Round 2 plays (2pts):
John Senden to beat Seung-Yul Noh +110 @ Boyle Sports
Senden is one of my 'go to' players for rd2. When starting the second round outside the top-60, he has improved his leaderboard position in that round in 27 of the last 28 occasions. Against a player who is making his course debut, Senden looks the more likely to feature this week despite his opening round.
Matt Kuchar to beat K.J. Choi -138 @ 5Dimes and BetVictor [available generally]
Kuchar is already featuring in this event - he holds a one-shot lead over the rest of the field after day one. That is the culmination of very good performances this year - 9th, 5th and 16th in his three starts in 2013 - and a good record on this course. He may have the added pressure of being the 1st round leader, but in the three times that he has been in this position since 2010, he has always retained the lead after round 2. He didn't go on to win any of those events, but he still played well under the pre-weekend pressure.
Sergio Garcia to beat Charl Schwartzel -115 @ The Greek [available generally]
Garcia is one shot back in 2nd place and once again, it appears largely predictable on the basis on recent form - 2nd and 17th in his two starts this year - and a good course history which includes 4th place last year. Schwartzel did finish 2nd last week, so is in good form, but that was his only Tour start of 2013 and this week represents his first event outside South Africa since November. With the long-haul flight from Johannesburg to Los Angeles at the start of the week, his form can be expected to dip this week.
Jim Furyk to beat Fredrik Jacobson -138 @ Bet365
Last week's opener at Pebble Beach appears to have blown the cobwebs off Furyk's game. He followed his 30th place finish last week with 68 yesterday to finish the day inside the top-10. With a good record on this course and a good history of maintaining these strong starts for at least two more rounds, Furyk looks likely to feature on the leaderboard throughout the week.
Phil Mickelson to beat Keegan Bradley -110 @ Stan James
Furyk's record at Riviera pales into insignificance when compared with Mickelson's - in four of the last six years, he has been 1st after 72 holes. Admittedly, in two of those years he was tied with other players and then lost the playoff, but it is a very impressive course record. With Mickelson also holding a 7-0-0 h2h record over Bradley over the last six months, it is difficult to see how that run will be ended this week.
John Senden to beat Seung-Yul Noh +110 @ Boyle Sports
Senden is one of my 'go to' players for rd2. When starting the second round outside the top-60, he has improved his leaderboard position in that round in 27 of the last 28 occasions. Against a player who is making his course debut, Senden looks the more likely to feature this week despite his opening round.
Matt Kuchar to beat K.J. Choi -138 @ 5Dimes and BetVictor [available generally]
Kuchar is already featuring in this event - he holds a one-shot lead over the rest of the field after day one. That is the culmination of very good performances this year - 9th, 5th and 16th in his three starts in 2013 - and a good record on this course. He may have the added pressure of being the 1st round leader, but in the three times that he has been in this position since 2010, he has always retained the lead after round 2. He didn't go on to win any of those events, but he still played well under the pre-weekend pressure.
Sergio Garcia to beat Charl Schwartzel -115 @ The Greek [available generally]
Garcia is one shot back in 2nd place and once again, it appears largely predictable on the basis on recent form - 2nd and 17th in his two starts this year - and a good course history which includes 4th place last year. Schwartzel did finish 2nd last week, so is in good form, but that was his only Tour start of 2013 and this week represents his first event outside South Africa since November. With the long-haul flight from Johannesburg to Los Angeles at the start of the week, his form can be expected to dip this week.
Jim Furyk to beat Fredrik Jacobson -138 @ Bet365
Last week's opener at Pebble Beach appears to have blown the cobwebs off Furyk's game. He followed his 30th place finish last week with 68 yesterday to finish the day inside the top-10. With a good record on this course and a good history of maintaining these strong starts for at least two more rounds, Furyk looks likely to feature on the leaderboard throughout the week.
Phil Mickelson to beat Keegan Bradley -110 @ Stan James
Furyk's record at Riviera pales into insignificance when compared with Mickelson's - in four of the last six years, he has been 1st after 72 holes. Admittedly, in two of those years he was tied with other players and then lost the playoff, but it is a very impressive course record. With Mickelson also holding a 7-0-0 h2h record over Bradley over the last six months, it is difficult to see how that run will be ended this week.
