A FINAL round 68 just wasn’t enough for Andy Sullivan to snatch the Omega Dubai Classic from Danny Willett but gave me a tied second. Byeong-hun An hit a brilliant final round 65 to give me a tied fourth so it was a profitable week.
This week the Monterey Peninsular is the setting for the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with a stellar field including Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson.
It’s time for Johnson to show if he is going to be a top contender this year. He has won twice (2009, 2010) and has a further four top-10s here.
Although he’s not set the heather alight yet this year it just seems a matter of time he’s going to win. I think this could be it. He’s still got the habit of throwing in a bad round as he has in his last two tournaments but I’ve come to expect that from big DJ.
He just plays full on (sometimes I wish he wouldn’t) but that’s his game and he seems to like Pebble Beach so I’m taking a punt.
I was going to pick Patrick Reed but he’s been carrying a foot injury for the past few weeks and might be good idea to leave him out. So instead I’ve taken JB Holmes. With two T6s in his last two outings he is on form and could be worth a punt.
He finished T10 here last year and although he's not been the straightest hitter off the tee he has improved (56.98) slightly this year. His GIR is 68.06% and has a putting average of 1.769.
I can see Russell Knox having a great season and he’s already got a win under his belt with the HSBC Champions in November. His driving accuracy is 68.82% (17th), GIR 79.86% (1st) and a putting average of 1.76 (128) so certainly looks quite solid.
The Scot has had three weeks off since missing the cut in the Sony Open in Hawaii and hopefully he comes back refreshed.
Over in South Africa we have the Tshwane Open at the Gary Player designed Pretoria Country Club and last year’s winner George Coetzee lines up in defence of his title.
It’s hard to pick a winner here and I like the look of Coetzee but he is not a great price. Trevor Fisher Jnr looks a good bet for this tournament. He led the tourney after three rounds last year but fell away and finished 23rd but is capable of winning here.
His driving accuracy is only at 52.3% this year but GIR is 74.2% so could be up there on Sunday.
Recommended Bets
AT&T
2pts ew Dustin Johnson (10-1, Coral, Bet365)
2pts ew JB Holmes (30-1, 888sport)
1.5pts ew Russell Knox (80-1, Betfred)
Tshwane Open
2pts ew Trevor Fisher Jnr (20-1, Paddy Power, Ladbrokes)
Ace Venturer
In December 2020 we sadly 
Thanks for those ace. You can get 100/1 on knox at Boylesports.
Was a good week last week with Hidek Matsuyma winning at 25/1 it was nervy but the playoff win gave me back to back winners so on the hat trick bid this week. My other 2 picks last week did ok but never really in contention on day 4 ( JB Holmes tied 6th and Bubba Watson tied 14th)
Going to have to start this week with Jordan Speith 11/2 @ 888sport
its a stellar field this weekend and the Sponsors main man Speith is here and will be looking to show why he is the poster boy. I rarely back favourites in Golf as its so open but he is the best in the business and has back to back top 10 finishes here if he wins and i didnt back him id be gutted
Jimmy Walker 18/1
Backed Jimmy earlier in year and did ok but i dont do each way bets so yet to win anything with him this year. He in decent touch though and won this 2 years ago
Phil Mickelson 25/1
A bit of a nostalgic bet this for me as not sure what kind of big game performances Lefty has left. Sometimes the old guys perform well when they are comfortable and Micks has won this 4 times in his career last time was 4 years ago. I not bet on Micks yet this year but he always seems be there around the top 20 when am scrowling down the page to find my picks so hopefully another good week from Micks
lee cuncliffe, JB Holmes for me this week – looks a good bet.
Mr f I’ve backed him last 2 weeks and been good just not quite good enough and am worried about stronger field this week. Good price though and in good touch fingers crossed for you