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British Masters - Golf Preview & Picks

BRITISH MASTERS

A high class field assembles this week at Close House for the British Masters. We have a favourite at single figure odds who has been palpably out of form in an injury-plagued season on a course where accuracy from tee to green is more advantage that distance. A best priced 8/1 about Rory McIlroy would not tempt me in the slightest.

Fresh from playing the final three rounds of the FedExCup in nine under par, Sergio Garcia appeals much more at odds of 10/1 generally. His accuracy with irons should serve him well and he would not be a surprise winner.

On a course where shots gained from fairway to green should be crucial and where a scrambler may come to the fore, I’m interested in Sky Bet’s 30/1 about Ian Poulter, particularly as they are paying 1/5 of the odds for seven places. Poulter is 3rd on the PGA tour for shots gained around the green and 11th for approaching play so on a course where his relative lack of power off the tee may not be a disadvantage, he rates a very solid each way selection.

Surely recent form figures of 5-3-3 are worth considering. Eddie Pepperell may have missed eight cuts in nine events earlier in the season but he has been in prodigious form of late. He can be backed at 40/1 with Ladbrokes and Unibet and with question marks over some at the head of the market, he is sound value at those odds.

If 40/1 doesn’t tempt you as a viable each way price, perhaps the 90/1 offered by Bet 365 about Lee Slattery will be more to your liking. As good a putter as anyone on tour, he has four top-20 finishes in his last five outings so is clearly in red hot form. He is as short as 66/1 with many firms.

I have long been a fan of Germany’s Marcel Siem and his odds of 175/1 with Unibet caught my eye. Siem is hardly a model of consistency but does have four career wins on tour and his runner up spot at the Paul Lawrie Match Play and a top-ten finish in the Made In Denmark hint at a man in reasonable form who may outplay his odds.

The Green Reader  

close house - the knowledge

This week's tournament, The British Masters, is a grander and more historic affair than The President's Cup which takes place in New York this weekend. The team competition between the US and the rest of the world minus Europe (I know...) has been around since 1994. The British Masters has been in play since 1946; Europe's greatest players have won it, from Tony Jacklin to Lee Westwood to your nominal host this week, Lee Westwood. His name is on the design ticket for the course at Close House: basically he's added a few far flung bunkers and back tees to the existing Scott MacPherson design, making it fit for tour pro purpose.

It's a rarity, sadly, that top-flight golf comes to the North East of England. Fans are sure to turn out in force with three former world number ones taking part (Westwood, Kaymer and McIlroy) and the reigning Masters champion too. If you're there today the pro-am is awash with footballing legends, former boy band members and stars of Geordie Shore and Love Island.  Look away. Bad swings are catching.

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Golf Preview & Picks - TOUR Championship

TOUR championship

And then there were 30… The FedExCup reaches its climax at East Lake with a host of players who fancy their chances of a huge pay day. Setting aside the big prize itself, it’s difficult to separate so many of the contenders, but Jordan Spieth, a somewhat disappointing selection last week, looks terrible value at a best-priced 5/1. Rickie Fowler will have his supporters on the back of his recent form but he just doesn’t win often enough - despite regularly getting himself into prime position - and the talented but temperamental Senor Rahm seems all too capable of chucking in a run of bad holes when it counts. Dustin Johnson finished his weekend at the BMW with a 64 and that is often the sort of round which proves a springboard for him to dominate next time out. His odds of 8/1 look short enough. Quite why Marc Leishman can be backed at 20/1 with several firms is beyond me. He may not have the sexiest profile amongst the main contenders but his recent form is excellent and he could not have been more impressive last weekend. His credentials look as solid as any of the main contenders but he is constantly over-priced and looks serious each way value at 20s. Having been available at 18/1 earlier this week, punters seem to have cottoned on to the fact that there is a Major winner in the field with three Top-10s in his last three starts and with course figures of 2-4-6-2 which may explain why Justin Rose is now a best-priced 14/1. He has won on Tour every year since 2010 and looks to be coming into real form since tinkering with his game and equipment following his runner-up spot at Augusta. I’ll certainly be joining the bandwagon and 14s still look like value. Messrs Chappell and Cantlay both threatened to reward our confidence and, but for a quadruple bogey on Saturday evening, Chappell would have been very much in the mix. He should arguably be a course winner having lost in a play-off here last year and Unibet’s odds of 35/1 look generous. As it is the season finale and I’ve gone over a cliff with him for a few weeks now, it’s no time to desert Patrick Cantlay. To be in the final 30 of the FedExCup having played only 12 events all season is an incredible achievement and not to have missed a cut in any of those events is still more remarkable. He has been there or thereabouts as playoff finishes of 10-13-9 demonstrate. Sky Bet offers each-way backers 1/5 of the odds for a Top-Six finish but are taking no chances with Cantlay, going shortest of all the major firms at 30/1. He is widely available at 40/1 elsewhere and I cannot resist taking another chance on a seriously talented golfer.

The Green Reader  

east lake - the knowledge

$34 million is at stake between the TOUR Championship purse and FedExCup bonus money this weekend at East Lake. The tournament winner picks up $1.5 million and, assuming he also comes out on top in the FedExCup standings, he can add $10 million to that. Ironically, this week’s venue is forever associated with the great amateur, Bobby Jones, who played for glory, not fortune, and who wouldn’t be eligible for this week’s tournament because he didn’t hold PGA membership.

The fingerprints of course architect, Donald Ross, are still visible, not least on the greens, distinctive and distinctly tricky, demanding accurate approach play or else up-and-over long putting skills on the rolling surfaces. The efforts of Rees Jones, who reworked the course in the 90s, are visible too, because it now boasts the drama required for high-stakes golf: water and theatre.

