The Punter 
/ Steven Rawlings / 27 June 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Pablo Larrazabal – The deserved winner of the BMW International
"Punters need to remember the four bogeys Garcia made in five holes. In short, he blew it... again. It’s great to see El Nino returning to form but on this evidence, he’s still going to find it hard to cross the line."
For the second time in three weeks our man just misses out on a monster-priced winner in Europe...
Pablo Larrazabal eventually claimed the BMW International title after a lengthy play-off with compatriot Sergio Garcia. It took five holes and a three-putt by Sergio on the 18th hole to separate the pair. Both have now secured a place in next month's Open Championship and because Martin Kaymer only finished in a tie for 18th, Rory McIlroy moves up a place to third in the world rankings.
At the Travelers Championship, Fredrik Jacobson finally won on the U S Tour. Having won three titles in Europe, the Swede joined the PGA Tour in 2003 and this was his 189th attempt to break his duck.
My Bets
I never got close to backing the winner at the Travelers and my final in-running play of the week, on Hunter Mahan, pretty much summed the event up for me. Hunter has an impressive bank of form at TPC River Highlands but he put in a woeful display yesterday, making just one birdie on his way to a desperately disappointing 72. The 2011 Travelers Championship is an event to forget, and quickly!
Having came close to a big win on a big-priced pick in Gary Boyd at the Italian Open two weeks ago, it was another case of close but no cigar again this week, this time with George Coetzee - backed at [290.0] before the off.
George didn't play terribly yesterday but it was a frustrating day. He missed a few lengthy putts by millimetres and a great chance to get within one of the lead on the 14th, when he missed form around six feet for birdie on what is the hardest hole on the course. Had he made that, I may well have managed to get some profit out of my modest wager but it wasn't to be and he eventually missed out on the play-off by just two shots.
Player to watch
Ross Fisher came into the event in only fair form and he started very slowly, failing to break 70 in either of his first two rounds, but he still managed to climb up into the top-ten. He finished runner-up last year, obviously enjoys the venue, and he'll be on the shortlist next year for sure.
Player to swerve
At the risk of repeating myself and for the benefit of those that didn't see any of yesterday's final round, my player to swerve this week has to be Sergio Garcia...again.
The market loves Sergio but caution is advised in no uncertain terms. After a steady start, he went on a stunning run from the 6th hole -shooting three birdies and two eagles in a six hole stretch. He'd seemingly taken control of the tournament and was matched at just [1.25] but it all went pear-shaped after that.
He's quite rightly drawing positives from his up-and-down for par on 17 and birdie up the last to get into the play-off but us punters need to remember the four bogeys he made in the five holes before then. In short, he blew it... again. It's great to see El Nino returning to form but on this evidence, he's still going to find it hard to cross the line.
What have we learnt for next year?
I'd written in my preview for the BMW International that Golfclub München Eichenried was a generous venue where scoring is always low but with no particular stats standing out, sighting Driving Accuracy as arguable just about the most important. Given that only Martin Wiegele hit more fairways from the tee than Larrazabal this week, that argument has been borne out.
As Sergio showed with his spectacular little run yesterday, birdies and eagles are out there in abundance but you need to be attacking the greens from the fairway. All four par-5's are reachable in two, but not from the rough. Having watched Coetzee closely this week, it was his inaccuracy from the tee that cost him. Ranked 55th for that stat he repeatedly failed to find the fairway on the par-5's and every time he did fail, he made par at best. Whenever he found the short grass with the big stick he made birdie at least.
There's another two great events to enjoy this week, with Bubba Watson making an appearance on the European Tour at the Open de France and there's a strong field lining-up across the pond at the AT & T National. I'll be back tomorrow, or on Wednesday morning, with a preview of both events.
Steve hasn't given up hope of a monster win in Germany, as he continues to hunt out the winner in the Connecticut......
Our man looks to the young guns in Germany and the veterans in Connecticut at this week's two events......
Awesome Rory delivers in style but where was the American challenge again?...
No comments:
Post a Comment