STAR PREVIEW Weds: WGC Match Play

A great result in tipping up to Cam Smith to win The Players Championship earned Blue Horseshoe a week off last week to chase the ponies at Cheltenham. What was looking like a pretty disastrous week was saved by big ‘get out‘ punt on A Plus Tard, who rocked up in style to win the Gold Cup and save my bacon in the process.

This week we’re back to all things golf. I notice that many of the golf tipsters don’t like the WGC Matchplay Championship at Austin Country Club in Texas, but I love it. We get to see an entirely new format for a change and betting opportunities abound with a host of match play markets constantly in flux if you want to speculate.

As per usual I am looking for value and my main consideration is who can potentially advance from their group at a decent price.

WGC: Dell Technologies Match Play
Austin Country Club, Texas, USA
Live on Sky Sports Golf from 2.15pm on Thursday

Blue Horseshoe Loves:

Tom Hoge – currently at ? with starsports.bet

Hoge is riding the crest of a wave, notching his first PGA tour win this season. He is truly starting to realise the potential that I first saw in him a couple of years ago. Hoge’s approach game has been amongst the best on tour this year stats-wise, and I expect that will serve him well at Austin Country Club, where the ability to stick it close in order to try and win the hole is paramount. I think his group is relatively weak and I believe he offers great value to escape it.

Bubba Watson – currently at ? with starsports.bet

I backed Watson when he won this event a few years ago. This has always been one of Bubba’s favourite tournaments, he always gives a good showing here, because match play suits his demeanour. If he has a poor hole, he simply moves on and smashes one off the tee on the next hole. He knows this course like the back of his hand and more importantly, Bubba has started to putt well lately. That’s always been his Achilles heel, but when he’s feeling it with his putter, he’s a very tough nut to crack around here.

Patrick Reed – currently at ? with starsports.bet

Many of you might be a little surprised to see me tip Reed, as his form his been pretty abject of late. But Reed is a superb Match play exponent and his game showed a few encouraging signs when he put in a prominent performance at The Players. If he continues with that form and gets his putter fired up, Reed could surprise a few people this week.

Russell Henley – currently at ? with starsports.bet

Henley is a perennially underestimated player, but once again this year he has either been in contention or finished high up the leaderboard at a number of tournaments. Henley’s game is all about accuracy off the tee and an excellent ball-striking game. He may not be sexy or spectacular, but he makes very few mistakes, and in this format that makes him a daunting prospect. I think his sheer consistency will see him grind down the majority of his group stage opponents and once we get into the quarter-finals and beyond, as they say, it’s anyone’s to win.

EW Terms 1/4, 4 places

RECOMMENDED BETS
BACK Tom Hoge 0.5pt each/way at 66/1 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK Bubba Watson 0.5pt each/way at 80/1 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK Patrick Reed 0.5pt each/way at 50/1 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)
BACK Russell Henley 0.5pt each/way at 50/1 (Latest Star Price ? CLICK TO BET NOW)

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STAR PROMOTIONS

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