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Golf Preview & Picks - BMW Championship

bmw championship

The third leg of the FedExCup playoffs is upon us and the 75 survivors will be whittled down to the 30 who will contest the shootout at East Lake From a trends perspective, it is interesting to note that since the BMW became part of the the playoff schedule, every winner had a Top-10 finish in one of his last two Tour starts. Eight of those nine winners was a previous major winner, so we are surely looking for a top-class player in form. The players who fit that profile must be Messrs Spieth, Thomas and Johnson and it is hard to look beyond them for the winner. Nobody has ever won legs 2 and 3 of the playoffs which counts against Justin Thomas but there is a history of players winning more than one leg. Jordan Spieth has finished second in each of the last two tournaments and, reluctant as I am to tip a favourite, he looks absolutely rock solid at odds of 13/2. There are no faults in his game and, assuming his putter is as hot as usual, he is a solid proposition. So, is there value in the each way market in a tournament where the leaders look so strong?   Kevin Chappell finished tied 6th at the Northern Trust and, having secured his place in the President’s Cup side, he is free of pressure and can concentrate on making sure he goes to East Lake in as strong a position as possible. He is priced at 66/1 with most firms so the decision is whether we take a fifth of the odds for a top-six finish (Sky Bet, William Hill or Paddy Power) or else a quarter of the odds for a top-five spot (Bet Fred, Coral and Bet Victor). I saw enough from Patrick Cantlay in his last outing to think he should be supported again. He was tied for 10th at the Northern Trust and finished 13th at the Dell, having been bang in contention for three rounds. I am a huge believer in his talent and was disappointed to see him overlooked for a President’s Cup wild card. He is generally priced at 50/1 and is a solid each way shout. Finally, on the basis of his recent form, Paddy Power and Bet 365 may have underestimated the chances of Grayson Murray by offering odds of 175/1.  

The Green Reader  

conway farms - the knowledge

This is the third time Conway Farms in Lake Forest Illinois has hosted the penultimate playoff. The players really like it. Luke Donald likes it so much he lives nearby and keeps a membership here.

It's a Tom Fazio design from 1991 and it shows all his youthful design charm, but less of his later ruthlessness. And so, even at 7,200 yards, this course can be chewed up. Think of Furyk's 59 in 2013.

The BMW Championship is really the old Western Open, which started out back in 1899, making it the third-longest running event in  professional golf, behind only the British (1860) and American (1885) national opens. A 58 this week will see its place in the records secured forever.

tour the course here

a question of rules

You're trying to keep the pace of play going. You have an outrageously long putt, longer than the Nile. Given that your putts on the round so far have felt as if your ball and the hole are the like poles of a magnet destined by science to repel each other, in your somewhat negative frame of mind, you consider it to be about as likely as your lottery ticket turning up all six numbers on Saturday evening, that your ball will end up close to the hole. As your playing partner walks across the green towards the pin, you strike the putt. It's not bad . . . It keeps rolling . . . It starts to turn . . . It gathers speed . . . It might just make it . . . It strikes the unattended flagstick, jumps and settles a mere couple of inches from the hole. A good result . . . No! Penalty! Penalty! It's a penalty if you play a ball from the putting green and it hits the unattended flagstick in the hole. Well, it was a penalty. Actually, it still is a penalty. But wait another eighteen odd months and it won't be. The consensus is that the ability to leave the flagstick in, particularly for regular play, could have a positive impact on pace of play. Therefore, given most amateur golfers would happily putt with the flag in, the new Rule says that's now absolutely fine.

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Golf Preview & Picks - European Masters

omega european masters

After the drama and incredible quality of the FedExCup we move to the scenic Swiss Alps this week as the race to grab early Ryder Cup points continues.

At another time, two-time course winner Alex Noren would have been a strong fancy but his results of late have been a tad disappointing and, having taken last week off to get married, doubts linger as to whether he is bringing his A-game to the mountains.

Messrs Fleetwood and Westwood will  surely be popular with punters but I prefer to look elsewhere for the winner.

With six Top-10 finishes this year already, Ross Fisher has become Mr Consistency and is widely available at odds of 33/1. His Crans Sur Sierre track record includes rounds of 63, 64 and 65 so he is well capable of producing the goods and, sitting 8th in the Race For Dubai, he will be fired up for his first outing since the USPGA.

Speaking of Quail Hollow brings us to our second selection. The top placed British player there was a young man with a huge future in the game. Jordan Smith may not be a household name yet but he has all the credentials needed to win in Switzerland in a tournament which is often won by a player bang in form, who is solid from tee to green and who can scramble. A quick glance at Smith's Tour stats would suggest he is well worth backing at odds of 40/1 with Unibet who offer 1/4 the odds for a top six finish.

If talent equated to titles, the name of  Victor Dubuisson would feature on more trophies than it has. The former Ryder Cup star has been striking the ball as well as anyone of late but has the habit of throwing in the odd poor round. He comes with a risk attached but has some fine previous course form to his name and can be backed at 80/1 with Bet Victor or, more appealingly, at 70/1 with Sportingbet who offer 1/4 the odds for a top-five placing

The Green Reader  

golf club crans-sur-sierre - the knowledge

Only Augusta National has staged the same professional golf tournament more than Golf Club Crans-Sur-Sierre: The Masters having been played on 81 occasions, The European Masters now being played for the 71st time.

Why does the Tour keep returning here? The setting is stunning: no course is more spectacularly situated. The altitude - 5,000 feet - brings something a little different to the game, not that anyone here needs the extra 10% carry found at this height. The atmosphere is exceptional too, with cowbells galore ringing in Switzerland's biggest money sports event. But more than all of that, the course is truly excellent, a parkland track on a lush mountain plateau which has lakes and rivers and risk-reward galore. Above everything, golf is fun in the thin mountain air.  

Winners here include Price, Faldo, Woosnam, and Olazabal. Three-time winner Severiano Ballesteros tightened up the course and rebuilt the greens in the 1990s. Inevitably, the course was renamed in his honour.

tour the course here

a question of rules

Bunkers. Bunkers. The devil to a good round. You're  playing the game of your life and then get stuck in one with a  lip the size of Everest. After a couple of attempts to play out, you end up hitting out backwards. Suddenly you're recording a near double-digit figure on your otherwise solid round. Bunkers can be bad  enough at the best of times, but then you step in to discover that your  ball is nestled next to a huge pine cone or massive twig. Under current rules, nothing can be done. You cannot touch or move loose impediments in a bunker. Well, you can, but you suffer the consequences. However, this rule is  being amended. The powers that be have decided the challenge of a bunker is playing from sand within the confines of the design of the bunker and shouldn't be concerned with the additional challenge of dealing with a loose impediment. Moving forward (as of 1st January 2019), there will no longer be a penalty and you will be permitted to remove loose materials.  

