“Stricker started round one slowly, turning in level par, but a fast finish has put him into contention and he ended the round on -6, thanks largely to a hole-out from the fairway for eagle on the 14th hole.”
Our man's struggling in Scotland but faring much better in Illinois. Can Steve Stricker kick-on at the John Deere Classic?
21:20 - July 13, 2012
I've just done a bit of recycling at the John Deere Classic. Laying some of my Troy Matteson bet back at 8.47/1 and using the returned stakes to back Robert Garrigus at the same price. Probably time to stop fiddling with it for today now.
16:30 - July 13, 2012
I've added a couple more very small bets.
I can't see Alex Noren lengthening from his current price. He still leads the Scottish Open on -12 and we're getting to a point in the day now whereby it's hard to see anyone making much of an impact. The weather is cooling off and most of the main contenders are well into their second rounds.
I like Noren because the weather is due to deteriorate on Sunday and he's a very good bad weather player.
And I've also had a small play in-running on Y.E Yang at the John Deere Classic. He's just got to -7 through ten holes of round two and although he still trails runaway leader Troy Matteson by five strokes, 60.059/1 is too big.
14:20 - July 13, 2012
Magical five minutes that.
With a chance to open up with three straight birdies, Matteson misses form just three feet on the 3rd hole. Then bogeys from all my other three - Stanley, Crane and Stricker immediately follow. Ouch!
14:10 - July 13, 2012
It was a day of low scoring everywhere yesterday. After Francesco Molinari had threatened to register the European Tour's first 59, Troy Matteson gave himself a chance to make the PGA Tour's sixth. In the end he came up a couple shy, shooting a ten-under-par 61 to lead the John Deere Classic by three shots after round one but there was a 59 yesterday after all. Bermudan Michael Sims, not to be confused with Australian Michael Sim, shot 59 at the eGolf Tour's Southern Open.
After a disappointing first day at the Scottish Open, my fortunes changed for the better at the John Deere Classic. All three of my picks started at the same time with both Steve Stricker and Kyle Stanley in the same three-ball. I got to see plenty of their play and for a long while I didn't like what I saw.
Stricker, attempting to win the event for the fourth time in-a-row started slowly and when he made the turn he was still on level par but a fast finish has put him into contention. He ended round one on -6, thanks largely to a hole-out from the fairway for eagle on the 14th hole. Stanley played some lovely neat tee-to-green golf but putted poorly and finished the day on just -3 but Ben Crane did me proud.
Playing the back-nine first, Crane got to -7 through just 13 holes, before bogeying both the 7th and 8th holes. It was a disappointing finish to the day but a good start all the same. And to add to my good start with my pre-event picks, I even managed to jump onboard early pace-setter Matteson at 48.047/1, albeit very modestly, after he'd gotten to -6 through ten holes.
All four players are playing now so it's going to be a nervy afternoon. I look in a decent position right now but it can soon go pear-shaped.
I'm going to leave the Scottish Open alone for now, with Molinari only just underway in round two, it's very hard to gauge where we'll be at halfway. I wouldn't want to back Molinari at his current price of 3.72/1 but nor would I want to commit to anyone else, only to see the Italian pick up from where he left off again. It's a wait and see what happens job for now.
13:30 - July 12, 2012
If any of your picks have an afternoon start today at the Scottish Open, they're probably already trading at quite a bit bigger than the price you took. Francesco Molinari has picked up from where he left off in France last week and shot 62 this morning. And for a while it looked as though the elusive 59 was on. It's never been shot on the European Tour but with benign conditions forecast until Sunday, this could be the week.
It's been a seamless transition from last week to this for Molinari and if you count his last nine holes on Sunday and his first nine today (the back-nine at Castle Stuart), he's shot 59 for his last 18. That's going some, but can someone do it in one round this week?
The Italian is now in the clubhouse and leading on -10 and he's already been matched at just 1.10n/a in the 1st Round Leader market and 3.62/1 in the Outright Winner market.
Defending champion, Luke Donald, has traded short too, at just 3.752/1, when he got to -7 through 13 holes but he slipped back a bit after that and has finished the round on -5.
My most disturbing moment, so far, was watching Ernie Els take an incredible four shots to extricate himself from a greenside bunker on the 6th hole. I'd consider the Big Easy one of the best bunker players in the world and given that's one of the reasons I've already backed him for next week's Open Championship, it made for slightly disturbing viewing!
I haven't got involved in-running but I did add one more selection after I'd written Tuesday's preview. I've backed James Morrison plenty of times this year (and last) so once more won't go amiss.
Play has only just got underway in the states, at the John Deere Classic, where all my picks have been assigned afternoon tee-times.
Scottish Open Pre-event Selections:
Thomas Bjorn @ 44.043/1
Branden Grace @ 60.059/1
Thorbjorn Olesen @ 95.094/1
James Morrison @ 210.0209/1
In-Play bets
Alex Noren @ 9.48/1
John Deere Classic Pre-event Selections:
Steve Stricker @ 8.67/1
Kyle Stanley @ 65.064/1
Ben Crane @ 65.064/1
In-Play bets
Troy Matteson @ 48.047/1
Y.E Yang @ 60.059/1
Troy Matteson layed @ 8.47/1
Robert Garrigus @ 8.47/1
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