Home|PGA|European|Champions|LPGA|WGC|Others |
| |
| |
This week the tour heads to Knoxville, Tennessee for the Sentinel Open and we aare lucky enough to see a few PGA tour pros making the drop down in class following the start of the playoffs on the big tour. When you look online at the Fox Den Counrty Club, there isnt much course information to be found other than the fact that it boasts long fairways, eight water features and 50 strategically placed bunkers. It also claims that its large greens are well protected and demand a tactical approach. In short, what I gather from this course is that accuracy will be of a premium and for this reason I will be making one of my focuses driving accuracy. On top of this, it is worth noting that last year after the first round, 107 out of 156 players were under par and 17 players managed to make it around the course without making a bogey. Throw into the mix that the average winning score in the history of the tournament, has been around 17 under and it is obvious that there is a premium on putting. For this reason, I will also be looking for player who rank highly in bogey avoidance and scoring average. My picks are as follows.
Brian Stuard - Im liking Stuard a lot this week as he seems to have all the tools for this course, most noticably 1st in scoring average with 69.42. On closer inspection we also notice that in terms of accuracy he ranks a respectable 27th in driving accuracy and 8th in GIR while with regards to putting he is 23rd in birdie average, 4th in eagles, 23rd in putting average, 15th i par breaking and 3rd in bogey avoidance. To me, he is the total package here and additional support can be found in his 5th place at Fox Den in 2010 and 8th place the year before. I think a combination of his missed cut here last year and also the one last week has seen his price drift compared to where he would be ordinarily (around the 30/1 mark). 1pt e/w @ 50/1 Bet365 Lee Williams - The number on ranked player for bogey avoidance is Mr Williams who is having a fantastic year on the Web.com tour with only three missed cuts from 16 appearances and a win in Mexico. He ranks 27th in putting average, 12th in total birdies and 13th in scoring average. Accuracy wise, Williams is 35th in DA, a respectable 49th in GIR and is 5th in scrambling so looks proficient there too. 0.5pts e/w @ 66/1 Bet365 Garrett Willis - Looking over Willis' stats for not just this year but the last three, he is by no means a player who fits my criteria other than the fact that he is fairly accurate off the tee (ranking 37th in DA this year on the PGA). However, what appeals to me about this player is the fact that he has taken the step down in class from the PGA to play here at his home course in an attempt to keep his tour card. He has had a pretty torrid time of it on the big tour, making only four out of twelve cuts and his best finish being 21st but he moved to Knoxville for his senior year in college and played all his home matches at Fox Den. In an interview in his local paper he is quoted as saying, "Being a member here and playing my high school golf here I always enjoyed playing here in front of the home town, family and friends. I'm really looking forward to it, theres no question about it". It is obvious he is pumped up to be back home and I am a great believer of this being a huge advantage and he can boast eight previous appearances here on the Web.com tour and two top 15s. A winner on the PGA (2001 Tucson Open) and two time winner on the WEb.com (2005 Utah Classic, 2009 WNB Golf Classic) who is taking a step down should not be triple figures on his home course. 0.5pts e/w 100/1 Bet365 Marco Dawson - Another player like Willis who does not fit my profile but must be looked at given his step down from the PGA tour this week. Again, like Willis, Dawson has had a torrid time on the tour, making only four out of fourteen cuts and placing no better than 57th and his stats have mirrored his performances. however, if we look back to last year, the veteran was 31st in SA, 27th in GIR and 40th in birdie average and managed three top tens and a second on the Web.com tour. That 2nd place came here at Fox Den and was not his first runner up here either, recording the same result in 1999. He has missed the cut here three times in the past but at a huge triple figured price I'm willing to have a dabble. 0.5pts e/w @ 200/1 Bet365
Total staked - 5pts
|