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Bank of America Colonial
Johnny O'Shea, readaBet.com
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View Betting Verdict
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2003-05-22
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PRICE IS RIGHT |
The Bank of America Colonial is one of the most traditional events on the PGA Tour circuit. Having been held at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas since its inception in 1946, there have been some notable winners, none more so than Ben Hogan, who lifted the title five times in thirteen years.
Hogan is an idol of many players, and Nick Price is one man who holds him in such awe. Price has spoken of the symbolic importance to him of this event because of the mark left on it by Hogan. As defending champion this year, the Zimbabwean is also playing good enough golf to walk away with the trophy for the third time. Last week at the Byron Nelson, he finished as runner up, and that followed a fifth place at the Wachovia Championship. This is even better than the form he took into last year’s tournament, when two successive eight places filled the form guide. May has often been a productive month for Price and his accurate iron play is key to his success around this testing, if not overly long, course. His odds of 12/1 are as short as they have been all year, but we believe he has a great chance of winning, and so that is worth taking at any price.
One competitor who one would imagine is happy that this is one of the shortest courses on the circuit is Annika Sorenstam. Yes, that is right, in case you hadn’t heard, a lady has been permitted entry to a full men’s PGA tournament for the first time for 58 years. The ability is there to compete with the men on this course but mere talent may not be enough. Such is the scale of media hype that the furore could well overwhelm the Swede. Much has been made over the power issue concerning her apparent inability to propel the ball as far as the men. However, with a driving average of 275.4 yards she is above such established players as Brad Faxon and Jose Maria Olazabal in this department. Her playing partners for the first two rounds are Dean Wilson and Aaron Barber, who average just 0.4 of a yard and 5 yards further than her. This will be important in enabling the world’s best female golfer to play her own game. The pressure will be on the playing partners too, and they will certainly not be used to the attention. With this in mind, Sorenstam looks a good bet at 4/1 to win her 3-ball match. Her Greens in Regulation stats are better than any of the men, although this is much less significant when one considers the advantage of driving the ball so far on the shorter courses.
She recently competed at Kingsmill, a course that has hosted many men’s tournaments over the years. This course was 800 yards shorter than Colonial, and 550 yards shorter than the version the men competed on last October. She finished sixth, and her six under par total would have been enough to claim 14th position in the men’s Michelob Championship, won by Charles Howell III last October. Her fist two rounds of 70,70 would have made the cut by two shots, but how much of a difference would the extra yardage have made? This is the best comparison that we can make and would suggest that the cut is within the realms of achievability. However, of all the plethora of markets available, the one advised above is the only one we can advise possibly going with.
Briny Baird was one of our selections last week, and the good form we picked up on was in evidence as he came in tied for ninth place. Unfortunately he couldn’t quite feature in the each way places, but we have enough faith to think that it could happen this week. Colonial should suit his game. At second in the statistic relating to ball striking and also in Greens in Regulation, the small targets at the Texan course should pose less of a problem for him than most of the others. Seven straight cuts have been made and four times he has finished in the top ten. Already with over $920,000 this has been his most fruitful to date, and we believe there could be more to come. 50/1 are odds worth taking when considering his consistency and the fact that his game should suit the course.
1997 British Open Champion Justin Leonard is a resident of Texas and could well be in line for a good week. 2003 has been a year for repeat winners so far, with Vijay Singh joining the likes of Tiger Woods, Mike Weir, Davis Love and Ernie Els, with his win at the Byron Nelson last week. Leonard has already won the Honda Classic and his ninth place last week suggests that his form is fine. At Colonial his record is fairly impressive, with six of eight results in the top twenty, and four of those in the top ten. His putting has always been key to his success and at sixth in the putting stats, this year is proving no different for the Ryder Cup man. He is available at best odds of 25/1 and we believe merits a bet at this price. |
| Betting Verdict |
4 pts Nick Price to win at 11/1 with Bet 365
Twice a winner of this event, including last year, and in fine form.
1.5 pts Justin Leonard each way (1/4 odds 1,2,3,4,5) at 20/1 with Bet 365
Texan resident who is coming back into some form and can continue the trend for multiple winners this year.
1 pt Briny Baird each way (1/4 odds 1,2,3,4,5) at 33/1 with Bet 365
Has been playing solidly for weeks now and a placed finish is surely only a matter of time. His game should suit Colonial.
1 pt Annika Sorenstam to win her first round three ball at
Hits the ball just as far as her playing companions, Aaron Barber and Dean Wilson, and they could well be more overwhelmed by the media presence than she is. |
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