THIS is the third year of the Paul Lawrie Matchplay but there is quite a change. Whereas the last two were held on two Scottish links courses (Murcar and Archerfield) this time it's moved to Germany.
The Quellness Golf Resort in Bad Griesbach was designed by Bernhard Langer and is one of six courses on completely flat ground. The track hosted the European Open in 2015 and 2016, won by Thongchai Jaidee and Alex Noren, so a lot of the players will be familiar with the set.
I like watching matchplay but I must admit I hate betting on it. However, I’ve studied the players taking part and hopefully picked a couple who are in with a chance.
Dane Lucas Bjerragaard must have a chance. He joined the European Tour in 2014 and has never looked back. In 2015 he went toe to toe with Justin Rose in the UBS Hong Kong Open and won the inaugural GolfSixes for Denmark alongside Thorbjorn Olesen in May this year.
He hits the ball more than 300 yards and is 77th in GIR (68.4%). For matchplay birdie scoring is important and he is 17th on Tour with a birdie average of 4.10. Well worth a look.
Nicolas Colsaerts was the first player from Belgium to play in the Ryder Cup, in 2012, where he and Lee Westwood defeated Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker in the fourballs. In that win the Belgian scored eight birdies and an eagle.
He won the Volvo World Matchplay in 2011 and so is comfortable in matchplay format. He is not called the “Belgian Bomber” for nothing, hitting the ball well over 300 yards. For GIR he is 39th (70.6%) and averages 3.59 in birdie averages.
Recommended Bets
- 1.5pts ew Lucas Bjerragaard (Betfred 50-1)
- 1.5pts ew Nicolas Colsaerts (Betfred 25-1)
Ace Venturer
Mr fixit still waiting for my £10 for my unibet account for coming 5th in the us open competion if not in my account by the end of august you can tell admin to keep it and i wont be renewing my subscription to your web site again ps ive message admin a few times on here but no replies anyway thanks for your tips wish you well in the future