WGC HSBC Champions & Sanderson Farms Championship, PGA Tour 2016

Hi All, 

Well, the run continues, as Matsuyama finished in solo runners-up spot, and secures our sixth placed finish of the month (18/1 place, 40/1 place, 12/1 place, 25/1 place, 40/1 place, 14/1 place), the door firmly being knocked on now, and the winners will surely come soon. Very frustrating to find just one player too good out of an entire field, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. 

Now then, on to this week, where I will be giving you a flavour of how SJP Golf Tips will be structured going forwards. As time draws closer to when there will be a small cost associated with receiving the detailed information we offer along with the advised selections, it was important to us to showcase exactly the kind of diversity and variety on offer, while ensuring that the return on any investment remains paramount to our long term vision. So we dip in to a few other markets available to us this week, as well as retaining a handful of points for a secondary in-play post to come once we reach the half way stage of the events.

For those following us via Twitter, you will have seen my post the other day, but for those that stick to this blog I will mention again. We have recently been added to the General Sports section of the Tipster Review website, and for anyone who has been following us over the years; it would be greatly appreciated if you could spare a few minutes to leave us a review. 

WGC HSBC Champions, co-sanctioned – 10 pts Outlay 

At Sheshan International Golf Club , 7,261 yards, par 72 – Thursday October 27th to Sunday October 30th 

Sheshan International Golf Club has hosted every edition of the 2016 WGC–HSBC Champions since the inaugural tournament in 2005, apart from 2012 when the event went to the Olazábal Course at Mission Hills in China. 

The 7,261 yards, par 72 course was designed by internationally renowned golf course architects Nelson & Haworth. With well-placed bunkers, water features and undulating greens, Sheshan is a picturesque and challenging course. 

Beautiful tree-lined fairways are surrounded by gentle rolling hills, 1,000 year old Gingko trees, calm waterways, and a spectacular natural quarry. The course is set in the shadow of the Basilica of our Lady of Sheshan Cathedral, and surrounded by Tuscan inspired villas.

The 2016 WGC–HSBC Champions will present its strongest field to date, with 40 of the top 50 players in the world confirmed for this week’s tournament. 

Knox will defend his title against a field that boasts eight of the world’s top ten, all of the year’s Major winners and 19 stars from the 2016 edition of The Ryder Cup. 

The current top three in the Race to Dubai are all scheduled to compete. Willett, the 2016 Masters Tournament winner, is the current front-runner followed by Open Champion Henrik Stenson and last year’s Race to Dubai winner, McIlroy. In-form Swede Alex Noren will be looking to continue his climb up the Rankings after victory at the British Masters supported by Sky Sports saw him jump from ninth to fourth position.

3 Other standouts include Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and South African Major Champions Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel. 

Advised Bets: 

Outright Market – Dustin Johnson 6/1 (Coral & PaddyPower) 2pts WIN ONLY

Adam Scott 22/1 (StanJames) 1pt EW 

Danny Willett 80/1 (StanJames) 0.5pt EW 

Top 10 Market – 

Danny Willett 9/1 (StanJames) 1 pt 

Russell Knox 4/1 (BetVictor) 1pt 

Martin Kaymer 4/1 (BetVictor) 1pt Branden Grace 15/2 (PaddyPower) 1pt 

Ross Fisher 9/2 (PaddyPower) 1pt 

Sanderson Farms Championship, PGA Tour – 10 pts Outlay

At Country Club of Jackson, 7,421 yards, par 72 – Thursday October 27th to Sunday October 30th 

The Dick Wilson layout, now in its third year as host, dates to 1962 when the club acquired new property and brought in the architect to design 27 holes. The Dogwood and Azalea nines will be used for competition, revamped in a 2008 upgrade by former PGA TOUR player John Fought. Six Mississippi State Amateurs have been played at CCJ, most recently last year, and the Southern Junior Amateur was held there in 2014. The club itself dates back to 1914, playing a key role in Mississippi history as a 1962 raid on the Carnival Ball turned up gallons of illegal liquor and prompted legislators to end the state’s prohibition. 

Ian Poulter, on the comeback trail after sitting out five months with a foot injury, joins defending champion Peter Malnati and runner-up David Toms to headline the field. With the top 50 in the world rankings qualified for the WGC-HSBC Champions, Chris Kirk (No. 74) is the highest ranked player in the field. Toms is one of six former major champions in the field, joined by Angel Cabrera, David Duval, Lucas Glover, Geoff Ogilvy and Retief Goosen. Forty-five of the 50 graduates from the Web.com Tour regular season or Finals are entered. Dicky Pride is set for his 18th start in Mississippi, tying Glen Day for most among active players.

