My golf results have been dreadful this year, but I'm going to give it another shot with a head-to-head wager on Vijay Singh versus Nick Price in the Western Open (starts Thursday -- 7:27 am EST).
The stats on this matchup are very misleading. Nick Price has excelled in head-to-head matchups, going 21-9 his last 30 rounds, including a blistering 8-2 the last 10. Meanwhile, Singh has struggled since his poor final day at the Masters. While still one of golf's most talented and respected players, he's been very average in head-to-head play with a 5-5 record his last 10 and 16-13-1 the last 30 rounds.
But the numbers don't tell the whole story. Singh has repeatedly squared off against golf's top players, while Price has faced much softer competition. Note Singh's last 20 head-up rounds. It's an absolute nightmare:
Jun 13 -- David Duval
Jun 13 -- Phil Mickelson
Jun 6 -- Phil Mickelson
Jun 6 -- Ernie Els
May 23 -- Sergio Garcia
May 23 -- Tiger Woods
May 16 -- Sergio Garcia
May 16 -- David Toms
May 9 -- Phil Mickelson
May 9 -- Sergio Garcia
Apr 11 -- Tiger Woods
Apr 11 -- David Duval
Apr 11 -- Sergio Garcia
Apr 4 -- Phil Mickelson
Mar 28 -- David Duval
Mar 28 -- Ernie Els
Mar 14 -- Reteif Goosen
Feb 28 -- Tiger Woods
Even with the disaster at the 2002 Masters, Singh has posted a 10-9-1 record his last 20, for +2.1 units.
Meanwhile, Nick Price looks like he's been on fire judging by the numbers, but consider who he's paired against, these numbers do not tell the whole story:
Jun 27 -- Justin Leonard
Jun 13 -- Justin Leonard
May 16 -- Jasper Parnevik
May 9 -- Ernie Els
May 9 -- David Duval
May 2 -- Charles Howell III
Apr 2 -- Brad Faxon
Apr 11 -- Paul Azinger
Apr 11 -- Tom Lehman
Mar 28 -- Jim Furyk
Mar 28 -- Scott Hoch
Mar 21 -- Tom Lehman
Feb 28 -- Ernie Els
Feb 22 -- Peter O'Malley
Feb 20 -- Angel Cabrera
Jan 24 -- Paul Azinger
Also note that Singh has had two weeks off, while Price played last week. While fatigue is not an issue in golf, I suspect that Singh sees this as a winnable tournament and thus will be ready for the match. Price plays in far more tournaments, while Singh seems to pick and chose his spots a bit more). Price is listed at EVEN, while Singh goes off at -120. The noticed the line moved on Wednesday afternoon in favor of Singh, from -110 to -120. So, there is some movement here which seems to indicate others are seeing the same thing. I think Singh is an excellent pick here in the first round of the Western Open in this heads-up match.
WESTERN OPEN: VIJAY SINGH (-120) vs. NICK PRICE ($400/400)
The stats on this matchup are very misleading. Nick Price has excelled in head-to-head matchups, going 21-9 his last 30 rounds, including a blistering 8-2 the last 10. Meanwhile, Singh has struggled since his poor final day at the Masters. While still one of golf's most talented and respected players, he's been very average in head-to-head play with a 5-5 record his last 10 and 16-13-1 the last 30 rounds.
But the numbers don't tell the whole story. Singh has repeatedly squared off against golf's top players, while Price has faced much softer competition. Note Singh's last 20 head-up rounds. It's an absolute nightmare:
Jun 13 -- David Duval
Jun 13 -- Phil Mickelson
Jun 6 -- Phil Mickelson
Jun 6 -- Ernie Els
May 23 -- Sergio Garcia
May 23 -- Tiger Woods
May 16 -- Sergio Garcia
May 16 -- David Toms
May 9 -- Phil Mickelson
May 9 -- Sergio Garcia
Apr 11 -- Tiger Woods
Apr 11 -- David Duval
Apr 11 -- Sergio Garcia
Apr 4 -- Phil Mickelson
Mar 28 -- David Duval
Mar 28 -- Ernie Els
Mar 14 -- Reteif Goosen
Feb 28 -- Tiger Woods
Even with the disaster at the 2002 Masters, Singh has posted a 10-9-1 record his last 20, for +2.1 units.
Meanwhile, Nick Price looks like he's been on fire judging by the numbers, but consider who he's paired against, these numbers do not tell the whole story:
Jun 27 -- Justin Leonard
Jun 13 -- Justin Leonard
May 16 -- Jasper Parnevik
May 9 -- Ernie Els
May 9 -- David Duval
May 2 -- Charles Howell III
Apr 2 -- Brad Faxon
Apr 11 -- Paul Azinger
Apr 11 -- Tom Lehman
Mar 28 -- Jim Furyk
Mar 28 -- Scott Hoch
Mar 21 -- Tom Lehman
Feb 28 -- Ernie Els
Feb 22 -- Peter O'Malley
Feb 20 -- Angel Cabrera
Jan 24 -- Paul Azinger
Also note that Singh has had two weeks off, while Price played last week. While fatigue is not an issue in golf, I suspect that Singh sees this as a winnable tournament and thus will be ready for the match. Price plays in far more tournaments, while Singh seems to pick and chose his spots a bit more). Price is listed at EVEN, while Singh goes off at -120. The noticed the line moved on Wednesday afternoon in favor of Singh, from -110 to -120. So, there is some movement here which seems to indicate others are seeing the same thing. I think Singh is an excellent pick here in the first round of the Western Open in this heads-up match.
WESTERN OPEN: VIJAY SINGH (-120) vs. NICK PRICE ($400/400)
