MCI Heritage

[Trampled Underfoot]

Tough to go against Love this week but hoping that he along with Els will be drained after Augusta. Verplank has played this course well in the past with a few top 5's in 01 & 02. Length is not as big of an asset here so hopefully Verplank can figure in the mix again. Will also side with Campbell as well. He had the weekend off and did play well here last year.

CCampbell 1u ew 25-1
SVerplank 1u ew 22-1

GL

 

[gethman]

Traditionally an event that produces plenty of big priced winners and places. Looking to oppose all the players in contention last week, as it must be so mentally tough to get 'up' for another tournament just a few days after Augusta.
The course is narrow, and greens are very small, so accurate driving and iron play is vital if you are to compete on this track. I am looking to get with players who have proved they can play this track, and suit the above criteria.
I am going with two players who I think are very big prices considering their talent. Goosen was never in the thick of things at Augusta, despite finishing 13th, so I will take him at a tempting price. Admittedly, Justin Leonard is not at his best right now, but 50/1 is huge about a proven links player who doesnt mind the wind blowing a little.
John Huston is right at home on the bermuda greens, and is hitting the ball straight enough to convince me he can feature this week.
Would regret letting Calc, and Heath Slocum through the net at big big prices, so adding an extra player to my outright slections this week to inculde both players, given that stakes will be low on the Euro Tour event at Sevilla.

Retief Goosen, 20/1, Bet365 2 Pts E/W

Justin Leonard, 50/1, SkyBet, 1.5 Pts E/W

John Huston, 66/1, SkyBet, 1 Pt E/W

Mark Calcavecchia, 100/1, SportingOdds, 0.5 Pt E/W

Heath Slocum, 125/1, Stan James, 0.5 Pt E/W

 

[veride]

MCI Heritage - Outright

Victor Chandler (EW 1/4 1,2,3,4,5) :

Stewart Cink --> 28/1
Fredric Jacobsen --> 50/1
Mark Hensby --> 66/1
Kevin Sutherland --> 100/1

 

[matchmaker]

Hi Guys

My plays this week are [Both 1/4 12345]

SCOTT VERPLANK
1 Unit E/W @ 22-1 [Sporting Odds]

MARK CALCAVECCHIA
0.50 Unit E/W @ 80-1 [Bet Direct]

Verplank didnt play as well at the Masters or Players as most pundits including myself thought he would.
But Hilton Head will be much more his cup of tea [2 top tens at course],with accuracy off the tee and strong putting both badly needed here,and he is doing both well.
Calc showed at Doral he still has the fire power to do well,and will be well rested having not played at Augusta.

Good Luck

 

[Stanley]

Looks like my three have already been well covered

Outright plays (1.5pts):

Scott Verplank to win 22/1 e.w. @ Sportingbet, Sporting Odds, BetInternet and Victor Chandler
With Harbour Town boasting the smallest greens on the Tour, this week's three selections are much more accurate in their play than they are powerful. Verplank is a case in point. He ranks in the top-20 on the Tour in all of main stat categories (including 1st in putting average), but languishes in 162nd place in driving distance. That is of little consequence this week as he had shown in previous years when finishing 11th, 3rd and 5th from 2000 to 2002. He shouldn't be too far from the place positions.

Chad Campbell to win 25/1 @ Sportingbet, Sporting Odds, BetInternet and BlueSq
Nor should Campbell and has, arguably, a much better temperament to go on and win the event. He failed to seize his chance last year when he had the lead in the final round and a poor final back nine saw him tumble down to 18th, but he was still only four shots out of the playoff. He has already won once this year (Bay Hill Invitational) and while his form has been more erratic than expected, he can certainly match last year's performance.

Stewart Cink to win 28/1 e.w. @ BetInternet
Last year's performance was rather frustrating for Cink. He had led the event after the 2nd and 3rd rounds, but opened with a bogey on the Sunday and never recovered. He finished in 10th place, three shots behind the winner, exactly as he had been in 2001. He won the event in 2000. His form this year has been very encouraging with four top-25 finishes in his last five starts and so long as he doesn't hit the front too early, he should finish very high on the lederboard by Sunday night.

