Jan 28 2014

Tournament Preview – Dubai Desert Classic

Now in it’s 25th year, the Dubai Desert Classic continues one of the most prestigious events with a field to match. This week really isn’t any different and it should be a great few days of golf in the UAE.

Europe is going to be tough this week but John is going for Matteo Manassero, best price 80/1 with most bookies and 66s next best after that. The young Italian is just getting better and better and with his new Callaway clubs getting a tune up last week he’s going to be firing on all cylinders, leaving out Tiger and Rors might not be a wise call but both have yet to shake off the Christmas rust.

Long John Daly is the other JD’s sneaky bet for the week, the slimmed down razorback is showing good sings of form and his big hitting and fearlessness on the course might pay off for any punters wanting to take a risk, a top 10 finish pays out €330 for a €10 bet!

If you’d like to give John a follow on Twitter you will find him@johnalandeasy ! Prices accurate as of 10pm on 22/1/2014 via Oddschecker.com

Jan 28 2014

Tournament Preview – Waste Management Phoenix Open

This is consistently one of the best weeks in terms of fan-player interaction and also attendance with pretty much a football stadium stand erected at the 16th hole at the TPC Scottsdale in Phoenix, Arizona. Scoring tends to be fairly good so expect a score not far off the 20-under par mark if the weather is anyway decent for golf which it is likely to be be going on the forecast.

John Deasy is going for Graeme DeLaet to win this week in Arizona, best price 40/1 with 888sport and 33/1 with the majority of the rest. He is fresh off his second career runner-up finish and has finished no worse than a T7 in his last three starts. Top 10s in seven of his last 14 tournaments indicates that he is on a roll and looks good to pick up a win soon. His performance in the President’s Cup was also superb and he looks to have the mettle for playing under pressure and also notching up low scores.

One of John’s each way bets is for Keegan Bradley (top price 25/1 with most bookmakers).Tied for 16th at Torrey Pines, extending his string of top 20s on the PGA TOUR to seven in a row, the nephew of LPGA Tour legend Pat Bradley remains in good form. He has Top 25s in both starts at TPC Scottsdale and definitely has the ability and mentality to go low. One of John’s recent picks, Roberto Castro (100/1) is just waiting to catch fire at an event and this might be it.

If you’d like to give John a follow on Twitter you will find him@johnalandeasy ! Prices accurate as of 7.30pm on 28/1/2014 via Oddschecker.com

Jan 27 2014

Enniscrone Golf Club – Early Season Offers

Enniscrone Golf Club is one of my favourite courses in Ireland, and therefore the World! It is a true gem of a links course and has some of the most spectacular golf holes over its 18-hole layout.

They have some great early season offers at the moment. For the month of March 2 Players can play The Dunes Championship Course for only €80 including Golf Buggy and for Month of April 4 players can play The Dunes Championship Course for €200 to include Tea/Coffee on arrival, Round of Golf and a Main Course after play!

The Enniscrone Golf Club Open Week also starts on June 23rd. You can contact Christina on 096-36297 to book any of the above offers or to get more details about their Open Week. There are some fantastic Membership offers available too, so much so I’ll be considering Country Membership while I am in Ghana!! One fantastic membership deal is a new 1st year Full Membership for only €266!! This deal applies to ladies or gents that have not been a member of a golf club for at least 5 years, that’s one helluva way to get back into golf if you’ve taken a break from the game or take up the game itself.

Make sure to give the code TKSD to avail of their great early season offers! You can check out the Enniscrone Golf Club website for some more great photos, further details on their 2013 offers, membership packages and all what you wanted to know about this superb golf course on Ireland’s west coast.

Jan 22 2014

Tournament Preview – Farmers Insurance Open

Torrey Pines is the venue for the next stop on the PGA Tour when the Farmers Insurance Open starts tomorrow. Unfortunately we won’t have a Tournament Preview for Qatar as John and myself both forgot it was starting today, Wednesday 22nd January!!

Like most people that know Torrey Pines know Tiger Woods should be right up there when the final round finishes on Sunday and expect nothing less this week. A best price of 5/2 with Paddypower who are offering 6 places is still very short however, having said that a win is a win and Tiger should be bang in contention after 72 holes.

Bill Haas will be another to keep an eye on this week in California. A top 6 finish last week at the Humana Challenge which could have been so much better had it not been for Patrick Reed going ga-ga with 3 consecutive rounds of 63, eventually finishing up with a 28-under par total to win. Haas shot 23-under and but for Patrick Reed we could have seen him fighting for even more money. Now he enters a tournament that has seen him finish tied for ninth last year, T-4 the year before, with another top-10 and three top-20′s to his credit over the years. Best price is with BetDaq at 27/1 with Paddypower next best at 25s.

Jimmy Walker has been on great form of late and we expect to see more of the same this week at Torrey Pines. He is Top 10 in nearly all of the stats so far this season , on a hot streak and a good could go low again over the next 4 rounds. CORAL offer you the best price on Jimmy at 40/1 while Bet Victor are next best at 35/1, most of the rest are 33s and lower.

John came close to a winner in Europe last week picking Phil Mickelson so hopefully he will go one better this week Stateside. If you’d like to give John a follow on Twitter you will find him @johnalandeasy ! Prices accurate as of 9pm on 22/1/2014 via Oddschecker.com

Jan 15 2014

Tournament Preview – HSBC Golf Championship

In the second of what will be weekly golf betting & tournament previews John Deasy now turns his attention to the HSBC Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi.

