Well I broke my cherry last week with my first win this year at Bay Hill on Tiger (Albeit a small and predictable one) at 3/1 and yet another top 5 for the man playing some serious consistent golf at the moment Keegan Bradley at 28/1. Onward and upward to this week in Houston.
Keegan Bradley 15/1
Yep, you guessed it, I’m taking Bradley again this and I think everyone knows why, the guy has gone T4 at The Honda, 7th at The Cadillac and T3 last week at the Arnold Palmer in his last 3 starts which kind of says it all really. His stats are none too shabby either ranking 16th in Driving Distance and 8th in Scoring Average to name a few. He carded a final round 71 last week but he could have had a much better finish and challenged Tiger if his Iron play was a little better. Yes he was hitting greens in regulation but he was leaving himself 30 and 40 foot putts for birdies and some were even further! I believe if he tightens up his Iron play here, he will be a serious contender.
Hunter Mahan 17/1
Defending champion here, I mentioned last week that Hunter Mahan hasn’t been outside the top 30 in any tournament this season so far and that hasn’t changed with him finishing in a Tie for 21st at Bay Hill last week. 2 top 10’s in his last 4 starts, one of which was runner up in the WGC Matchplay. He is 9th in GIR, 16TH in Strokes Gained Putting and 18th in Birdie Average. Mahan has a good record around Redstone with 5 top 11 finishes in 7. Another guy, Like Keegan Bradley, That’s playing consistently at the moment and is certainly worth considering here.
Jimmy Walker 50/1
I have to say I’ve liked the look of this guy for the last year and he has bags of each way potential here at Redstone. Similar to Hunter Mahan, Walker has only been outside the top 30 once in his last 8 starts having a poor week at The Pheonix Open back in Febuary but he has 2 top 10’s in his last 4 starts, most recently in Bay Hill last week finishing in a tie for 8th. A few of his key stats include 7th in Scoring Average, 20th in Driving Distance and 29th in Strokes Gained Putting. After watching him for a while now, I think when Jimmy gets a sniff he gives it 100% and at 50/1 he is a great each way chance.
Henrik Stenson 45/1
Stenson is back playing good golf and will be coming into this week feeling positive after finishing in a tie for 8th last week at Bay Hill. He is showing a lot of consistency in his rounds lately shooting 3 71’s and a 69 in the final round last week and 3 rounds in the 60’s in Puerto Rico the week before. His record around here is good finishing 18th last year and tied third in 2009. A few of his stats include 1st in Driving Accuracy, 1st in GIR and 31st in Scoring Average. Playing well at the moment and is another player with a great each way chance at a generous 45/1.
Rory McIlroy 11/1
I’ve decided to take a chance on Rory this week mainly because Tiger has taken the world number one spot and that’s gotta piss Rory off something horrible! Let’s face it, the guy has had a bad season so far and there are alot of opinions floating around about how the new clubs aren’t suiting him and his missus is distracting him from his game yada yada yada but the truth is nobody knows. His tied 8th finish at The Cadillac was massive for his confidence and if you think he’s been sitting back scratching his proverbial rear end for the last couple of weeks then think again. Personally I think he knows he has a job to do and I think he’ll be back with a bang and there’s no time like the present.
On a funny note here’s the link to Sergio playing a shot out of a tree last week at Bay Hill, Sadly he withdrew shortly after but you gotta admire the guy for giving it a go you da man Sergio! Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10jORLiU7Ak&feature=player_detailpage
Good Luck,
DoubleBogey6