 

[Stanley]

Matchup plays (1.5pts):

Scott Verplank to beat Darren Clarke -125 @ Five Dimes
(also available at WWTS and Ladbrokes)

Scott Verplank to beat Bernhard Langer -150 @ Five Dimes

Jay Haas to beat Bernhard Langer +103 @ Five Dimes
(also available at Sportingbet, Sporting Odds and SIA)

Jay Haas to beat Jonathan Kaye -145 @ Aces
(also available at Pinnacle, Olympic, Sirbet and Five Dimes)

Lee Janzen to beat Glen Hnatiuk -130 @ WWTS

No time for write-ups this week.

 

[Another Steve]

Light House Plays

Light House Plays

Retief Goosen WINS MCI HERITAGE +18.00
Scott Verplank WINS MCI HERITAG +20.00
Jay Haas OV/Jonathan Kaye -1.80
Jay Haas OV/Brad Faxon -1? @-1.20

Going to continue Playing Goosen. Played Scott because everyone seem to like him. Played well at the Masters. Came back and Won my Play when it looked bad. Jay has been good all year, Stanley is backing him, good enough for me.

Looking to make week end update, only been there once, week 1.

 

[Whalers Rule]

Parnevik 48-1 e.w
Durant 150-1 e.w

 

[kickserv]

good luck Whaler...........Saskatoon eh

 

[lostinamerica]

The Masters is the centerpiece of the golf season. Time to decompress and turn the page to Chapter Two of the 2004 season . . . I was smoking pretty well up to this point last season, made a few units at Harbour Town, and then hit a lean stretch of several months. Before summer starts, I'll be finding out if I've learned anything.

I've got thoughts, maybe even angles, behind this week's selections, but have done precious little homework, and have nothing that captivates.


OUTRIGHTS:

Jesper Parnevik(50/1) for 0.50* e.w. @ Bet365

Luke Donald(80/1) for 0.50* e.w. @ Bet365

Geoff Ogilvy(80/1) for 0.50* e.w. @ Bet365

Nick Price is the proven winner that came close to a full stake. Lee Janzen, Zach Johnson and Stewart Cink were also involved in the final cut.

GL

 

[gethman]

Zach Johnson to beat Fredrik Jacobson,23/20, Olympic, 1 Point

Another course that should suit the straight hitting of Zach Johnson, and he is bound to be full of confidence after winning at the Sugarloaf. Jacobson is not known for his ability to hit many fairways, and if that is not right this week he will struggle.

Jeff Sluman to beat Justin Rose, 5/6, Olympic, 1 Point

Looking to oppose Justin Rose who is bound to be affected by blowing a two shot lead in shooting a terrible third round. His stats suggest he might struggle around this course, while Sluman has proven course form, and should go well.

Stephen Ames to beat Woody Austin, 10/11, Pinnacle, 1 Point

Risky in opposing a player who obviously loves it around here, but I think he may well be a letdown this week. Expecting Stephen Ames to go very close this week, and he only just missed on my outright selections.

Jesper Parnevik to beat Fredrik Jacobson, 9/10, Ladbrokes, 1 Point

Again opposing a Jacobson with a player who should be in contention this week. Parnevik has obvious claims given his past form at Harbour Hill, and definitely has the advantage over Jacobson in terms of having played here in the past.

 

[hoss]

2 matches for me:

2pts Faxon v Cejka - 9/10 keen to oppose the German after last weeks efforts.

2pts Sluman v Roberts -9/10 again, looking to oppose a player here. Roberts always seems to shorten in price when they play on a shorter track, but he just hasn't been doing it recently, Slumans been 10th here the last 2 visits vs Loren's 62/MC/62

good luck
hoss

 

[lostinamerica]

In-running:

Ben Curtis(+550 and 1/4 for Top 4) for 0.40* e.w @ Bet365

Emanuele Canonica(+500 w/ 1/4 for Top 3) for 0.40* @ Bet365

Looking for both to be there on Sunday. Standing tallest after 72 holes is all together another matter.

Will probably add a few notes . . .

GL


*************************************************

So . . .

When time is available, I probably spend too much of it working on both my golf capping and my Madjack posting (I wouldn't do the latter if it didn't help me with the former). Time did not permit at the start of this week, and both of my pre-tournament posts noted that customary effort and real conviction was lacking in any of my selections, and I got the abysmal results I somewhat expected and fully deserved. I also noted that a circumstance of a lack of time was often a precursor to some fair level of distress on my part, and that?s what I got from having glossed right over Canonica(66/1), whom I had been tracking quite favorably on my radar, and their were clues about the course being well-suited. I compounded the matter when I was too tired to watch any VCR tapes or do any reading before the 2nd round started, and then I was hesitant at the start of the 3rd round because most of the value was sucked out of the situation. To catch Canonica in a win is going to take some real doing at this late stage, but given my expectations, and a lack of anything else in play, I still thought he could deliver some bang for my buck.