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Golf Preview & Picks - Dell Technologies Championship

DELL TECHNOLOGIES CHAMPIONSHIP

The Top-100 players in the FedExCup standings head to Boston for the next leg of the playoffs. The Dell Technologies Championship kicks off on Friday with a Monday finish to accommodate the Labor Day holiday, so we have an extra day to mull over the options before getting involved financially. The big guns will doubtless be to the fore and, to my mind, Dustin Johnson remains the most likely winner of the event and is a best priced 15/2 with Paddy Power. But tipping favourites with a degree of conviction isn’t really my thing so where should look for value? Bizarrely, in the last seven years the winner of this key FedExCup event has triumphed after a poor showing the previous week, with only one winner in that period having managed as much as a Top-10 finish the week before. The Arnold Palmer / Ed Seay course doesn’t put such a premium on massive length off the tee and the key seems to be accuracy in approach play. One poor performance influences the odds makers at this stage of the season so some players are available at prices bigger than their talents merit. Daniel Berger has performed well here on a couple of previous visits and he ranks among the very best in shots gained in approach play. He is a rock-solid putter and odds of 66/1 with BetFred and Sportingbet underestimate his chances. Both firms offer ¼ the odds for a Top-5 finish. Sooner or later my bank balance will reflect my continued faith in Patrick Reed who was bang in contention after three rounds at Glen Oaks, where he putted really well. He has been 4th and 5th here in the last two seasons and fits the profile of a typical TPC Boston winner: someone with undoubted ability who underperformed the previous week. Stan James pays out on six places and go biggest on Reed at 35/1 so an each way bet is recommended. Any golfer who was outside the world’s Top-1000 in January and who is good enough to still be involved in the FedExCup in September must be a man in form and if last week’s Top-10 finish is anything to go by Patrick Cantlay must be considered exceptional each way value at 66/1 with Ladbrokes, Coral and BoyleSports, the latter offering a payout on six places. Cantlay has had three injury-plagued years and hasn’t played enough to allow his outstanding iron play to be reflected in statistical terms, but he has made the cut in his last nine starts and is a talented golfer whose first Tour victory is not far away. Finally, for those who feel three figure odds are a necessity for each way betting, maybe it’s time to take a little punt on the accurate iron play and sometimes red-hot putting of Zach Johnson, 125/1 with Boyle Sports.

The Green Reader  

TPC BOSTON - THE KNOWLEDGE

This Palmer Course Design project has become more strategic as Gil Hanse has added bunkers and shape in the style of Pine Valley. The greens too have become endlessly interesting, with many slopes and countless pin positions so that accurate approach play and confident putting will always be rewarded.

The Dell Technologies Championship, formerly The Deutsche Bank Championship,  has been played here since 2003 so the world's best golfers have watched the course changes beginning in 2007 and they universally admire what they see. The shaggy bunkers are seemingly natural affairs but the overall conditioning is as they've come to expect: unbelievably perfect.

The seventh is a 600 yard par-5, the green protected by a massive bunker which traverses the entire fairway, Boston's very own version of Pine Valley's 'Hell's Half Acre.' When players reach this green in two - and they do - we know that golf is forever changed.    

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Golf’s FedExCup Playoffs Begin

FEDEXCUP PLAYOFFS START IN NEW YORK

The FedExCup Playoffs begin this week, with a host of players hoping to gain enough points to keep them in the hunt for the big end of season purse. Perhaps some of those at the head of the market do not quite have the incentive to peak this weekend, with East Lake being the main priority, so it might be best to concentrate on those who actually need to win here. An interesting angle from a statistical or trends perspective is that four of the last six winners of this event were coming off the back of a big performance in the USPGA, so those who contended at Quail Hollow are worth a look. We suggested last weekend that 14/1 may look a laughably huge price about Henrik Stenson to win the Wyndham and so it transpired and the Swede is just the sort of player to hit a hot streak. He missed the cut at Erin Hills but that blip aside he has been Top-20 in his last six starts and is in a rich vein of form. Boyle Sports are the standout firm offering odds of 25/1 and are paying six places for each way punters. Regular readers know I am a fan of Patrick Reed and he comes here off the back of his best ever finish in a major at Quail Hollow. Last year he needed to win this tournament to secure an automatic Ryder Cup spot and duly obliged and this year he needs a similar performance to make the President’s Cup side. Reed has an excellent record the week after winning on tour. He is a general 33/1 shot (Bet Bright go 40/1) and with Paddy Power and Coral both paying out for seven places he is a great each way selection. Both Stenson and Reed need to feature this weekend to move into better positions in the FedEx points table so both have a real incentive to contend.

Of those at bigger prices, a couple of names catch the eye. A previous FedEx Cup winner, Billy Horschel, is available at odds of 200/1 with Labrokes and Coral. His recent form may not look anything special, but he has won on tour this season and has five other Top-Five finishes to his name and sits at 24th in the table, the sort of position from which a big performance this week could be a platform to contend for more prizes to come. When he won the FedEx Cup, he shot 12 successive rounds in the 60s to secure the biggest purse in golf, so if he can get on a roll he may be worth following. Another season’s winner available at 200/1 is young Australian, Cameron Smith. He followed his win in New Orleans with five missed cuts in six starts but came right back to form with a seventh position at the Wyndham last week. Currently 40th in the points table, he is another who needs a big performance and should be backed each way with Paddy Power or Coral.

The Green Reader  

GLEN OAKS - THE KNOWLEDGE

The Northern Trust – formerly The Barclays - is at Glen Oaks Golf Club out in Old Westbury, New York. This is Long Island golf, but really it’s not so far from Queens. The crowds will be large and boisterous!

It’s a par-70, the third-longest par-70 on tour. The front nine is distinctly tough, the back nine notably easier. Reports from practice days say the players are very impressed. Unlike the rugged-look courses much in vogue in recent times, Glen Oaks is hyper-manicured, very green grass and very white sand. It’s a ball-striker’s course too, Augusta-esque.  

