**I am running a Betfair account which is used exclusively for plays mentioned here. Every single play I put up here will go immediately on my Betfair account. Started the account with £1000 and my rate will be £20 per Point. The stakes will vary from the minimum of 0.25 pts to the maximum of 10 pts (so £5 to £200 for me) unless I am laying short odds. With the account being used solely for Tour-Tips, it will therefore tell us exactly what the profit/loss record of this page is, including commission costs. If you wish to take these plays as recommendations, please do so but be aware that I can only manage the bets that I have actually struck and cannot give updates for bets you may have had (or not had) which are different to what is put up here.** 

Buick Classic @ Betfair

FINAL RESULT:

Profit = 15.45 pts

Bank is now £922.43 after 9 weeks (Minus 3.88 pts overall).

Summary:
Got out of jail a little with Harrington faltering on the second play-off hole but I would have felt hard done by as he was virtually the only player throughout the final two days who could've cost us anything. And one of the reasons I left him alone was that he really doesn't win like he should - again he has scored really well but ultimately thrown it away. Nice to get the bonus win with Garcia and he played fantastically well after two early bogeys.



Page Update #3:
(Winner market)
Back Sergio Garcia 0.5 pts @ 18
Lay Cameron Beckman 1.5 pts @ 14
Have been umming and ahhing this morning, trying to decide how much to play here. There is the definite non-fancy, Beckman, as he is not a winner and surely cannot follow up his incredible finish last night, but then there are several options to ponder. Do I get Harrington back onside? Do I take on the others with low Saturday scores (Roberts & Sabbatini)? Do I lay Singh as I can't see his putter working well enough again? Do I do nothing? Do I back Garcia as he looks a live danger?
Well, I've got to lay Beckman but regarding the others, Harrington still doesn't win enough, Singh has done me before and if he is in the zone today, God help the rest, Roberts loves the place, Sabbatini was in good form leading up to this week and is playing superbly tee to green here.
Garcia, as ever, is playing brilliantly here and a hot putter today would almost certainly see him in the final shake-up. Worth a small interest I feel.

<--Click the thumbnail to see how the book stands.



Half-way Update:
No more bets at this stage, extremely happy to have Vijay and the two Freddies on our side. Would be very hopeful of the near 6 pt profit we would collect if one of these triumphs.

Page Update #2:
(Winner market)
Back Ted Purdy 0.25 pts @ 250
Back Arron Oberholser 0.25 pts @ 260
Back Woody Austin 0.25 pts @ 400
Not the most obvious selections but players worth a pop at such fancy odds, I feel.
Purdy is one of the most accurate players on tour these days and has been top 20 for GIR in three of his last four tournaments. In the top 30 five times from seven events since going so close to winning The Heritage, this course should suit him down to the ground.
Oberholser too has a very accurate iron game, and has also gone close to winning recently. I don't subscribe to the theory that this is an old man's course with Garcia winning in '01, Smith beating Gossett & Perez in '02, and Kaye beating Rollins last year. None of those could be considered anywhere near tour veterans and I certainly won't leave out such promising ball strikers like Purdy and Oberholser just because they are relatively inexperienced.
Woody Austin is even more speculative but odds of well over 350/1 are too much to resist a small dabble. 18th and 13th here the last two years, he had a fine period of about 14 months up until May this year, and I'm going to chance him bouncing back from a barren period. Not so long ago he was trading at 100/1 and under for very decent events and we all know how golfers regularly find their form from nowhere. He obviously plays well here and is capable of producing some fine iron play.

Page Update #1:
(Winner market)
Lay Ernie Els 3 pts @ 7.4
Lay Phil Mickelson 1.5 pts @ 12.5
Lay Davis Love 0.75 pts @ 30
Lay Padraig Harrington 0.5 pt @ 36
Lay Stephen Ames 0.5 pt @ 44
Lay Stewart Cink 0.5 pt @ 44
Giving the pre-tournament lays another go.
Els is too short, I feel, and will do extremely well to keep last week's supreme level of putting going on his 5th consecutive week of his current globe-trotting spell, while Mickelson's putter has gone cold and I think he could just be happy to tune up for next week after a short break.
This has never been Love's course and he didn't suggest last week that his long game was anywhere near spot on, and similarly I can't see Harrington winning so soon after his iron play being so bad at the Memorial.
I don't envisage Cink winning for a second time so quickly and I would be much more expectant of a drop in Ames' remarkable level of form than I would of a first PGA win for him.