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Tuesday 20 September 2016

The Tour Championship & Porsche European Open 2016

Hi All, 

A good week for all three of our selections in Italy, with all of them coming in the top 20, the best of which was a runners-up finish for NB Danny Willett at 20/1, missing out by just 1 single shot, very close to the win. So the place was enough to tide us over for this week’s event; article and selections below: 

The Tour Championship, PGA Tour – 10 pts Outlay

At East Lake Golf Club, 7,385 yards, par 70 – Thursday September 22nd to Sunday September 25th

Best known as the course where Bobby Jones learned the game, the onetime home of the Atlanta Athletic Club dates back to 1908. Tom Bendelow did the original design, revamped in 1913 by Donald Ross. Jones was already showing glimpses of his talent by then, eventually going on to etch his name in history by completing the 1930 Grand Slam. East Lake hosted the 1950 U.S. Women’s Amateur and 1963 Ryder Cup before the surrounding neighbourhood began to decay. The AAC relocated to the northern suburbs in 1967, leaving East Lake in the hands of 25 members opposed to the move. The club’s second life began in 1993 when a partnership was formed to restore the club as a tribute to Jones. The TOUR Last Week’s Outlay 12 pts Last Week’s Return 12 pts (level) Year To Date + 378.05 2 Championship came to East Lake for the first time in 1998, becoming the annual host in 2004. 

Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Adam Scott, Jason Day and Paul Casey have the inside track to the FedEx Cup by virtue of their positions in the top five, able to secure the points title simply by winning the finale. No.6 McIlroy and No.7 Spieth hold just slightly less control, needing to win while Johnson and perhaps Reed do not finish alone in second. Points have been reset after the BMW Championship, allowing everyone a mathematical chance of claiming the crown. For No.30 Charl Schwartzel to win, though, Johnson would have to finish in the bottom two at East Lake. Day’s status is in question after a sore back forced him to withdraw midway through the final round of the BMW Championship. The Aussie has pushed through back woes to win in other instances, including the WGC Dell Match Play in March.

NAP – JORDAN SPIETH 10/1 (BetFair) 5 pts WIN 

Jordan’s playoff record so far this year reads 10th, 21st and 9th and I think he is brewing ready to win again. He won here last year by 4 shots, and was also tied 2nd in 2013 – so he clearly gets on well with the East Lake layout. The fact that despite an average season by his standards he is still ranked 2nd in strokes gained putting on tour will always see Jordan Spieth there or there abouts should he turn up with a half decent long game. 

NB – BRANDT SNEDEKER 35/1 (SkyBet) 1.5 pts EW

Having won here by three shots as recently as 2012, Brandt is enjoying his best season since then, and sits in 11th place going into the FedEx Cup finale. Coupled with his win this year Brandt Snedeker has enjoyed seven top 10 finishes, with his recent form also looking strong, with eight cuts made in a row, including two top 5 finishes.

IWAC – J.B. HOLMES 40/1 (SkyBet) 1 pt EW 

Confidence will be sky high in the J.B Holmes camp with his tied 4th place finish in the last playoff event only a fortnight ago seeing him secure one of Davis Love III’s Ryder Cup wildcards. He also showed that he has the game to get round this East Lake setup well, having shot three rounds in the 60s for his top 8 finish in last year’s playing.

Porsche European Open, European Tour – 10 pts Outlay 

At Golf Resort Bad Griesbach, 7,188 yards, par 71 – Thursday September 22nd to Sunday September 25th

Golf Resort Bad Griesbach, which played host to a European Tour event for the first time in 2015, is Europe’s largest golf resort with six courses. 

The European Challenge Tour had previously visited the resort from 2013-15, when the Aegean Airlines Challenge Tour by Hartl Resort was played there. The course being used for the Porsche European is the Beckenbauer Course. Named after Germany’s World Cup winning footballer, Franz, it measures 7,188 yards from the back tees. 

Home hero Martin Kaymer will make his final appearance before departing for Hazeltine National, where he will represent Europe in The Ryder Cup for a fourth successive time. Ryder Cup debutant Thomas Pieters is another player who will hope to fine tune his game in Germany ahead of golf’s greatest team event. 

The duo will be joined at Golf Resort Bad Griesbach by South African Ernie Els, who is making his first appearance in a regular European Tour event since the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in February. The former Open Champion’s last European Tour victory came on German soil, at the 2013 BMW International Open. Eight-time European Tour champion Thongchai Jaidee will aim to mount a successful defense of his title.

NAP – SCOTT HEND 28/1 (SkyBet & Bet365) 2.5 pts EW 

Playing really well at the moment with two top 4 finishes to his name already this month, Scott Hend is an impressive 29 under par for his last 10 tournament rounds. He can continue that form this week in Germany, on a course that he finished in 4th place last year, shooting all four rounds in the 60s.

NB – RICHARD BLAND 33/1 (Coral & Ladbrokes) 1.5 pts EW 

In a similar manor to Hend above, Richard is another player having a real purple patch; for his last four events Richard Bland is an impressive 40 under par, seeing him secure two top 5 finishes along the way. He also arrives here in Germany with positive memories from last year’s event, where an opening round of 65 helped him to finish inside the 10.

IWAC – RICKARD KARLBERG 40/1 (Ladbrokes) 1pt EW 

A score of 12 under par on this course last year was good enough to see Rickard finishing in the top 5; this finish included three impressive scores of 66, 67 and a 68. There were signs last week that Rikard Karlberg may be playing himself back into that sort of form once again, where three rounds in the 60s saw him finish on a 14 under par today and inside the top 12.

NOTE: With only 30 players in the field on the PGA Tour, SkyBet is the place to be, still offering top 5 places at 1/4 odds. For the European Tour event, PaddyPower are offering top 7 places at 1/5 odds. All odds included in the above article are simply the highest odds available at the time of writing sourced via Odds Checker.

This Week’s Outlay – 20 pts 

Hope you have a good week, and good luck to all those following, 

Stu @PriestleyStuart 

sjpriestley_pga@btinternet.com

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