Tag Archives: Sergio Garcia

My Betting Tips For The Open 2014

The excitement is building as the third major of the season approaches, and in most peoples opinion, the biggest of them all (I might be a little biased.)

You great thing about The Open Championship is that you never quite know what to expect in terms of conditions as they can change so quickly within a matter of minutes, which makes it so hard to prepare for if you aren’t used to playing links golf.

Player’s like Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy have grown up playing links golf, but will only probably benefit if the wind gets up, then they could come into their own.

The conditions look pretty good for the next few days though and it could get hard and bouncy, and with the narrow fairways could prove to be a test, I think we will be seeing a lot of irons off the tee come the weekend.

So after all said and done, here are my betting tips:

Rickie Fowler 40/1

Tiger Woods 22/1

Sergio Garcia 25/1

Miguel Angel Jimenez 80/1

Get all of the latest odds from Paddy Power 

You can also look through my other betting tips to see my track record before you decide to bet.

Good luck if you have a bet, should be a great spectacle once again.

James

 

Is 2014 going to be Sergio Garcia’s Year?

Well it’s fair to say that Sergio Garcia has had an up and down career, and especially over the past 5 years has been the hardest of all for him.

He has gone from being one of the best players in the game to totally falling out of love with the game, but it looks like he’s right back to his best and seems to be enjoying life on and on the golf course more than ever.

Since finding love, Garcia seems to in a much better place and is much more comfortable with himself and with his golf as his recent performances would indicate .

Since bursting onto the scene when he was just 19 years old when he finished second to Tiger Woods in the PGA Championship at Medinah in 1999 after an enthralling contest, and if you remember he hit a remarkable shot from behind tree to get himself and the crowed really pumped up.

Take a look at the shot here:

He has also always been a prominent force in the Ryder Cup matches, even when his form had deserted him he managed to find a way to get the job done under the upmost pressure to help guide Europe to victory on many occasion.

Last season he looked to recapture some of the form that we had previously witnessed from the young spaniard and had a steady finish to the 2013 PGA Tour season with three top 20 finishes including a tie for ninth place in the Tour Championship.  He also ended last season with a win on an Asian Tour event.

This season also started well with a win in the Qatar Masters and a handful of top 25 finishes.

Garcia has always performed pretty well in the majors throughout his career, and let’s hope that one of the three left in this season will belong to a player that undoubtedly deserves one.

Tiger Woods Already Turning Thoughts To Augusta

Tiger Woods is set to make his third appearance of the year tonight as he tees it up in the Honda Classic and try’s to get his golf game in the best possible shape for the US Masters which is fast approaching now.

There is a high quality field out on show this week including Masters champion Adam Scott who will also be using this event to see where his game is at after an extended break from the game.

Woods has only managed finishes of 41st and 80th in his last two outings at Dubai and Torrey Pines respectively and is said to be surprised at well he’s been hitting the ball on the range and in practice.

There has been a lot of heavy rain in Florida recently so the course is expected to be playing a little tougher than normal and the greens are at a very even pace which the players will have to adjust to after playing on fast greens recently. There is more rain forecast today but the rest of the week is looking good.

Michael Thompson won this event last year but has only had two top 10 finishes and the last of those came in June at the Memorial Tournament.

My picks of the week would have to be Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler. Don’t say I didn’t tell you!

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Garcia Wins Thrilling Finale in Qatar

The Qatar Masters ended in dramatic style with a three hole play-off between Sergio Garcia and Mikko Ilonen.

Garcia managed to get in the clubhouse at 16 under par after a late surge for the second year running to post a 65 which included a missed 8 foot putt on the last which had left the door just slightly a-jar.

He looked certain to claim victory until Ilonen managed to hole a 20 foot putt on the 18th to force extra holes. A very similar situation to 12 months ago when Garcia and George Coetzee lost in a play-off to England’s Chris Wood.

So off they went back down the 18th which they both birdied without any fuss, but the second time around Garcia found trouble in the right greenside bunker after Ilonen had found the green in two, but a wonderful bunker from Garcia left him with no more than a tap in to halve the hole in four.

As the light was fading and so was the temperature you felt this was going to be the last hole available to play, Ilonen found the right hand bunker in two shots but his slight over hit shot left him with a tricky 20 foot putt down the hill which he failed to convert leaving Garcia with a simple tap in for victory.

A great finish to what was a great event to watch and which never seems to disappoint.

Next we’re onto the Dubai Desert Classic where we will see a lot of the worlds top 20 competing including Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

Tiger and Sergio Row Needs To Move On

Last week at Wentworth saw a lot of controversy when Sergio Garcia said some comments about Tiger Woods that were taken the wrong way ahead of the BMW PGA Championship.

