Oh Emiliano. The faith kept with the mercurial Argentinian proved very satisfying last week at Colonial, The course was the real winner but so were we as Grillo managed to lose the tournament and then win it in the space of 90mins for followers at a huge 80/1. Back to back wins and with profits now in the +350 region we go again for the turkey (3 in a row).
The memorial tournament at Jack's place, Muirfield Village, is a brilliant event. every year the world's top players flock to Ohio to test themselves on a course framed for only the very best ball strikers in the world. I waited until monday morning for my number one selection Patrick Cantlay, but early showings of 10/1 put me right off, so this week we head into the event 5 handed with Pat in the bin due to scurrilous odds by the betting firms who are running scared of the form horse at this venue.
Muirfield Village Par 72, 7533 Yards is a typical Nicklaus course. Get the ball in play off the tee, don't miss the fairways, and shot shaping to elevated greens is the order of the day. You need all parts of your game on pointbut tee to green is the order of the day, or in this case 4 days. It's a late blog, but I picked my guys early on monday, and due to some really skinny prices we start this week with one main selection.
VICTOR HOVLAND can continue the trend of Grillo, Clark etc, in a player that doesn't win often enough, but his ball striking stats this year have seen him contending week in week out. He was bang in with a chance and fell away last week, Koepka kept him out at Oak Hill, and Bay Hill punished his putting on the back 9. He is a fabulous driver and iron player, his putting blows hot and cold and his short game is getting better and better, so I am big this week on him and at 20/1 with Paddy Power 8 Places I'm 7pts e/w.
Next up I can get away with this due to the pick last week, but we are going for RICKIE FOWLER. Rickie has been trending since he reconnection with Butch Harman, and he now sees himself back in the world's top 50 off the back of a very consistent season. He's missed just 2 cuts all season and he has 9 top 20s, and whilst he has been close to contending, I do think he has improvement to make in putting and he isn't quite at his pre 2019 best with the flat stick, but he is 11th Strokes gained overall and 9th Strokes gained on approach, and at 40/1 8 places with Skybet I'm 4pts e/w and quite sweet on a place minimum round here.
Bayhill winner KURT KITAYAMA is a big event player and a ball striker of real note. He Won at Bayhill against a stellar field under huge pressure, he came 4th at the PGA 2 weeks ago and he made the Qtrs of the Dell Matchplay. If he has a weakness it's losing the ball right off the tee, but ball striking and SG approach, with a decent short game and a good putter give him the game to get tough when many get going. It's a price pick this week as I was looking at the 40/1 region, but I'm on at 110/1 with Skybet, but for the purposes of timing he is currently 100/1 8 places with Skybet and I'm 2pts e/w.
Two big outsiders this week and both are strong iron players and have seen the top echelon of leaderboards this season. ERIC COLE lost a tight play off at PGA national to Chris Kirk earlier this season, and PGA national is such a test most players avoid it to preserve their confidence. 5th in Mexico and 15th in the PGA when contending for a time, shows some real depth to his form, and the usual can't putt player is on my radar again, but if he can get it in play off the tee he is way too big at 250/1 8 places with Skybet 1pt e/w. He's a tidy ball striker and the tougher it gets the better it is for him.
Lastly MARK HUBBARD has appeared on here before and is appearing on the first page early in events more and more. Last week on a brute of a track where ball striking and accuracy were everything, he was ridiculously impressive shooting 4 rounds of 69 to come tied 9th. He's top 50 on Strokes gained overall, strokes gained approach and strokes around the green. He has game and I love this stat, he is 11th on tour in final round performance. Like Cole he is 250/1 with Skybet 8 places, and he is way too big at those odds to be ignored.
The summary will be updated soon, I just need to get this published now so we can get on in time.
TURKEY FOR THE TEWT