Ben Curtis is a different matter. When I look at the MCI Heritage leaderboard, Darren Clarke is the one name that looks somewhat out of place. After that, the case for the distinguished shotmakers pretty much makes itself, even favoring an ability to shape and place the tee shots the right yardages, and then throw in a deft touch, especially around and on greens that are not the speediest or most dramatically contoured. As for Curtis, he is finally finding a routine that gets him back working on his game the way he wants to be, and given that proper preparation, I suspect a moment back in the crosshairs will bring out some of what he thinks he has in him to show. We'll see . . . Even so, there is a good looking leaderboard ready to carve up a slice of Harbour Town for themselves, and I'll go with a hedge on Slocum, as I expect I'll be pleased at the end of the day if Curtis keeps pace in that matchup.


SATURDAY (for 1* each):

Campbell(-107) over Clarke @ 5dimes
Slocum(-1/2)(-110) over Curtis @ 5 dimes
Maggert(+120) over Funk @ Bet365 (Ties lose)

GL

 

[DOGS THAT BARK]

Think I might take look at one in running myself
Love 29/1 E/W @ Sportingbet.

Don't care much for this tourney as always hard to judge mindset of those coming off masters. Only had a handful of wagers so far in this tourney "fortunately" as they have not fared well---been watching the gals for most part. The wind sure has made it interesting.

 

[Another Steve]

Saturday Play

Saturday Play

Chad Campbell OV/Darren Clarke -1.35

Will take Chad over Darren. Believe Chad makes a move for the lead. Clarke playing good but, Chad is the Man.

 

[Another Steve]

Sunday Plays

Sunday Plays

Ernie Els OV/Davis Love III -1.05
Lee Janzen OV/Loren Roberts -1.15

Ernie should carry his finish from yesterday over. If the guys on top slip he wants to be there after last week.

Lee Playing good and Boss of the Moss is a little rusty.

 

[lostinamerica]

SUNDAY:

Heath Slocum(-1/2)(-130) for 1* @ 5dimes
- Purdy may get it done, but I'll take(-130) on some trying and defensive moments along the way after a scintillating 65, while Slocum has recently won, and stood in this week with Els(1st Rd), Els(2nd Rd), and final pairing(3rd Rd).

Campbell(-125) over Clarke for 1* @ Bet365
- In his final round before a well deserved trip home, I expect Darren will have a hard time closing out anything special, while Campbell seems at least as likely to move up the leaderboard.

Fred Funk (with Els) looks to have an ideal opportunity to get the gallery excited early, and I will ride him for a few $$$ in a variety of ways, but the closer he gets, the less I like his chances, so that's a dilemma.

GL

 

[gethman]

Terrible event for me, capped by Heath Slocum finishing well outside the places, after being in contention all weekend. Matchups for once, fail to bail me out with my outright selections, so well behind for this event, and now only slighty ahead stakes wise on the tour as a whole.

Outrights : 2-20 -35.50 Points

Matchups : 9-8 +2.32 Points

 

[Stanley]

Outrights - Final update: 1-2; +23.25pts

Verplank 32nd
Campbell 32nd
Cink 1st

Cink certainly didn't hit the front too early, he finished his final round almost two hours before the leaders! All three of his victories have now been from well back on the final day. He had plenty of chances to win in the playoff, but eventually holed a putt on the fifth extra hole and ensure a very good return on the event. Had expected Campbell to be challenging as he started the final day inside the top-10, but at least Cink more than made amends.

Matchups - Final update: 4-1-0; +4.17pts

Verplank/Clarke LOST by 3
Verplank/Langer WON by 1
Haas/Langer WON by 6
Haas/Kaye WON by 2
Janzen/Hnatiuk WON by 4

Good return on the matchups, though a little fortunate to edge the tight ones which had been trailing with one round to play.

PGA Tour ytd
Outrights: 7-38; -6.35pts
Matchups: 53-47; -4.57pts

All Tours ytd
Outrights: 27-115; +56.44pts
Matchups: 148-117; +23.15pts