18-Hole Match Picks - European Tour |
|
|
3-1; +6.00pts (system plays: 13-6-1) Round 1 play (2pts): Raphael Jacquelin to beat Rafael Cabrera-Bello -130 @ 5Dimes WON by 1 Two very different course histories in this matchup. Cabrera-Bello made his course debut last year and missed the cut; Jacquelin has played here in each of the last ten years, missing the cut just once and securing two top-10 finishes. He is clearly at ease with the windy conditions that are common at Doha and, if tomorrow's forecast is correct, it will certainly be windy tomorrow. Once again, the Jacquelin should have the edge: over the last 5 seasons, he has averaged almost 3 shots per round better than Cabrera-Bello in rounds when winds have been 15+ mph, plus he tees off in the very first group in the morning and Cabrera-Bello tees off in the very last group in the afternoon. [unofficial rd1 system plays: Wall tb Hoey -150 (L); McGrane tb Parry +115 (W); Edfors tb Clarke +105 (L); Oosthuizen tb Noh -120 (W); Hansen S tb Martin -133 (W); Oothuizen tb Gonzalez -138 (T); Jaidee tb Martin -150 (W); Donaldson tb Colsaerts -111 (W); Stenson tb Clarke -127 (W); Garcia tb Daly -161 (W)] Round 2 play (4pts): Danny Willett to beat Ricardo Gonzalez +150 @ Stan James [also available @ Pinnacle] WON by 4 Gonzalez has certainly been playing well over the last two weeks and he does have a good record in this event, but there is surely value in these odds. Not only is Willett the better player - the World No. 75 is ranked 175 places higher than Gonzalez and he has finished ahead of Gonzalez in 10 of their last 13 common events - but he has a decent record when starting the 2nd round outside the cut line - last year he opened with a 76 and shot 68 in the 2nd round and in the last three months he had poor opening rounds, but followed then with rounds of 69 and 66 to make the cut both times. The winds are forecast to be a little lighter tomorrow and Willett still has a chance of making the cut despite starting tomorrow's round in 98th place. [unofficial rd2 system play: Hansen A tb Gallacher +125 (W)] Round 3 play (2pts): Ian Poulter to beat Louis Oosthuizen +100 @ Pinnacle [also available @ 5Dimes and Bet365] LOST by 5 I'll certainly back Poulter at plus odds in this matchup. Oosthuizen does have a much better history at Doha and leads the Englishman by a shot after 36 holes, but the conditions will be much calmer tomorrow and Poulter should be able to play the better golf in those conditions. Poulter finished ahead of Oosthuizen in all of their common European Tour events last year, bar the Open Championship and he has been in great form: before the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, he last six finishes had been 6th, 1st, 2nd, 6th, 1st and 6th. He didn't play well in Abu Dhabi after his last event had been in Hawaii, but he did play well after a poor opening round last week so I see now reason why he can't improve on his current 15th place position. [unofficial rd3 system play: Drysdale tb Dubuisson -110 (L)] Round 4 play (2pts): Mark Foster to beat Darren Fichardt -105 @ Pinnacle [also available @ Boyle Sports] WON by 2 [unofficial rd4 system plays: Lawrie Pa tb Finch +100 (L); Fasth tb Daly -110 (W); Howell tb Havret -110 (W); Aguilar tb Dubuisson -104 (L); Foster tb Havret +115 (W); Kjeldsen tb Jaidee +105 (L); Cabrera-Bello tb Finch -110 (W); Cabrera-Bello tb Aiken +125 (W)]
|