First bet of the silly season for me and a player I have followed for a while - Dean Wilson - had a great year again in Japan - in 17 starts he has 2 wins and four other top 4's - his last 2 events being 4/3. He also has the advantage of playing on the bigger stage which the lesser known lights of the Japanese Tour have not. I think the 25/1 with Stan James is about right and the 50/1 is definitely worth taking at Centrebet - or 40/1 Bet365.
Taiheiyo Masters
- Thread starter Ian
- Start date
Clive might beat me to this one -
Toru Taniguchi - 18 starts on Jap tour this year - 4 wins 6 other top 4's finishes on the course of 8/10/9 (not superb) but he is 2nd fave at Centrebet at 8/1 - the 20/1 from Paddy Power seems a bit of value.
Toru Taniguchi - 18 starts on Jap tour this year - 4 wins 6 other top 4's finishes on the course of 8/10/9 (not superb) but he is 2nd fave at Centrebet at 8/1 - the 20/1 from Paddy Power seems a bit of value.
Outright plays (1 unit):
Toru Taniguchi to win 11/1 e.w. @ Bet365 or UKBetting
Top-10 on each of his three previous visits, the leader on the 2002 Japan Tour Money List and in excellent form in the second half of the year. In the last five months, he has won three times and finished in the top-4 in eight out of fourteen starts on this Tour. Against a tired Rose, a Howell that has never played in Japan and an Izawa who has the pressures of the three-peat this week, Taniguchi looks value at elevens even though the 20/1 has gone.
Scott Laycock to win 33/1 e.w. @ Bet365
No event last week, but in the previous two weeks he followed up victory in the Bridgestone Open with a top-5 finish in the Philip Morris Championship. Has been playing well since September and looks to be following the same pattern as last year when he finished the Japan Tour season with seven top-10 and two top-20 finishes in his last nine events. A repeat of last year's top-15 finish looks likely.
Hiroyuki Fujita to win 80/1 e.w. @ Bet365 or BetInternet
Big price for the highest-ranked (11th) player on the Japan Tour Money List not to have won an event this year. Has become very consistent instead. In the last five months, he has secured nine top-10 finishes and a further three top-20 finishes in fifteen events. Did finish in the top-5 in 1998 and followed that with top-25 finishes in the next two years, so he is capable of a high finish on this course which does not suit his game which is centred around accuracy rather than length.
Toru Taniguchi to win 11/1 e.w. @ Bet365 or UKBetting
Top-10 on each of his three previous visits, the leader on the 2002 Japan Tour Money List and in excellent form in the second half of the year. In the last five months, he has won three times and finished in the top-4 in eight out of fourteen starts on this Tour. Against a tired Rose, a Howell that has never played in Japan and an Izawa who has the pressures of the three-peat this week, Taniguchi looks value at elevens even though the 20/1 has gone.
Scott Laycock to win 33/1 e.w. @ Bet365
No event last week, but in the previous two weeks he followed up victory in the Bridgestone Open with a top-5 finish in the Philip Morris Championship. Has been playing well since September and looks to be following the same pattern as last year when he finished the Japan Tour season with seven top-10 and two top-20 finishes in his last nine events. A repeat of last year's top-15 finish looks likely.
Hiroyuki Fujita to win 80/1 e.w. @ Bet365 or BetInternet
Big price for the highest-ranked (11th) player on the Japan Tour Money List not to have won an event this year. Has become very consistent instead. In the last five months, he has secured nine top-10 finishes and a further three top-20 finishes in fifteen events. Did finish in the top-5 in 1998 and followed that with top-25 finishes in the next two years, so he is capable of a high finish on this course which does not suit his game which is centred around accuracy rather than length.
He's bound to finish in the top-5 now that I was too late for the 20/1 and too early for the 14/1
Stan
Might not matter what price you took on Taniguchi - as far as I can make out he did not start
Might not matter what price you took on Taniguchi - as far as I can make out he did not start
I thought so when I looked at the leaderboard this morning ... wish I'd known beforehand, I had taken my 2nd ranked Tanaka instead
being a pessimist, I always start with the last page and work up!
Let's hope they believe he was a non-runner
Let's hope they believe he was a non-runner
On the Japanese leaderboard looking at the key to symbols at the top of the page, I've always wondered what they'd do for a triple bogey..... now I know
Final update: 0-2; -2.00 units
Taniguchi dnp
Laycock 13th
Fujita 16th
Left to rue what might have been. Taniguchi and Tanaka held a large lead at the top of my rankings for this event, but I only opted to pick one of them. Had I known Taniguchi would have decided not to play, I would have opted for Tanaka instead (20/1 BetInternet & SkyBet) and he finished 2nd. He was runner-up to Nakajima whom I had considered at 100/1 (BetInternet and Surrey), but discounted because of his previous course form and opted for a lower-ranked player (Laycock) at 1/3 his odds. Hindsight can be tortuous!
Taniguchi dnp
Laycock 13th
Fujita 16th
Left to rue what might have been. Taniguchi and Tanaka held a large lead at the top of my rankings for this event, but I only opted to pick one of them. Had I known Taniguchi would have decided not to play, I would have opted for Tanaka instead (20/1 BetInternet & SkyBet) and he finished 2nd. He was runner-up to Nakajima whom I had considered at 100/1 (BetInternet and Surrey), but discounted because of his previous course form and opted for a lower-ranked player (Laycock) at 1/3 his odds. Hindsight can be tortuous!
