Wednesday, July 13, 2011

open championship

Off to Sandwich in Kent for the Open Championship which is held at Royal St Georges - last here in 2003 when Ben Curtis took advantage of Thomas Bjorn's late dropped shots to pinch an unlikely win - good links course but one which is characterized by plenty of blind shots, constantly changing winds as the holes aren't the traditional 9 out along the coast and 9 back - luck will play a big part here as you need the kind kicks and bounces or else will get penalised - probably one of the most important shots will be the approaches as the rough isn't too severe for driving but you do need to find a decent position on the green to give yourself a birdie chance as there will be quite a few bogeys especially if it gets breezy

Anyway, here's my picks for this week's major >

Rob KARLSSON > this is a massive hunch bet really although justifiable.. thought about him previously for this but a few days ago I had a strong feeling and backed him accordingly at 100 on betfair (now 85) – record-wise he did nothing  in this until recent yrs; 2008 was 7th, skipped 09 due to injury, 14th last yr so a couple of decent efforts in last couple of attempts

Major-wise in 2008 he was 4th, 7th, 8th, 20th so a cracking consistent effort before the eye problems etc that stopped his career – could be on the way back as last yr he had two top 20s in majors and then won the R2D championship at the end of the year which was a superb effort

In the US this yr he has had a 5th and also 2nd at St Jude where he repeated his result from the yr before... thus he does seem to do well on certain tracks and being a good links player I have no qualms with picking him this wk... could be a blowout of course but hopefully he will go well; picks and chooses a bit these days but he is a class act

Has a good record on this tour having won 11 times – overdue winning a major and may be another 40yr old plus who comes good in this age decade – he can hit it long and although he sprays it about a bit that won’t harm him here too much... he is a terrific scrambler and great putter and if he gets his game going he could make those odds look daft

Steve STRICKER > phenomenal form and confident these days too.. also has 11 tour wins and is overdue a major – winning last wk might be a hindrance in some eyes but he’s in prime form, confident, makes stacks of birdies, great putter – absolutely no reason not to back him and I got on him last Sunday at 46 on betfair (now 38)

I backed him for the masters as everything was identical pre event (stats form etc) and he put in an good effort (11th) but with a couple of top 10s in this event in last 4 visits I hope he will go better here

2 wins in last 3 tour events in US, last 8 have all been top 20 – top of the stats for birdies, strokes gained, scrambling, scoring average, par4s, putting 5-10’, putting 5-15’ etc etc > incredible stats and cannot believe he was 46 to back.. terrific value

Nick WATNEY > the other top US player for me – backed him consistently along with SS and they have been great for backers this yr... confidence is really showing now and he may well step up to the next level here with a commanding performance

2 wins this yr too, 8 top 10s, terrific stats too and has a decent record when coming over for this event with 7th last yr the best in 3 attempts – can see him lurking this wk then coming through to prominence on Sunday and another who looks really good value as all the attention is on the home-based golfers

Lee WESTWOOD > extremely good recent record in this event and another who is overdue winning a major (one of them has got to pick one up soon!) – may well be itching more than usual after seeing others around him win and wanting that no 1 ranking back etc... more than capable, sounds confident and with a  4th 3rd and 2nd in this will want the 1st adding for sure... has 21 career wins on this tour so needs that major on his CV

Getting a reputation for being a bridesmaid in flagship events with 12 top 3s in last 4 yrs and just the 1 win (R2D) > terrific consistent performance in major sin recent yrs but can’t quite get over that line due to the odd crucial missed putt or others nipping in with career best efforts, can see him winning this if he is a couple of groups back on Sunday and then posts an early 66 or so and wins that way

Alvaro QUIROS > always back my fav golfer and love the 130 available > huge distance means he should be able to attack some pins and create birdie chances – when on song he has a terrific short game and if he starts sinking putts then look out; hits a lot of greens considering how wayward he can be off the tee but the rough shouldn’t be too penal this wk so may be able to criss-cross a few fairways and still nail some birdies – if he gets a few decent bounces then he can really take advantage and hope he does as am expecting him to step up to the next level fairly soon in his career although he time on his side of course

Results haven’t been great but can look back at an 11th in this last yr and also has 5 wins on tour already so knows how to get it done; he won’t be holding back anyway

Angel CABRERA > hasn’t got much of a record in this event but has won 2 majors of course – also has some great stats (hits it long and hits a lot of greens too, good putter) and comes here in good touch as he posted a nice 3rd for me last week in Scotland

Probably hit or miss as he may well blow out totally or be top 10... he has managed 2 top 10s in this in his career but has a lot of MCs too > like the odds though as experience will probably help here – on him at 100 on betfair already and looking for  a good start hopefully to trade but may run it if he is really firing as he has the mental strength needed to close one of these out

Already backed these guys and have quite a few trades on the go too – backed most of them last weekend as the prices were good and wanted to get ahead of decent results or tipsters bringing the prices down a bit – my tips in majors are usually pretty rubbish so will be looking to trade a lot and get a profit on the week that way!

Also, can’t help feeling that Micko will feature although form/record in this aren’t good.. not often you see him near 50s for a major

Kuchar looks a reasonable shout for a top 10 (as he does most wks) as he is so consistent but can’t see him winning..  P Hanson is good value at 100 (toss up between him and Cabrera for my last pick)

Trades > have backed Dyson 240, Love 250, Coetzee 470 (now 290!), Jacquelin 500, Brier 750 (now 900 oops), Barnes 470 (now 210!)


Monday, July 04, 2011

facebook link...

facebook link for gibberworld is >

http://on.fb.me/iGndBj


then just log-in to your account, read and hit the 'like' button :-)

Saturday, July 02, 2011

my OLBG performance...

my performance on the blogging tables on OLBG for the last 6 months.. not a bad return :-)