BMW Charity Pro-Am

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The BMW Charity Pro-Am is a unique tournament for the Web.com Tour as it is played over three separate courses over the first three days with the final round played on the host course, Thornblade Club. The other two courses used are the Chanticleer Course at Green Valley Country Club and the Reserve at Lake Keowee in Sunset (which has replaced Carolina Country Club in the rotation). The tournament features a different format for the Web.com Tour,  pairing professionals with  celebrities and amateurs in a best-ball format  similar to the  AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on the PGA Tour.

In past tournaments it seems as though accuracy has been the premium tool for winners here as there are numerous hazards to negotiate and tree-lined fairways to hit. Thornblade isnt a particuarly long course but with a number of bunkers located in the middle of the fairways of some of the longer Par 4 and 5 holes, driving distance may help. For this reason I feel that Total Driving is the most important stat to follow this week.

I think it is also worth mentioning that Clemson University is less than an hour away from all these courses and many of the current and former students are members of Thornblade. Many of the younger South Carolinian players on the minor tours such as the eGolf Tour are granted access for free practice rounds. It is no surprise that local players do well in this tournament if they have the access to these tricky courses.

Roberto Castro - 0.5pts e/w @ 80/1 - The Texan is a pure previous course form play for me and in truth comes here in average/pretty poor form. He still holds conditional tour status on the PGA but finds himself down here on the occassion he doesnt meet requirements on the bigger tour. On his day he is a quality player, as reflected by his runner up finish to Bill Haas in 2013 at the AT&T National, but is currently struggling to regain his form, I am hoping a return to a relaxed format and a tournament where he placed 4th in 2011 will help.  

Steve Marino - 0.5pts e/w @ 66/1 - A man who finished 14th at the Masters as recently as 2010 finds himself teeing it up this week. Marino has struggled with injuries over the last few years but looks like he is getting back to his best. He has a 2nd place finish in Colombia and a 14th last week to his name and i really like his chances this week owing to his high ranking of 4th in Total Driving. Accuracy has always been part of his game and he is 2nd in DA and 7th in Ball Striking. 

Kelly Kraft - 0.5pts e/w @ 80/1 - Already a winner on the tour this year in Louisiana, Kraft is a talent and has tournament form when he placed 13th last year with three rounds in the 60s. He isnt the most accurate off the tee but does hit it over 300 yards reguarly and is 8th in scrambling should he miss the fairways.

Peter Tomasulo - 0.5pts e/w @ 80/1 - Tomasulo hasnt had an explosive 2015 but at the same time has been ticking along nicely with only missing two cuts in seven appearances and recording two top 20s. He seems to like this format and these courses as he was 5th back in 2008 and 13th last year so can quite clearly negotiate his way around. He is 6th in Driving Accuracy and 30th in Total Driving so fits the bill in this respect while has the added back up of being ranked 30th in Scrambling.

Crawford Reeves - 0.125 e/w @ 500/1 - A former Clemson Tiger who used to call Thronblade his home course I am having a very small wager on him owing to the fact that he should know all the courses like the back of his hand. The bet would be larger but he has a MC in his only appearance on the Web.com this year and a MC on his debut in this tournament in 2014. Would be highly annoyed if he won though given my Clemson tidbit! 

Total Staked - 4.25pts

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