This is Glen Oaks’ first pro event, so nobody has form here or even local knowledge. Keegan Bradley used to play the course when he was a student at St Johns, but the set-up has been altered since then, so any advantage will be marginal.

tour the course here

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Golf Preview & Picks - Wyndham Championship

WYNDHAM CHAMPIONSHIP

Reflecting on events at Quail Hollow, it seems Mr Matsuyama is winning his personal battle with me, determined to prove me wrong as often as he can! However, I hope many of you took our advice early in the year when we suggested that, if you were having just one golfing bet  this season, it should be to back Justin Thomas to win a 2017 major at odds of 9/1. This week sees a fairly average field contesting the Wyndham Championship but one name stands out. A previous course winner who is on record stating how much he enjoys the Sedgefield layout, coming here off the back of a 13th place in the PGA and having finished with three rounds in the 60s at the Bridgestone: Ryan Moore.  Sportingbet live up to their name by offering odds of 28/1 against him. The Wyndham has a habit of being won by a player trying to recapture past glories and after three top-15 finishes in his last five outings, former major winner, Keegan Bradley, fits the bill. His stats are rock solid with no obvious weak point in his game and Paddy Power’s price of 45/1 looks enticing. Henrik Stenson has a wonderful record on Donald Ross designed courses and the general price of 14/1 may look laughably generous come Sunday evening but I am loathe to take a strong view about a favourite with little or no form on this particular course so for our final selection I prefer to look for each way value at a much bigger price. This is a field with a huge number of players with little recent form to commend them yet Grayson Murray who won the Barbasol a fortnight ago and who threatened to be very much involved in the PGA finish before fading on Sunday afternoon can be backed at 45/1 with Bet365, a price which simply looks wrong on the basis of his recent record. I tend to shy away from tipping with the women’s game with so many talented players from South East Asia contending week after week on tour but the Solheim Cup awaits this week and the stand out bet appears to be in the Top European Points Scorer market. I’m struggling to see how Europe can regain the trophy and any bet depends greatly on how Annika Sorenstam views her likely pairings but Jodie Ewart Shadoff has been in fine form all year and BetVictor may be a little generous in offering 14/1 about her topping the European points tally come Sunday evening.  

The Green Reader  

SEDGEFIELD COUNTRY CLUB - THE KNOWLEDGE

It's astonishing, really, that Sedgefield should be the only Donald Ross course regularly, indeed currently, hosting top-flight golf. Such are distance gains and club-manufacturing science and, as the pros would have it, improved athleticism...

Tour Golf has been played here since the 30s in the form of the old Greensboro Classic and then the Greensboro Open. We must hope that the course holds up to the modern onslaught so that these traditions continue... From the gold tees the course is just more than 7,100 yards in length with a slope rating of 140. You and I would struggle but the top guys will go low.

Why is it important the tour keeps visiting Donald Ross tracks? Well, Ross, who did so much to popularise the game in the US, is the link between Old Tom Morris, the father of the game, and Jack Nicklaus, the greatest champion in the game, because it was Ross, once Old Tom’s apprentice back in Scotland, who designed Scioto, young Jack’s place of learning. Anyway, Donald Ross and his courses are of no small importance. North Carolina, where we are this week, has more of his designs than any state save Massachusetts.

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Golf Preview & Picks - PGA Championship

PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

Looking at profiles of past USPGA winners the striking trends are that 8 of the last 10 (15 of the last 18) had won already that season and 8 of 10 had a top-10 finish in one their last two outings. The conclusion has to be that, far from eyeing up a shock result, we should be searching for a man in form. Matsuyama is proving frustrating from a betting perspective, but what cannot be disputed is that he is, on current form, as good as anyone around. He was sensational at Firestone and the last time he won a WGC, he followed up with three wins and a second place in his next six events. When he hits form, he's clearly a man worth following and excellent finishes at both Erin Hills and Birkdale only reinforce the belief that a first major must come sooner than later. He is available at 12/1 with both Betfred and Ladbrokes and that seems a very fair price for a player in such a rich vein of form. Jason Day may not have been the player of old recently but he hinted at a return to something like his best at both The Open and The Bridgestone and he is still ranked at No.7 in the world. He has a fantastic PGA record and his record over the last four years reads 8-15-1-2.  Ladbrokes again go biggest at 33/1 and he is well worth an each way bet at those odds. One of the major changes to the course at Quail Hollow since it last hosted a tour event,  is the change from Bentgrass to Bermuda which may well improve the putting of a few contenders. Take a close look at anyone with previous form in Florida where Bermuda is the norm. Daniel Berger may not have threatened a return on our investment last weekend but finished a very respectable 19th, having not putted particularly well over the weekend. Every time the PGA has followed the Bridgestone, the winner has come from a top 22 finish there, a trend which fits Berger nicely. He has two tour wins on Bermuda grass, was born and raised in Florida and, crucially, has won on tour this season. He is available at 60/1 with Paddy Power who are rewarding each way punters with eight places and looks outstanding value in that market. Of those at much bigger prices, one who appeals is Kyle Stanley. He won the Quicken Loans National  just over a month ago and was  tied for 4th at Sawgrass before that. He is ranked No.1 on tour for Greens in Regulation and for a player of his ability, the 150/1 on offer widely looks generous. Bill Haas may have been blown away at Birkdale but he has won as many tournaments on Bermuda grass as anyone in the field and is available at odds of 150/1 with Coral who are offering each way punters a return for ten places this weekend. Their odds may be shorter than their competitors to reflect this but the only man whose price is less than 200/1 on whom they offer the best price is Haas.

The Green Reader  

QUAIL HOLLOW CLUB - THE KNOWLEDGE

Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, is familiar to most golfers, armchair and actual, as the host of the ever-popular Wells Fargo. But arriving earlier this week, the tour would have found that  changes had been made, changes suggested by Tom Fazio to turn the course, ominously, into Major Championship material. They used to go low here, but now they'll be happy to get round...

tour Quail Hollow here

A QUESTION OF RULES

It's happened to all of us. Your ball in motion accidentally hits you, your caddie, your golf bag, some other piece of golfing equipment, someone attending the flagstick for you or indeed the removed or attended flagstick. Basically, your ball hits something you didn’t intend it to hit. It’s annoying, maybe painful... Particularly painful for you if you’ve just tried to hit your shot out of a bunker, it’s hit the face (of the bunker) and then reverberated into your face, leaving a golf ball-sized swelling in the middle of your forehead and then, to add insult to injury, you get smacked with a loss of hole or a two-stroke penalty (the rule of old, moderated to one stroke penalty in recent times). Well, now there is no longer a penalty. That’s a big rule change. But those that determine such things have decided that if it’s an accident, the outcome of which is entirely random, fate will decide whether the outcome is favourable to you or not favourable to you. Over your golfing career, the good breaks will be evened out with the bad breaks, so no penalty felt appropriate moving forward. Moving forward as of 1st January 2019, that is.

