|
|
 |
Betfair Picks - European Tour |
|
|
2-7; +11.49pts No pre-tournament plays. Pre-rd3 plays: BACK to win 20pts Eddie Pepperell 8.4 6th
Looking to oppose the leader and there are good odds on the chasing pack, of which Pepperell is the leader at four shots behind Colsaerts and in 2nd place. He has been in great form recently, finishing 5th-3rd-3rd-mc-7th-10th in his last six starts, so his form over the first two days is no suprise and so should be easier to maintain over the weekend
Matthew Fitzpatrick 12 11th
Fitzpatrick is another in great form, winning the European Masters in September and finishing in the top-15 in each of his last five starts. He may be six shots off the lead in 4th place, but he is only two shots behind Pepperell in 2nd place and Colsaerts' lead could disappear very quickly over the weekend.
Justin Rose 29 1st
And another of the chasing pack in great form, winning the HSBC Champions last week and finishing in the top-10 in each of his last five starts, which include one WGC event and four PGA Tour Playoff events. He may be nine shots off the pace, but the player he is catching this week is not the World #1.
Lee Westwood 36 20th
Westwood's ball-striking has been almost as good as Rose's this week - he ranks 5th in greens in regulation so far which Rose leads - but Westwood is two shots closer. He is not in the same form as the other selections, but has finishes of 9th and 3rd recently, and can be counted upon to put himself into contention so there is value in these odds
Tyrell Hatton 40 16th
Back to players in a very rich vein of form - his last five finishes are 3rd-8th-1st-1st-11th and he can also count a top-10 finish when this course was first used last year. Alongside Rose, there is quite a gap to Colsaerts, but there is a long way to go in this event whcihi features the best players on the European Tour this year.
Matthew Southgate 44 11th
Tempted by these odds on Southgate in 4th place who leads the field in driving distance and hit 30 of 36 greens in regulation so far this week. Only the par-3s have let him down so far and I would price him a little lower to convert this opportunity. LAY 20pts liability Nicolas Colsaerts 2,78 2nd
Colsaerts has a four-shot lead after a second 67 and he has certainly been very impressive over the first two days. However he hasn't won on Tour since the 2012 Volvo World Match Play Championship and he hasn't led ater either 36 or 54 holes since the 2014 BMW Masters when he led after 36 holes and finished 6th. He did lead the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after 18 holes last month, but finished 25th. Without a top-10 finish for four months, he is a surprise leader after 36 holes and his performance when leading in the past and the time since he was last in this position suggest that he will be under a great deal of pressure this weekend. With the quality and form of the players behind him, I think these odds are too low. Pre-rd4 plays: BACK to win 20pts Shane Lowry 3.90 8th
This will be the third time that LOwry has held the lead after 54 holes - he went on to win the Irish Open as an amateur in 2009 and finished 2nd in the U.S. Open last year. Both are impressive performances and it is difficult to see him struggling with the lead as Colsaerts did today. I would make him the clear favourite and price him lower than these odds.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat 3.95 6th
I would also price Aphibarnrat at slightly lower odds than this. He struggled when he looked in complete control of the Italian Open last month, but was still unfortunate not to be in a playoff. He also held the lead at the start of the final round in the KLM Open in September and while he didn't win that time either, he has shown himself to be very competitive again on this Tour and it is only a matter of time before his wins his fourth European Tour title.
|
