and lakes are!

 

 

Cash Injection Boosts Northern Ireland Tour Event Hopes

Good news for fans of golf in Northern Ireland – moves to play a European Tour event at Royal Portrush were boosted after the Stormont Executive said it would provide “substantial financial backing” were such a tournament to be held.

Darren Clarke‘s Open win at Sandwich has led to renewed hopes that the major event could return to Northern Ireland for the first time since 1951.

However in the short-term, the Irish Open could move north as early as 2013.

Read more here… 

McIlroy Blames Weather For Poor Performance At The Open

Just read an interesting article about the fact that Rory McIlroy wasn’t impressed with the weather conditions at the recent British Open, so much in fact that he has blamed this for his performance.

McIlroy, who finished joint 25th despite being favourite to win at the start of the week,  was quoted as saying “There’s no point in changing your game for one week of the year…”

This has apparently angered some senior players and I can understand why. In my opinion he has belittled the importance of The Open with that statement, and also the weather plays a huge part in golf all year round – it’s one of the great things about the game that you have to take this factor into account before every shot that you take.

It’s also a leveller – the conditions were the same for every golfer on the course.

Have a read of the article here and let me know your thoughts…

Reality TV Golf!

Now here is something I would love to see happen in the UK – a Canadian golfer is looking to kick start a sports career having won a competition on a Golf Channel reality TV show.

David Byrne beat out 11 other finalists to take home $70,000 US, an endorsement contract, and a chance to play in a PGA tour event in New Orleans on the Big Break: Indian Wells show finale Monday night.

A one metre putt decided the final against Kent Eger, another Canadian from Regina.

Sounds like a great show – please click here to read the full article – and let me know what you think – would you like to see a Reality TV Golf Show in the UK?