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The Meaning of Golf is an ebook by Craig Morrison. You can buy it from Amazon USA where it costs less than $5, less than £4 in the UK.

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Golf Preview & Picks - WGC Bridgestone Invitational

WGC BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL

Hopefully some of you are little richer after backing Gary Woodland each way last weekend and it could have been better still had Sean O’Hair managed to find a couple of shots somewhere along the way. The big guns will be out in force this week for the WGC Bridgestone Invitational and, doubtless, Jordan Spieth will be popular with punters but I’ve never been a fan of backing favourites, particularly in a field as strong as this and his exertions at The Open must have taken a lot out of him, physically and mentally, so 8/1 looks plenty short enough. It remains to be seen how a change of caddie will affect Rory McIlroy, although the last time he played at Firestone he emerged victorious. Of the leading players I prefer the chances of the World No. 1 Dustin Johnson. By his own admission, his iron play at Birkdale left something to be desired but showed a huge improvement in Toronto, where his putter let him down, despite finishing in a tie for 8th, by far his best performance since May. He is available at 10/1 with Coral, Ladbrokes and Boylesports and this looks a fair price for the best player in the world, coming back to form. There are question marks over quite a few near the head of the betting markets, so I prefer to look at a couple of players at bigger prices. Until comparative 'veteran' and course specialist Jhonattan Vegas bucked the trend in Canada, the previous seven Tour titles had been won by golfers in their 20’s suggesting there is a crop of very talented youngsters emerging at present. One such player, with three top-five finishes in his last four Tour starts is Daniel Berger who has climbed to 19th in the world courtesy of seven Top-Ten finishes this season.  He is available at 45/1 with Betfred and Sportingbet, both of whom are paying for five places. You may prefer to back him with Paddy Power at 40/1 with a payout for a top-seven finish. Crucially his stats for shots gained off the tee read remarkably well, and on the tree- lined fairways of Firestone, this could be crucial. I like to look at tournaments such as these from the angle of trying find a player whose odds do not reflect his chances of winning and 50/1 about Justin Thomas with Bet Victor may just fit the bill. Three successive missed cuts may not appeal to many but this is a man who had three Top-Ten finishes in four starts prior to that. He may have fallen apart somewhat at Erin Hills and was clearly blown away by the Birkdale winds after a superb opening 67 but he is a player of real ability and his price reflects recent results rather than his chances of winning. J B Holmes rarely misses a cut, played well in Canada last weekend and had four rounds of 72 or better at Birkdale after four rounds in the 60s at the John Deere. From an each way perspective, Paddy Power are paying out for seven places so 1/5 of their odds of 90/1 seems worth an investment

The Green Reader  

FIRESTONE COUNTRY CLUB - THE KNOWLEDGE

The South Course at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio is that rare thing, a historic course which is still totally relevant, basically very long. Harvey Firestone opened this course back in 1929. The founder of the famous tire and rubber company had high hopes for it, though perhaps not that Bridgestone would one day be sponsoring tournaments here.

Professionals love the course, because it is big, boring and slightly predictable. But viewers love it too: it's always on television and it looks increasingly good the more familiar it becomes, classically tree-lined and lovely. There are endless long par-4s, a crazy par-5 at 670 yards and three of the four par-3s are far in excess of 200 yards. The winner will be very good and will have played very well. It's no coincidence that Palmer and Nicklaus are multiple winners on this course. And Woods, at the height of his powers, won here seven times...

tour the course here

Pack light this summer. The Meaning of Golf is an ebook and you can buy it from Amazon. Original, thoughtful and entertaining.

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Golf Preview & Picks - Canadian Open

CANADIAN OPEN

As we highlighted prior to the Travelers, the tournament immediately after a major has a habit of throwing up a shock winner with so many of the top players either taking a break or having given their all a week before. OK, so Jordan Spieth defied that trend at the Travelers, but nothing Mr Spieth does should surprise any of us. Glen Abbey, where this week’s RBC Canadian Open is played, has much in common with Torrey Pines and players who play well at one course tend to do well at the other, statistics show. One man who plays Torrey Pines extremely well and who hinted at a return to form last weekend is Bubba Watson, available at 33/1 with Betfred and Sportingbet. Length off the tee is a huge asset here and Bubba hits it a mile so may be worth an investment. I have long been a fan of young New Zealander Danny Lee and he comes to Canada with his game in rude health, given that he has made the top-10 in four of his last seven outings. He has real talent and Betfred’s 45/1 underestimates that ability. Another prodigious hitter is Gary Woodland, ranked in the top-20 on tour in driving distance.  Fatherhood may have distracted him earlier in the season but he played some great stuff at Birkdale, carding a 69 and a 70 before a somewhat disappointing weekend. On a course made for long hitters who like to fade the ball, Sportingbet’s 70/1 may be on the generous side and he is a confident each way selection. Also at longer odds, I am tempted by the general 66/1 available on Patrick Rodgers. After an appalling start to the season when he couldn’t seem to make a cut, he has done nothing but improve, culminating in a second place in his last outing at the John Deere. He is another who hits the ball huge distances and may be worth a small each way flutter with Coral who are paying for seven places this week. Finally, no tournament as lacking in strength and depth as this, should have Sean O’Hair as a 140/1 shot but that is the price that Bet365 are offering about a man who had two top-10s back in May and who played four rounds at Birkdale, none worse than 73.

The Green Reader  

GLEN ABBEY - THE KNOWLEDGE

Glen Abbey was Nicklaus’ first solo design back in 1976 and he returned this week, promoting the Canadian national tournament and taking part in various celebrations. It’s a big year, Canada’s 150th, which is how the tournament comes to be back here at the home of The Royal Canadian Golf Association and The Canadian Hall of Fame on a course that has already staged the event 28 times before this week.  

That’s not to say the tournament’s here without some small merit. Glen Abbey, a public course, just west of Toronto, has some good holes, some great holes even, not least the gambler’s short par-5 18th, the one where Tiger hit that astonishing bunker shot to win the tournament in 2000. But for all that the course is well-known it’s not entirely well-loved. It only recently escaped being turned into housing and the axe still hangs over it.

Scores will be low, -20 and perhaps lower.

tour the course here

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Halfway House - who will win The Open?