When Garcia was asked if he would invite Tiger around for dinner he replied “He can come around every night for some fried chicken if he wants”

Although Garcia hasn’t apologised to Woods face-to -face yet Tiger is keen to move on now even though he is still upset about what was said.

Garcia obviously isn’t a racist, but when you’re under the spotlight you have to be careful about what you say as the press are very quick to jump on any error you make. He just said the first thing that came into his head. If he had said’ Hot dog and chips’ then the press would have still found a way to make it into a story.

For the good of the game this needs to be resolved so we can all MOVE ON!!!

 

The Players Championship Most Memorable Moment

The Players Championship is under way, and  American Scott Stallings  is five under par through only five holes! What an incredible start to the championship.

This event seems to bring the best out of players and we’ve had some great champions in the past who have given us some great moments including Greg Norman, Fred Couples, Nick Price, Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia, but the most memorable moment for me has to be when Tiger Woods holed that monster putt on the tough 17th hole back in 2001 and then went on to win the title. It really was a moment that I’ll never forget.

If you can’t remember that putt, here it is:

I wonder who the champion will be come Sunday? Will there be a defining moment that gives someone the edge going into the final few holes? The one thing for sure is that the winner here is a deserved winner and will have had to play some great golf to lift that trophy.

Play To Get Back Underway In Arizona

Play is to get back underway in Arizona after yesterday’s amazing snow deluge as the snow is starting clear. Players  will be heading out to get there matches finished from yesterday with Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods still yet to tee-off.

The snow was quite a sight as you’re not used to seeing  it happen in the desert or on live television golf coverage, but the snow is still visible today and will make it harder for the players.

Garcia will be hoping to close out his match quickly as he is 2 up with three holes still to play and Ian Poulter will be hoping to do the same being 3 up with six still to play.

Conditions will be suiting the European players more at the moment, so don’t be surprised to see an all European final come Sunday.

Ryder Cup Duo Fight It Out At The Top

Sergio Garcia and Martin Kaymer, who were team-mates at the miracle comeback in Medinah, are tied at the top of the leaderboard in the Qatar Masters. There are four players sharing the lead in Doha after two rounds, the other players are Marcus Fraser and Ricardo Santos. 

Garcia played a near perfect round of golf shooting a 66 on a calm day in the desert, whilst Kaymer shot a bogey-free 67. Garcia had plenty of chances to make more birdies but the putter deserted him on these occasions.

There are many players within striking distance though, with the leaderboard looking quite bunched at the moment.

At the other end of the leaderboard, Ernie Els was struggling with the putter and struggling to make the cut going into the 16th at one over par, but a birdie and two pars was enough see him through to the weekend.

It’s all set up for a great couple of days of golf, make sure you tune in to watch!

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Tiger To Captain USA In Ryder Cup?

Tiger Woods  has come out and said that being given the chance to captain America in the Ryder Cup would be a “huge honour”  for him and that he would love to have the chance to do so.

The world No.2 who has only been part of one winning Ryder Cup team out of the last seven and was part of the most recent encounter at Medinah when America got thumped in the final day singles.

Woods who was partnered with Steve Stricker, lost all three of his matches  on the Friday and Saturday and only managed a half in the singles on the Sunday when he sportingly gave Francesco Molinari a 5 foot putt to allow Europe to win the Ryder Cup having already retained it after comebacks from Poulter, Rose, Westwood, Garcia and Kaymer.

Woods has a got a very poor record in the Ryder Cup and questions have been asked whether he was really interested in the competition.

Woods said “It would be a huge honour, hopefully it doesn’t happen in the near future as I would like to play in many more Ryder Cups“.

Olazábal Looking At Garcia And McDowell To Bring Cup Home

Well with two days to go until the biggest golf event on the planet takes place in Medinah, José María Olazábal was giving very little away when the team were practising yesterday but Sergio Garcia and Graeme McDowell seem to be the two main players that his attention has been focused on.

It all fell on the shoulders of the Northern Irishman two years ago when he famously holed the putt that secured the cup for Europe. Olazábal  is obviously looking for, and expecting, another big performance from him.

Garcia didn’t play in the last Ryder Cup, but still played his part as vice-captain and no doubt made a big difference to the team. He battled hard to make the team this year and it was clearly his main aim in the closing part of the season. Make no mistake, he loves this event more than anyone. The Spaniard  has never lost a foursomes match. Playing nine and winning eight with one tie.

I for one am still not sure what pairings he is going to go with, but one thing I do know is that it’s going to be one hell of a contest and will go all the way to the last few singles games on the Sunday. It’s probably on paper one the hardest to call!