The Punter 
/ Steven Rawlings / 28 January 2011 / Leave a Comment 
Phil Mickelson – who tied the best score on the South Course yesterday
" Lefty equalled the best score of the day on the South with a five under par 67. That was his best round there since 2004 and he was no doubt spurred on by his wife Amy’s presence in the galleries."
Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson start well in California but our man's struggling in Bahrain...
14.25 - January 28, 2012
I was more than happy with the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open. Tiger Woods didn't score particularly well, playing the slightly easier North course and finishing the day on -3 but I thought he played well. His putting looked a little rusty but his iron-play was superb and I fancy he'll be there or thereabouts come Sunday.
The South Course, with an average of 72.73, played almost two shots tougher than the North Course, which averaged 70.96, so in theory, Phil Mickelson, who drifted all week in the run up to the start, should widen the gap between him and Woods. Lefty equalled the best score of the day on the South with a five under par 67. That was his best round there since 2004 and he was no doubt spurred on by his wife Amy's presence in the galleries.
Already aboard at [19.0], I greedily topped up on Lefty at [9.6] so I'm hoping he can keep things moving along. And he'll have to, despite the good start; he's still three off the lead - held by Korean rookie Sunghoon Kang.
We've now reached the halfway point of the Volvo Golf Champions and I've made a right mess of my book there and I had such a great plan. Wait until the afternoon starters have played eight holes and then make any plays after that. Instead I placed my first bet before the afternoon starters had even begun!
When Jose Manuel Lara birdied the 7th hole, his 16th of the round, to get to within two of the lead, I backed him at what looked a very generous [90.0]. It was too big because I layed half my stake straight back at [65.0] but then he double-bogeyed the 8th. I should have known then that it perhaps wasn't going to be my day in Bahrain.
I then decided that Edoardo Molinari looked too big at [6.0] as he birdied the 9th - his final hole of the day. I thought that if the wind was anything like as bad as had it been in the afternoon on day one, that he would be in a great position at halfway. It didn't blow at all, and those that played in the afternoon on day one have had the worst of the draw by far - the Molinari brothers are the only players from that side of the draw in the top-ten.
And just to finish off the mess I also backed Alvaro Quiros at [16.0] during his second round. He bogeyed two of his last five holes and can now be backed at twice that price! Oh well.
Somewhat bizarrely the pros will be joined by amateurs tomorrow. I have no idea whose idea that was but it's a pants one! I really dislike Pro-Ams but at least they usually have the amateurs play the first few rounds, and then they're out of the way by the final one. I'm under the impression they only join the pros for tomorrow's third round here, but why? The event's starting to hot up now, couldn't they have got in the way on day one?
14.15 - January 27, 2012
My initial impression of the Montgomerie Course this morning was that it was a very easy track. Hardly any of the competitors were over par and Johan Edfors reached -8 for his round, but as the wind got up in the afternoon the scoring slowed up.
The stats show it was actually just one stroke harder in the afternoon, but it looked tougher than that. I'm still unsure whether accuracy is going to win over power - Edfors leads the Greens In Regulation stats as well as the tournament and the presence of Francesco Molinari and Matteo Manassero on the leaderboard suggests accurate iron-play could win the day. But on the other hand, renowned big-hitter Alvaro Quiros is just three off the lead. He should have fared better but two visits to the water took the edge of a round which saw him birdie half of the holes he played.
What we do already know about the venue is that the finish is tough. The long par three 16th played the hardest and the last two holes ranked fifth and sixth in terms of difficulty. A lead of one or two with three or four to play on Sunday may well not be enough. And if playing in-running before that, the scoring section of the course appears to be from the ninth to the 14th but the run of five holes from the fourth hole before that is far from easy. Players face three of the toughest four holes on the course before pitching up on the ninth tee.
All four of my small initial plays had afternoon tee-times and none of them fared brilliantly. Rhys Davies looks out of it already, while both Thongchai Jaidee and Rafael Cabrera-Bello came to grief at the end of their rounds. Frustratingly, both dropped two shots over the closing three holes and ended the day on -3. The best of mine is Brett Rumford, who started his round on the 10th. Now on -4, he finished really well and I've had a small top-up at [150.00].
I haven't made any further plays yet but I suspect tomorrow's going to be a lot busier now that the watching brief is just about complete.
I'll be back again at around this time tomorrow, by which time we'll know how Tiger Woods and co have started off in the States.
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