WELCOME TO THE WEEKEND

Our pre-Open picks have not yet hit the top of the leaderboard. Adam Scott’s second round was disappointing after a splendid opening 69 and if the wind blows over the weekend he may still find himself in the mix. But Matsuyama looks our best bet from the ante-post portfolio and I wouldn’t be tearing up any dockets just yet although we could have done without his 7 on the 17th last night after he had forced himself backed into contention. If the bookies have got it right at half way, the race for the Claret Jug is a four-horse affair, with three Americans and an Irishman to the head of the market. We did highlight that Jordan Spieth was the one player among the big guns with few question marks over his chances and he remains by the far the likeliest winner on Sunday, given how well his putter has served him so far, but his current odds don’t appeal in what may yet be a wide open contest. I remain unconvinced that Rory McIlroy is particularly happy in poor weather and, despite his transformation since his shocking start on Thursday, I would have no interest in backing him at odds of 7/1. For those who follow such trends, the last time Rory missed the cut in his home Open and then went to the Scottish Open for further practice, he won the Claret Jug in a canter... Matt Kuchar is never far away and his game looks in great order but he doesn’t win very often for a man of his talent so is easily passed over at a best price of 8/1. The vast majority of firms are paying ¼ the odds for a top-four finish at half way, with Paddy Power paying five places, so is there anyone lurking further down the leaderboard who is likely to reward us at bigger odds? If the weather really does deteriorate, anyone currently around the +1 mark is well capable of breaking into the Top Five, so where does the value lie? Bookies often underestimate the chances of players with a low profile or about whom little is known and a couple of Americans who have been very consistent on their home tour and who seem to have taken to links golf fall into that category.  Jamie Lovemark was 3rd at The Greenbrier a fortnight ago and a respectable 25th at the John Deere last weekend when a relatively poor final round cost him a much higher finish and, with rounds of 71 and 69 seems to be very much at home at Birkdale. He is 100/1 with Paddy Power which strikes me as great value for a player currently in the Top Ten. Also on level par is a player who was 5th last weekend and has shot back-to-back rounds of 70 this week. Russell Henley is already a winner on the US tour this season and the generally available price of 80/1 is generous. There are a number of players lurking on the +2 mark with the raw talent to shoot two rounds in the 60s and get very much involved at the top of the leaderboard and Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson will certainly not be writing off their chances. I have always believed Rickie Fowler will win a major sooner rather than later and that this is the major which represents his best chance of doing so. I am also firmly of the opinion that, should he finally break his duck, it will be from behind rather than as a front runner and I cannot resist a small each way interest at 60/1 with Labrokes.

The Green Reader  

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Golf Preview & Picks - The Open

THE OPEN

Class Will Tell - A glance at Birkdale’s Open Roll of Honour shows it takes a top player to win here. Since the World Rankings were first introduced, all winners at Birkdale were ranked in the Top 25 and the pre-rankings winners – Messrs Thomson, Palmer, Trevino, Miller and Watson - would have been near the top of any such table. Throw in the fact that all nine Birkdale winners had previously finished in the top-six at earlier Opens and we have an idea of what it takes to win here. So, where to start our search for a winner? Anyone ranked 15th in the world who has previous Open finishes of 8th, 2nd, 3rd and 5th must be high on any shortlist and Adam Scott, who warmed up with a reasonable performance at Dundonald last weekend, fits the bill. Maybe he should have won the Claret Jug by now and many will view his failure to do so as a negative but I prefer to look at it as proof that this is a man who knows his way round a links course and at 30/1 with BoyleSports and Sporting Bet, he is one to back. Among those who feature near the top of the World Rankings and the betting markets, there are question marks over many but the case for backing Hideki Matsuyama looks compelling. He was in top form in Ireland recently and was ultra-impressive at Erin Hills in the last major. He does have a previous top-six finish in The Open and of the big names - Spieth apart - he looks to have more going for him than others. He is 22/1 with most firms which looks more appealing than many of those at shorter prices. If you want to invest at longer prices, why not take William Hill’s 100/1 about the World No 19? With so many top players being of similar ability with putter in hand, approach play will be at a premium this week and Francesco Molinari ranks 3rd on the PGA Tour when playing from fairway (or rough) to green. He just happens to also rank 3rd in driving accuracy and that will surely stand him in good stead if the wind blows. A 9th and a 15th place in recent Opens show that he has the links game and he rarely misses a cut when it comes to the big one so represents excellent each way value. With a top-ten finish last year, two top-fives in his last four starts and at 150/1 with Bet Victor, Ladbrokes and Coral, many seem to underestimate the chances of Bill Haas. He is solid on Tour, looks to have no real weakness in his game and is standout each way value. He can be backed at 60/1 with Sky Bet to be top-American, which looks seriously tempting. Finally, Coral and Ladbrokes both offer a market for the top-debutant and Canadian Adam Hadwin looks good at 11/1.  

The Green Reader  

BIRKDALE - THE KNOWLEDGE The 146th Open will test the players from the first hole (a long hard par-4) to the 72nd (a long hard par-4...).

Birkdale is a big beast, heavily-bunkered, narrow and protected by deep, wiry rough. That said, the fairways are fairly flat, not rolling and rumpled so they are receptive and fair. Birkdale - of all The Open venues - requires least luck to score well. But the weather forecast is mixed - as British as The Open itself - and players will hope for good fortune with their tee times, avoiding potential morning showers or afternoon squalls, whenever they come along.

The great course is unlikely to be humiliated. The rough has been grown in a little and practise rounds show many players using irons on even the longest holes. Mickelson has said he won't even carry a driver...  

tour the course here

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Golf Preview & Picks - The Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open

