IT'S been 14 long years since a European golfer donned the famous Green Jacket and on recent evidence it will take a big effort for one to win the first Major of the season come Sunday evening.
I believe the Europeans are worth opposing at this week's US Masters. It's nothing to do with them becoming bad players overnight, more the fact the rest of the world are fighting back so to speak. And sure, some Europeans are bound to play well at Augusta during the course of the four competition days.
But the beauty of having a wager in the Top European market is it doesn't matter where your selection finishes, as long as he's above everyone else from the same continent you're a winner.
A total of 28 Europeans will tee off on Thursday, and although at least 20 of them have the ability to contend if at their very best, realistically we should be concentrating on the top echelons of the market for the most likely winner.
Not surprisingly Rory McIlroy heads the market at 5.4 to back but despite a decent finish (and it was no more than decent given the strength of the field) at the Texas Open last week it seems the young Ulsterman has a lot to prove.
Since becoming the world No.1 at the end of last year McIlroy has had a lot to deal with. He has changed his equipment, has signed a megabucks sponsorship deal with Nike (and with that surely comes added pressure to succeed) and his private life is under more scrutiny than ever before.
It seems in the early part of the season all this has had an affect on his game and even last week his short game looked way off the standard required to contend at Augusta. He's not for me.
In total contrast to Rory, Justin Rose doesn't have a single question mark hanging above his head going into this week. He rarely puts in a bad performance these days and his excellent second place finish at Bay Hill last time was his fifth runner-up spot in a big event since winning the WGC Cadillac Championship 13 months ago.
Rose's Masters record isn't too shabby either, recording four top-20 finishes in the last five years including a fifth-place finish in 2008 and a top-10 finish last year.
In fact Rose ticks all the right boxes if you're looking for an Outright Winner (for which he is 22.0 to back) never mind someone to finish as the Top European. I do think a few Americans and South Africans hold just as strong claims as Rose to win, however, and can be backed at better odds, but I will be surprised if the Englishman doesn't finish in the top 10 this week and therefore he has to be a contender in this market at 7.4.
You can make a case for a number of star Europeans playing well this week – should Luke Donald be as big as 12.5 (and 44.0 to win outright) on the back of a relatively poor start to the season for example?
And should we dismiss Ian Poulter (18.0) – who has never missed a cut at Augusta – and last year's third Peter Hanson (20.0) lightly?
And what about Sergio Garcia (15.0), a back-to-form Henrik Stenson (23.0) and last week's impressive winner Martin Laird (40.0)? All can be top European on their day but my other selection is going to be an old favourite of mine.
Lee Westwood has slipped down the world rankings in the last year and he's not being talked up as much as he has at recent US Masters. Hopefully that will all play in to Westwood's hands because there's no doubt in my mind the pressure does get to him from time to time.
True, Westwood is a dreadful putter, but I've said it before and I'll say it again – while his tee-to-green game is so good all it will take for him to win one of these events is an above average week with the flat stick.
When you consider how many short putts he missed last year, yet he still finished in a tie for third just two shots off the winner, then you start to struggle to find a way to dismiss him.
And there was evidence in Houston a fortnight ago that his putting is much better, especially during the third round where he rolled in countless 10-footers.
Yes, he did miss some short ones too, but doesn't he always – you just accept (through gritted teeth admittedly) that with Westwood he'll always miss a short one from time to time. But he loves Augusta having finished second and third here in the last three years, and he could easily put up another strong challenge this week, especially in this market at odds of 9.8.
Top European Recommended Bets
Back Justin Rose @ 7.4
Back Lee Westwood @ 9.8
Milesey (Betfair)
Resident football tipster at Scotland's most read newspaper, the Daily Record, for over 20 years and proud host of one the best betting communities on the web with daily betting tips.
