AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
Outright plays (1.5 units):
Mike Weir to win 12/1 e.w. @
Bet365,
Stan James,
BetInternet,
Victor
Chandler and
Paddy Power
What a difference a warm putter makes! In the Mercedes Championship, he
was ranked 14th (of 30) in putting average and finished 24th; in the Bob
Hope Chrysler Classic, he ranked 60th and finished 41st; and last week
he ranked 18th and finished 5th. Back to just using his putter on the
greens, he looks competitive again and stands a decent chance of winning
this week. He has finished in the top-10 in three of the last four years
and with no inclement weather forecast for this week, his class should
show through.
Jerry Kelly to win 33/1 e.w. @
Bet365
Kelly is another who has been struggling with his putting. In his two
starts of the year so far he has been ranked 60th and 61st in putting
average, yet has still managed to finish 5th and 30th. The rest of his
game is in impressive shape and it will only take a small improvement in
his putting for him to be a serious challenger this week. He was a
selection for the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic as he does have the right
temperament for these pro-ams and that has also been shown by his two
top-10 finishes here in the last four four years. Decent odds against a
relatively weak field.
Kirk Triplett to finish in the top-five 14/1 @ SkyBet
Last week's missed cut was reminiscent of his horrible last round in the
Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. After putting himself in 12th position after
the 1st round, he lost control of his putter in the 2nd round (36 putts;
2.08 putting average) and missed the cut by a single shot. So this is
therefore a third leap of faith with someone who has been struggling
with their putter. He has two top-10 finishes to his name this year and
was in prime position last week after the 1st round, so his putting has
been good even though his confidence with it has been shaky. As long as
that stays intact, these odds on a place-only finish will look very
large.
Final update: 1-2; -2.00 units
Weir 4th
Kelly 35th
Triplett 14th
Small loss on the outrights. Weir took hit his ball on the water on
the last hole to record a seven and it meant a share of 4th place and
the loss of 0.5 units, while Triplett did get to 4th early in the final
round and a potential 21 units profit, but faltered badly on the back
nine.
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