SCOTTISH OPEN

A strong field gathers at Dundonald, a healthy US contingent among them seeking to emulate Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson, both recent Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open winners. Class does tend to tell in this event with Rose, Donald and Kaymer also recently victorious. The top players from across the Atlantic have a decent record here and there are two 20/1 shots who appeal as potential winners. Patrick Reed may not be everyone’s cup of tea but he has had eight Top-25 finishes in his last nine outings and having shot rounds of 69 or better in 10 of his last 16 rounds, he is worth a shot with Unibet and 888. Matt Kuchar has not played since Erin Hills but his last four tournament finishes have produced form figures of 16/4/12/9. He was only a stroke behind Fowler in the 2015 Scottish Open so has had success in this tournament and is a general 20/1 with most firms to go one better this year. As an each way selection, any player whose form figures read 7/9/6/3/5/3 in his last half dozen WGC and European Tour events should surely be shorter than the general 33/1 on offer, yet Ross Fisher can be backed at that price. A player with an undoubted links pedigree, he is rarely far away from the top of the leaderboard when competing away from the US Tour and can be expected to go well this week. Finally, at a price to tempt any each way punter, we are going with a man who never seems to play badly on home soil. Marc Warren may not have had a season to recall fondly but his record at his home Open compares with the very best and his links record in recent years, in terms of Top-15 finishes, is second-to-none. Boylesports and Paddy Power are the firms offering a  price of 250/1. And paying out for 7 places - and on a horses-for-courses basis - he must be worth a small interest.   It is tricky enough to find the winner of any tournament never mind predict who may lead after just one round but many firms have a 1st round leader market to tempt us and while this is not a market I would usually touch with the proverbial barge pole, one name does spring to mind. David Lingmerth doesn’t often feature near the top of Sunday leaderboards but he has been putting together some excellent rounds of late, particularly on day one. The US Open aside, his worst first round score in his last four tournaments has been 67 and with Stan James offering 66/1 against him being the clubhouse leader on Thursday night I would be tempted. The Scottish Open is increasingly important as a prelude for The Open itself, with six of the last seven Claret Jug winners having warmed up there. What better way to prepare for competitive links golf than, well, playing competitive links golf? Henrik Stenson is a huge believer in its value having finished 2nd and 1st in The Open off the back of an outing in Scotland. (And he was an Open also-ran when he chose to skip The Scottish.)  Indeed, the top four at Royal Troon in 2016 all played at Castle Stuart the previous week.

The Green Reader  

DUNDONALD - THE KNOWLEDGE Dundonald Links is close to Troon and Prestwick, actually abutting Western Gailes Golf Club and Kilmarnock Barassie. It’s one of Scotland’s very best, the (brilliant) work of Kyle Philips, his sequel to Kingsbarns and indeed the equal to Kingsbarns, but less celebrated.

It’s a course of some contradictions: open to the public yet owned by, arguably, Scotland’s most private, pricey club, Loch Lomond. Also, the course feels like it’s been here for the longest time, created by God and salty Scotsmen with their bare hands; in fact it’s just 12 years old and was built by an American!

Fairways are fat enough for most golfers and the rough isn’t grown high. Its main defences, beyond the Scottish wind, are threefold: a meandering stream, excellent bunkering and its great greens. The stream wanders across the entire property, coming into play on many holes and especially on the 18th, a par-5 where it is used to scorecard wrecking effect. The bunkers are deep, often quite flat-faced, skilfully revetted affairs. They are mostly daunting things, found in all the right places. The greens boast countless tricky pin positions and various ways into them, along the ground or through the air depending on placement from the tee. Some greens are small, some significantly sized, some with multiple tiers, all with entertaining contours.

One standout hole is the 11th a short par-3, nothing to it, from one high tee over a dip to a raised green, Postage Stamp like perhaps. The strike here must be perfect. These are firm seaside putting surfaces and to fail to hold on means skipping through and falling down behind the green to a hidden deep pot bunker which originally annoys and then quickly impresses! The recovery is very very tough. Look out for this hole on TV.

With a quality field in comfortable weather, scoring will be low indeed.

tour the course here

A QUESTION OF RULES

As you might recall from last week, the time allowed to search for a lost ball will be just three minutes. In addition to that change - effective 2019 - there will no longer be a penalty for accidentally moving your ball whilst searching for it. The R&A believe that having a penalty for this almost discourages players from looking for their ball for fear of a penalty shot, combined with the fact that their ball may be lodged disastrously in the rough, requiring several attempts to discover the long lost fairway. Now, this doesn’t mean that you can hack about in the bushes, wildly thrashing with your club like a madman in your desperation to find your ball within the time limit and benefit from accidentally moving it advantageously with one of your wild ’search strikes’. If you do move your ball, you will need to replace it where it was, but no penalty incurred.

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Golf Preview & Picks - Dubai Duty Free Irish Open

IRISH OPEN

The build up to Birkdale continues with the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open on the beautiful north coast of Northern Ireland. No one will be surprised to see local hero Rory McIlroy heading the betting but I wouldn’t be in a rush - at the skinny price of 7/1 - to back a man clearly not on top of his game. I have long believed that Hideki Matsuyama is a Major winner in waiting and, fresh from a storming US Open finish at Erin Hills, I would suggest that the 10/1 on offer from both Bet365 and BoyleSports represents value for a player who has risen to No. 2 in the world. The big-hitting Belgian and Ryder Cup hero, Thomas Pieters, returned to form in Paris last week and  is available at 25/1 with BoyleSports and Stan James. Although not back to his absolute best, he is clearly on an upward curve and well worth an investment in a field lacking real strength in depth. Anyone with three Top-10 finishes in his last six outings is clearly a man in form and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen has those stats to his name. He is generally 33/1 and with each way odds available for seven places from both Paddy Power and BoyleSports, he looks to be great each way value.

The Green Reader  

PORTSTEWART - THE KNOWLEDGE

Thanks to recent upgrades The Strand Course at Portstewart has become big enough and serious enough to host Ireland’s best amateur tournaments as well as The British Amateur and now this, The Irish Open.

Portstewart lives a little in the shadow of Northern Ireland’s most celebrated links: Royal County Down and Royal Portrush. Really though, it deserves more attention: its front nine plays entertainingly through some of the biggest and best dunes in the game; the back nine feels tougher, flatter, sterner. It’s a good mix, and a charming test. And the location is stunning. Tour golfers will experience nowhere lovelier, nowhere friendlier too.

But they will not find it as tricky as Birkdale will be two weeks from now and in the benign conditions forecast they should shoot low on this (comparatively) short track.

tour the course here

A QUESTION OF RULES

The R&A and USGA rules modernisation programme sees amendments implemented from 1st January 2019. So don’t rip up your rule book yet.

But what are these changes? There will be many, but here’s one, a new rule relating to the dreaded ‘lost ball’. How long can you search for a lost ball? It’s five minutes and, let’s be honest, you’ve stretched that five minutes before. You’ve pulled it like an elastic band and five minutes has become six or seven or eight, not because it’s a brand new Pro V1 (well, maybe), but more likely because you don’t want to incur a lost ball penalty. Well, sorry to say, soon you’re going to have just three minutes to find your ball. The R&A and USGA have concluded that, frankly, if you can’t find your ball in three minutes, you’re not much more likely to find it in five minutes. It’s an opportunity to address one of golf’s challenges - slow play. So, watch the mishit ball like a hawk. Get your marker and don’t take your eyes off it as you stride towards it. That’s what we were taught as kids, right? Or, hit the ball straighter. That’s also an alternative.