Advised Bets: - 

Outright Market – Patton Kizzire 20/1 (BetFred) 1pt EW 

David Toms 40/1 (SkyBet, BetVictor or BetFair) 1pt EW 

Top 10 Market – 

David Toms 9/2 (BetVictor) 1pt 

Bryce Molder 9/2 (Bet365 or BetVictor) 1pt 

Top 20 Market – 

Tyler Aldridge 4/1 (StanJames) 1pt 

Seung-Yul Noh 3/1 (StanJames) 1pt 

D.J. Trahan 9/1 (StanJames) 1pt 

Andres Romero 11/1 (StanJames) 1pt 

*MULTIPLE* - Dustin Johnson (HSBC Champions) & Patton Kizzire (Sanderson Farms) 133/1 (BetVictor) 0.5pts EW

NOTE: As per usual, please do be careful and aware of who you are betting with for the golf, amazingly a lot of the higer profile companies change week by week on what place terms they offer. This week at the HSBC Champions StanJames are offering places on the top 6 at 1/5 odds, so we will be staying with them for the EW shots! For The Sanderson Farms event, we are going for the best available odds.

Points Outlay:

This Week’s Outlay To Date: 21 pts

In-Play Bets (To Come After Completion Of Round Two): 4 pts

This Week’s TOTAL Outlay: 25 pts 

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

Stu @PriestleyStuart 

sjpriestley_pga@btinternet.com

US PGA Championship, and the Women’s British Open

Hi All,

Another week that saw us very close to a nice hefty return, our NAP each way double saw us claim a 3rd and 2nd place for good return from the stake on that. It was slightly annoying though, as for large parts of the week, I felt sure one, if not both of Jimenez and Johnson were going to win, but hey ho, that’s the way it goes sometimes. A nice 28/1 place from Snedeker in Canada also helped matters, seeing us out of the week with nothing lost, this did not come without its own frustrations too, as Sneds did have the lead entering the final days play, we will hit the big one before the seasons out I’m sure. 

A double major week for us this week to get our teeth into this week, in the form of the final men’s major of the year, USPGA Championship, and the Women’s British Open. See below for a bit more information and selections.

USPGA Championship (Major) – 11 pts Outlay

 At Baltusrol Golf Club, 7,428 yards, par 70.

 The 98th PGA Championship takes place at Baltusrol, New Jersey from Thursday July 28 until Sunday July 31, with the likes of Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson bidding for glory in golf's final major of the season. 

Just one of four golf properties to be designated a National Historic Landmark, Baltusrol was founded in 1895 on New Jersey farmland once owned by Baltus Roll, who died years earlier in an attempted robbery. The original layout staged five national championships, Last Week’s Outlay 25 pts Last Week’s Return 25 pts (level) Year To Date + 459.25 including the 1915 U.S. Open, but was plowed under as part of A.W. Tillinghast’s ambitious 1922 “Dual Courses” project. The Lower course has been the site of four U.S. Opens – two of which have been won by Jack Nicklaus – along with two U.S. Amateurs, a U.S. Women’s Open and now its second PGA Championship.

This year’s final major presents a unique situation in men’s golf, and one I feel confident we can capitalise on; this being that due to golf’s inclusion in The Olympics, the USPGA Championship has had to be moved forward, and rather than being a good 3/4 weeks after the previous major, it is only a matter of days since Troon’s conclusion. Meaning that I like the idea of current form continuing, with less time for other players not quite on their game to work on it an improve.

NAP – DUSTIN JOHNSON 8/1 (SkyBet, Bet365, Coral, WilliamHill & Ladbrokes) 4 pts WIN 

Playing really well this year and adding an incredible 12th top ten finish already in the 2016 season last week in the Canadian Open with a ties 2nd place finish, which keeps him top of the FedEx cup rankings. For those of you who do take the time to read my weekly articles you will know that I don’t beat around the bush in stating that Dustin is the best golfer on the planet right now. This course will also fall into the category the pundits like to call a ‘bombers paradise’, and who else of the long hitters would you want to side with on current form than Dustin. If in the hunt, the back-to-back par 5’s to finish could see Dustin having the advantage to get the job done. Having worked hard on all areas of the game, there are few weaknesses left in DJ’s game, and now having got over the line in winning the US Open earlier in the year, it will not take long for him to add a second major to his rapidly blossoming career.

