I’VE had another bet in the Volvo World Match Play Championship and as it starts first thing in the morning I thought I’d get the ball rolling early.
The least said about today the better really but I will just touch on it. I’ve had a shocker – and yet it all started so well.
Bo Van Pelt’s match against Richard Sterne was an odd one. From two up, Van Pelt went three down but he rallied late on and tended up drawing the tie. As for Poults, well, he was just pants!
Apparently he was suffering with an upset stomach so there is an excuse but he didn’t play well at all and eventually lost to Thongchai Jaidee 3 and 2.
All three of my pre-event picks at the Madeira Islands Open played poorly and all three are out of it already and things aren’t going much better in Texas either.
Playing in the morning at the Byron Nelson Championship, Keegan Bradley has shot an impressive 10-under 60 in round one and leads by three strokes over Charl Schwartzel.
Massive outsider James Driscoll who shot a three-under 67 is the best of my pre-event picks and I wasted a few quid backing YE Yang at 100.0, when he got to -4 through 11 holes but bogeyed the next two as soon I’d backed him, so it’s not looking good there either!
I’m going to leave both those events alone for now and see what tomorrow brings but I have had one small wager at the Volvo World Match Play Championship.
This course has been described as links like and it should suit Jamie Donaldson. Although he was beaten by Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano today, thanks largely to an inspired Spanish putter, with this crazy round one round-robin format, if he beats Brett Rumford in the morning the chances are he’ll progress to round two and I thought he was worth chancing.
Madeira Islands Open Pre-Event Picks
Simon Wakefield @ 110.0
Daniel Vancsik @ 150.0 (Fixed odds)
Tano Goya @ 150.0
Volvo World Match Play Championship Pre-Event Picks
Ian Poulter @ 9.8
Bo Van Pelt @ 23.0
In-Play Bet
Jamie Donaldson @ 65.0
Byron Nelson Championship Pre-Event Picks
DA Points @ 51.0 (Fixed odds)
Brian Gay @ 130.0
John Huh @ 130.0
Matt Every @ 150.0 (Fixed odds)
James Driscoll @ 260.0
Justin Hicks @ 390.0
Patrick Reed @ 500.0
In-Play Bet
Y.E Yang @ 100.0
Milesey (Betfair)
In December 2020 we sadly 
Branden Grace 07:45 Brett Rumford
Richard Sterne 07:55 Chris Wood
Francesco Molinari 08:05 Carl Pettersson
Shane Lowry 08:15 Thomas Aiken
Scott Jamieson 08:25 Felipe Aguilar
Thongchai Jaidee 08:35 Peter Hanson
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano 08:45 Nicolas Colsaerts
Graeme McDowell 08:55 Bo Van Pelt
Ian Poulter labelled his performance as “disgusting, disgraceful and unacceptable” as he crashed out of the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Bulgaria.
Poulter, who inspired Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph at Medinah last year with four wins from four matches, lost his opening group game to Thongchai Jaidee on Thursday and was beaten on the 18th hole at Thracian Cliffs by Thomas Aiken this afternoon.
Two down with four to play, Poulter got back on level terms with birdies on the 15th and 16th, but then bogeyed the last after hooking his drive onto the adjacent fourth fairway and failing to get up and down after hitting his approach just over the green.
“I have no excuses,” said Poulter, who won the event in 2011 and felt it had come at the right time after missing the cut at the Players Championship last week followed a first missed cut of his career at the US Masters.
“There is no excuse for that display of golf over the last two days. It’s disgusting, disgraceful and there’s no explanation. I should have been able to finish the match off.
“My concentration was simply not there and therefore you make mental errors when you have not used your brain. It’s completely unacceptable.”
Asked where he went to next, Poulter added: “The tallest tree with the shortest rope. I am p***** off. I will stay p***** off for a couple of hours and then get to England and win at Wentworth (venue for next week’s BMW PGA Championship).”
Poulter’s defeat meant Jaidee advanced to the last 16 as the group winner to face Sweden’s Peter Hanson, who came through the only play-off required.
Hanson, Shane Lowry and George Coetzee all finished on two points after Lowry’s win over Coetzee today, with the South African then bowing out at the second extra hole with a bogey four. Lowry’s birdie meant he won the group and set up a clash with Aiken.
Defending champion Nicolas Colsaerts also reached the knockout stages after recovering from yesterday’s defeat to Branden Grace to beat Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who was then eliminated after losing the 18th hole to halve his match with Grace.
Colsaerts will take on Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano in the last 16 after the Spaniard beat Brett Rumford 3&2 to top their group, although the pair were already assured of going through after Rumford was eight under par in beating Jamie Donaldson 5&3.
After back-to-back wins at the Ballantine’s Championship and Volvo China Open two weeks ago, Rumford is looking to become only the third man in European Tour history to win three consecutive events this week at Thracian Cliffs.
Only Nick Faldo in 1983 and the late Seve Ballesteros three years later have achieved the remarkable feat.
“I’m really happy,” said Rumford, who faces Grace tomorrow. “Jamie got off to a bad start and I capitalised on that and was three up after four holes. I wanted to try to conserve as much energy as I could so it was nice to close it out sooner rather than later.
“Seve was an inspiration to all European Tour players. He was a great player and fierce in match play which is what you need. It would be an honour to match his achievement.”
Graeme McDowell remains on course to go one better than his runners-up finish last year thanks to a 4&2 win over Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher which set up a clash with American Bo van Pelt, whose halved matches with Richard Sterne and Geoff Ogilvy were enough to finish second in the group behind Sterne.
Sterne takes on Chris Wood in the last 16 after the Englishman beat Gallacher 2&1, while Francesco Molinari will face Swede Carl Pettersson and Scott Jamieson is up against Felipe Aguilar.
Jamieson was the only non-seed among the five players to win both their matches, overcoming the disadvantage of playing twice in the same day with impressive wins over Pettersson (one hole) and Thorbjorn Olesen (5&3).
“It’s nice to win and top the group,” Jamieson said. “Again I didn’t play my best golf, but that’s match play, you don’t have to play well and you can still win. Hopefully there’s a little more in the tank.”
Milesey