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Golf Preview & Picks - HNA Open de France

LE OPEN DE FRANCE

This week the European Tour visits Paris, the venue for the next Ryder Cup. The HNA Open de France market leader Jon Rahm will doubtless be popular with punters having made such an impression on the US Tour but I prefer to look a little further down the list for the winner. Austria doesn’t exactly have a pedigree when it comes to producing top class golfers but Bernd Wiesberger may be the man to break the mould. He has been ultra-consistent across the pond with top-20 finishes at the Players’   and US Open and looks a solid betting proposition at 16/1 generally. The  fact that he won this tournament in 2015 is another positive. Alex Noren has been nothing short of sensational over the last 12 months and I can’t resist the same odds about a man with nine victories on Tour including his brilliant recent win at Wentworth. It’s rare to get a chance to back a player who has burst into the world’s top-10 at odds of 18/1 on Betfair - and in fact with most firms - so take advantage of the generosity. For those seeking each way value at bigger prices, why not invest a little on a man who rarely misses a cut anywhere and has four top-20 finishes in France in his last four visits? Too short off the tee to compete consistently at the very top level, Soren Kjeldsen is just the type of player to keep each way punters interested all weekend. With Stan James paying ¼ the odds for a top-six finish, their 50/1 looks inviting.

The Green Reader  

LE GOLF NATIONAL - THE KNOWLEDGE

This famous tournament’s prestige continues to grow, as does its prize fund, now $7 million, the same sum being played for on The PGA Tour this week.

Past winners include Ballesteros, Faldo, Lyle, Norman, Olazabal and countless greats. And the venue since 1991, Le Golf National, has become that rarest of things: a stadium course, built for professional tournaments, which is well loved and much admired! It will host The Ryder Cup in 2018. Its par-3 16th is a great place to gather because it’s tricky and dangerous, more so than its 175 yards suggest. It’s the centrepiece of its stadium design. But even without an audience, it’s a joyous challenge of pure target golf.

visit the course website here

A QUESTION OF RULES

For eagle-eyed Golf Prospect readers out there, you will have noticed that our usual golf ruling was missing from last week’s newsletter. Obviously, you will be relieved and, we suspect, a touch excited to know that as of next week, by popular demand (well, a couple of emails), our focus on golf rules will be back. But, there'll be a twist. A ‘ twist' you say? ‘ Twists' aren’t part of the rules. Well, maybe they are. In forthcoming newsletters, we’ll be exploring some of the changes that are being made to the Rules of Golf. Yes, that’s right, you heard it here first. The Rules of Golf are changing. (Actually, you’ve probably not heard it here first. You probably heard it somewhere else. But that’s not important). And don’t panic. All those valuable insights that you gained from reading our previous golf rulings still apply until 1st January 2019. Then they don’t apply. Well, they might apply. It all depends. We’ll talk about it next week.

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Preview & Picks for The Travelers Championship

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED

Travelers Championship - One thing golf fans have learned of late is that when it comes to the tournament immediately after a Major they should expect the unexpected.

Not many would have invested their hard-earned cash on Knox, Vegas, Hurley or Love but all have won the week after a recent Major. For that reason, I would oppose the famous names at the head of the market: they tend to concentrate their efforts on the big ones, leaving the lesser lights to shine afterwards... My first selection is Marc Leishman who was bang in contention at the halfway stage at Erin Hills before fading over the weekend. With a great record at River Highlands he is overpriced at 33/1 which represents cracking each-way value with most firms paying seven places. You wouldn’t have got rich by backing Graham Delaet over the years but he is a player who is regularly in contention without quite getting over the line come Sunday. Another with outstanding course form, I would be more than happy to take Stan James’ 70/1 about him breaking his Tour duck this week. Of those nearer the top of the market, our old friend Patrick Reed appeals most at a generous 30/1 with Stan James. A solid performance at the US Open shows his game is in great nick and with question marks over the form of many of those above him, he may be over-priced.

The Green Reader  

TPC RIVER HIGHLANDS

Well-wooded, well-watered, wonderful to look at, lovely to play, TPC River Highlands in Cromwell Connecticut has hosted The Travelers (The Greater Hartford Open as was) since 1991.

The course was acquired by The PGA in the 1980’s and given the Pete Dye treatment. It's been reworked a few times since then, including last year. Most modernisation though has focused on new angles, new bunkers, new putting surfaces. They've not gone in for crazy lengthening so great scores can be made here which makes it a joy for watching audiences.  

At last year's Travelers Jim Furyk shot a 58. It's almost impossible to imagine. But, he'd made 59 elsewhere previously and, well, he was on fire.

Other venues might be less than pleased that a golfer could beat up their course so badly. But TPC River Highlands is not such a place. It has driveable par 4s. It prides itself on being the sort of course which can work for players of all abilities. Keep out of the rough and anyone can go low. More courses should look at the River Highlands model...

Holes 15, 16, 17 and 18 are the pick of the bunch, beautiful and fun.

visit the course website here

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The Shell Houston Open

The Shell Houston Open begins tomorrow and the temptation to write just two words – Dustin Johnson – is almost overwhelming as the world number one is far and away the most likely winner given how dominant he has been in recent weeks and months but, as ever, there is surely better value than Paddy Power’s 11-2 on offer about DJ. Twice runner-up in the tournament, Henrik Stenson appeals at a general price of 16-1. The Swede has shown his liking for the course, finishing 2nd in both 2016 and 2013, and had a top-ten finish in the Valspar Championship earlier this month before a poor showing at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. So, his game seems in fairly good order. Another who has shown an affinity with the Golf Club of Houston Tournament Course is 2015 winner J B Holmes and with Paddy Power paying 1/5 of the odds for a top-seven finish, their 40-1 looks tempting each way value. Our third selection is big-hitting Spaniard, Rafa Cabrera Bello, who can be backed each way at 66-1. Another with previous course form, he has been steady rather than spectacular since the turn of the year but has too much class to remain out of contention for long and this may be the weekend when he returns to prime form.

The Green Reader