Get rich in Dallas
April 22nd 2008 02:30
One of the great tournaments on the USPGA Tour is on this week, the Byron Nelson Championship in Dallas, Texas.
Traditionally this tournament has been won by a good iron player with a reliable putting stroke - that's because the driver was not an option off many tees. Hence you've had winners like Scott Verplank, Shigeki Maruyama, Loren Roberts, Robert Damron.
Yes, Vijay and Sergio (mercurial, streaky putters the both of them) have won here but they didn't win by overpowering the course.
However, that may change this year with the course having undergone an extensive reshaping, with new tee boxes, bunkers and water features. The bottom line is that the driver is now more of an option on some holes as the landing areas have changed, so expect the bigger hitters to come back into their own.
If you're looking for a winner, Adam Scott will start favourite but will be a good bet. He was in great form before the Masters where he had a blow out in the first round and got too far off the pace. He was steady from then on and even though he closed with a 76, that wasn't such a bad score on a final day that had most players well into the 70s.
Englishman Ian Poulter, fresh off a good-ish Masters performance (tied for 25th) and with a new putter in his bag, is going to win a tournament in the US one day. He was tied for third in Dallas last year so could be value at around 40-1.
Rod Pampling is an Aussie battler who really likes this TPC Four Seasons course.
In Europe, there's another tournament in China, where Retief Goosen looks the class act in a field that isn't jam-packed with talent. If you're looking for a roughie, a couple of unheralded Aussies in Scott Hend and Marcus Fraser could be a worth a dollar.
Picks for Dallas: Adam Scott, Rod Pampling, Ian Poulter, Rory Sabbatini, Ken Duke
Picks for China: Retief Goosen, Soren Kjeldsen, Mark Brown. Marcus Fraser.
Traditionally this tournament has been won by a good iron player with a reliable putting stroke - that's because the driver was not an option off many tees. Hence you've had winners like Scott Verplank, Shigeki Maruyama, Loren Roberts, Robert Damron.
Yes, Vijay and Sergio (mercurial, streaky putters the both of them) have won here but they didn't win by overpowering the course.
However, that may change this year with the course having undergone an extensive reshaping, with new tee boxes, bunkers and water features. The bottom line is that the driver is now more of an option on some holes as the landing areas have changed, so expect the bigger hitters to come back into their own.
If you're looking for a winner, Adam Scott will start favourite but will be a good bet. He was in great form before the Masters where he had a blow out in the first round and got too far off the pace. He was steady from then on and even though he closed with a 76, that wasn't such a bad score on a final day that had most players well into the 70s.
Englishman Ian Poulter, fresh off a good-ish Masters performance (tied for 25th) and with a new putter in his bag, is going to win a tournament in the US one day. He was tied for third in Dallas last year so could be value at around 40-1.
Rod Pampling is an Aussie battler who really likes this TPC Four Seasons course.
In Europe, there's another tournament in China, where Retief Goosen looks the class act in a field that isn't jam-packed with talent. If you're looking for a roughie, a couple of unheralded Aussies in Scott Hend and Marcus Fraser could be a worth a dollar.
Picks for Dallas: Adam Scott, Rod Pampling, Ian Poulter, Rory Sabbatini, Ken Duke
Picks for China: Retief Goosen, Soren Kjeldsen, Mark Brown. Marcus Fraser.
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