Phil is DC’s pick to win early this year, very much based on his interview and his past performances on this course “As I look back on 2013 I played some of my best golf and had some huge breakthroughs but I did most of it without a driver,” the American left-hander told reporters on Tuesday. We all remember the interviews in the run up to The Open at Muirfield last year, when Phil think he is on he usually is!

“This year I have the best driver I’ve ever hit that lowers my spin rate just like my three-wood. I drive it longer and straighter with my driver than I did with my three-wood“, Mickelson added. “It’s a whole different weapon in my arsenal now and if I drive the ball well, like I have been in practice and in the off-season, heading into this 2014 season it could be the best year of my career for that simple reason“. Best price for Phil is 18/1 with BetFred and CORAL with 5 places while Paddy Power and Stan James are offering 16s with 6 places.

Peter Uihlein is playing some great golf already this season and he is looking to break into the top 50 this year along with having an outside chance of making his first Ryder Cup appearance so the pressure is on, he can only get stronger the more he plays and a great each way bet. The best price you can get Peter at is 80/1 with SpreadEx, 70s with Bet365 or SkyBet and 66 with most of the rest.

Aphibarnrat has had a very good start to the PGA Tour season and he’s been in the top 10 in 4 tournaments. He is one of the best iron players around with 88% of greens hit and you need that this week. Easy to back each way at 125/1 with William Hill, Bet365, and 888sport while he is 100/1 with most of the others and as low at 80s with Paddy Power.

Looks like it will be worthwhile backing the Yanks in Europe (well, on the European Tour at least!) this week. John’s “Break the Bookie Deasy Double” for this week is Phil Mickelson and Brandt Snedeker with Paddy Power, a €5 e/w double should pay our close to €1,752 at current prices!

If you’d like to give John any feedback on his pick, or give out to him you will find him @johnalandeasy on Twitter! Prices accurate as of 1pm on 15/1/2014 via Oddschecker.com

Jan 15 2014

Tournament Preview – Humana Challenge

I’m delighted to be featuring some golf betting previews from resident bookie basher John “DC” Deasy (@johnalandeasy on Twitter)!

Brandt Snedeker is his pick to win this week. A very good putter, he shot 19-under at PGA West last year without going lower than 67. In 2012, he opened with a 64 and finished 8th , he always starts the season well and was solid in his first start 2 weeks ago in the Tournament of Champions. Best price is 18/1 with Paddy Power as they are paying out 6 places (www.paddypower.com)

Some good each way chances are Roberto Castro, who had a very strong finish to last season and is just a small step away from a win as his stats show, and Kevin Na as he just loves PGA West. Best price for Castro is 100/1 with Stan James (www.stanjames.com) and Ladbrokes (www.ladbrokes.com) while Na is is 70s with 888sport (www.888sport.com) and 66/1 with all the other usual suspects.

We hope you get on well this weekend during the Humana Challenge, if you want to give John a follow on twitter you can find him @johnalandeasy ! Odds correct as of 1pm on 15/1/2014 via www.oddschecker.com

Jan 13 2014

Irish Open finds Fota home for 2014

The Irish Open will return to Fota Island Resort this year after being played there last in 2002. This will provide great news for the people of Cork and also Fota’s recent Chinese investors, The Kang Group Worldwide, who will be looking to showcase their new venue to golfers around Ireland, Europe and the World. There is no specific news on the future venues for the Irish Open but with many sponsors already committed to supporting the tournament, including The Kang Group itself, it promises to be a great few days at Fota! The date straight after the US Open is not particularly ideal still especially with it being followed by the BMW International, French Open, Scottish Open and The Open Championship as some players will take at least 1 week off between the US Open and Open Championship. The August Bank Holiday date that Killarney enjoyed was fantastic for fans although it would now clash with the WGC Bridgestone Invitational now, it’s tough to fit all these tournaments in to maximise the best fields but I think the Irish Open should start getting a better slot on the calendar with the event getting some security in the coming years.

The news has been heralded by many Irish tour professionals, including World no.7 Rory McIlroy who stated: “I think it is great news that the Irish Open will be played at Fota Island……..The country’s National Open should be moved around to give everyone an opportunity to see the event, and it also gives us the chance to show the world just how many amazing courses there are in Ireland. Fota Island will be an exciting venue for the Irish Open, and exactly the kind of place to showcase what Ireland has to offer as a golf destination.”

There have been quite a few changes to Fota since they last hosted the Irish Open in 2002, with significant investment in the Resort facilities itself along with much real estate being built and also an additional 9 holes to add to the Championship 18-hole course that hosted the 2001 and 2002 Irish Opens. It has always been a course kept in great condition and I’m sure this will be no different when June comes around.

It is also great to see the tournament supported locally by Cork City and County Councils as well as from the private sector in the form of BAM Contractors. Having such support on board already will take a lot of pressure off courting sponsors over the coming months, will this give the European Tour and/or Fáilte Ireland the opportunity to secure the future of the Irish Open with venues and also sponsors? I definitely hope so!

Advance tickets for the 2014 Irish Open are on sale now at a special promotional price of €25 for Adult Day Tickets and €50 for Adult Season Tickets (concessions €15 and €30). A limited number of tickets at those promotional prices – saving up to €10 for a day pass and €20 for a season – on the gate prices are currently available on a first come first served basis. Golf fans are encouraged to apply now for tickets on www.europeantour.com/tickets or www.irishopen.ie

When the sun shines at the Irish Open there are few better places to be and Cork is also great “craic” at tournament time as well………just don’t tell those langers that, they know that already!!

tomkennedygolf

Golf Consultancy, Events & Golf Blog!

Monthly Archives: January 2014