NB – HENRIK STENSON 16/1 (Bet365, WilliamHill & BetVictor) 2 pts EW 

Henrick presents a very similar scenario to that of Dustin Johnson at the moment, with the only difference being that Henrik is slightly older and more experienced. The bridesmaid finally became the bride the other day at The Open, with Stenson winning his first major in phenomenal style. Any signs of self doubt will be long gone, and I liken the current Stenson situation to being very similar to that of Padraig Harrington’s around 10 years ago… Having come so close, so many times, Harrington finally won his first major at The Open in 2007 at Carnoustie, and before you could blink, he was a three time major champion, adding another open and a USPGA to his resume within a year and a half. Henrick is a better golfer than Padraig ever was, and I would be very surprised if he doesn’t continue to strike while the iron is hot. Also, a final bit of useful information is that Henrik does have the advantage of having competed at Baltusrol in 2005, and played all four rounds.

IWAC – SERGIO GARCIA 33/1 (WilliamHill & Ladbrokes) 1.5 pts EW 

The last four major champions have all been first time major winners (Day, Willett, Johnson & Stenson), the world of golf would love nothing less than for Sergio to make this five in a row! The signs have been good in 2016 with Garcia having won the Byron Nelson Championship earlier in the year, and with two 5th place finishes in the last 2 majors Sergio finds himself 13th in the FexEx cup rankings. Averaging under 70 strokes per round, and gaining over 1.3 strokes on the field from tee to green, on what is sure to be a tough test, Sergio will not be far away from finally clinching that elusive major championship. A top 25 at Baltusrol in 2005 also see Sergio having had a good first look and experience of tournament conditions here.

Women’s British Open (Ladies Major) – 11 pts Outlay 

At Woburn Golf Club , 

The 2016 Ricoh Women’s British Open is set to be one of the strongest and most international majors of the year as entries have now closed for this year’s Championship at Woburn Golf Club, England, 28th – 31st July. 

Defending Champion, Inbee Park, will not only have to contend with recent Major winners Lydia Ko (World No.1) and Brooke Henderson (World No. 2) but with 24 other Major Champions including past winners, Stacy Lewis, Mo Martin, Jiyai Shin and Yani Tseng as well as household names Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer, Lexi Thompson and home favourite Charley Hull.

NAP – SUZANN PETTERSEN 28/1 (Bet365) 2 pts EW 

The Women’s British Open appears to be bring the best out of Suzann, her last three resuts in this event read, 5th, tied 2nd and tied 4th! Hailing from Norway you certianly get the impression that Suzann relishes the typical British conditions often encountered during these events. With just one cut missed all year, and four top 10 finishes it has been a solid 2016 season so far for Suzann, and arriving back at an event she is comfortable at she is sure to go close once again.

NB – SO YEON RYU 22/1 (Bet365) 2 pts EW 

With a 3rd place finish at the Women’s British Open last year and a tied 5th back in 2012 the South Korean clearly isn’t fazed by the condtions encountered over on our soil and the types of courses we offer. Sitting in 12th in the Rolex Rankings for the 201 with six top 10 finishes So Yeon is having a good season so far, with top 15 finishes in all 3 majors so far in the ladies season also showing that she has a liking for the big events. Having won the 2011 US Women’s Open we also know that So Yeon can get the job done at the highest level should the opportunity present itself again.

IWAC – ANNA NORDQVIST 22/1 (Bet365) 1.5 pts EW 

Unlucky to lose out in a playoff in the last ladies major, when accidently grounding her club in a bunker, Anna will come here no doubt with a chip on her shoulder; and with four top 12 finishes in the last five Women’s British Open’s, including finishing in a tie for 7th last year, the Swede does have a solid record in this event. With a win already to her name this year, and a further five top 10 finishes, Anna is having a very good 2016 sitting in 11th in the Rolex Rankings. There is a very eye catching statistic this year which I think will prove valuable this week, and that is that Anna currently sits 2nd on tour for greens hit in regulation, hitting an impressive 78.28% of all greens.

*MULTIPLE* – Dustin Johnson (USPGA Championship) & Suzann Pettersen (Women’s British Open) - 261/1 (Bet365) 1.5pts Each Way Double 

This Week’s Outlay – 25 pts 

Have a nice week, and good luck if following, Stu 

@PriestleyStuart