European Open


Pre-tournament picks:

Back Nick Faldo 1 pt @ 170 at Betfair
No, I haven't lost my marbles! Obviously Faldo is far from the player he once was, but occasionally he can still cut it in the biggest events, and I fancy taking a chance on him this week. Just last month he reached 4th place in the European Tour's flagship event at Wentworth, and other big finishes from him in the last couple of years include two top tens at that Volvo PGA again, a 12th in Germany at the Deutsche Bank plus an 8th in the British Open last year, and arguably his best was reaching 5th in the US Open the year before.
Those Major finishes show that, despite his desperate lack of length being a massive hindrance on many occasions, he can still mix it with the best when it is a game of patience and persistance. With the news that this course is likely to play very tricky, and more importantly pretty short due to the very firm and fast fairways, I think this could be another week where Faldo shows up again.

Back Padraig Harrington 3 pts @ 13.5 at Betfair
Much less speculative this one, but again a player who can grind with the best of them. He was disappointing when a big fancy for the recent US Open but he's had time to recover and the work with his coach is reported to have gone well since. Has three runners-up spots in Ireland in the last three years so he obviously enjoys the pressure of playing in front of his home crowd and, as with Faldo, it's the likely tough conditions that point heavily to his chances this week. Granted, it's not an absolutely fabulous price but it is acceptable for me as I think he is extremely likely to be contending come the finish.

Summary:
A poor week and, again, a particularly poor show form Harrington after a decent start. Loss = 4 pts.