Welcome to Virtual Insanity, where we spend virtual money to try and win virtual money on golf betting. It's that simple!
The pot is at €677 entering this week's second tournament of focus, the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on the US PGA Tour in Las Vegas.
Played at the par 71 TPC of Summerlin, unless it's windy, scores are low and birdies are essential.
This week's event starts at 2.45pm Irish time on Thursday.
Be sure to shop around, with bookmakers such as Paddy Power, Betfair, William Hill and Boylesports offering 1/5 the odds for your pick to get into the top 8.
Our first selection is Joaquin Niemann for €4 each way at 50/1. (1/5 the odds the first 8 places).
Niemann is only 21 years of age and is from Chile, a great indication of the truly global nature of golf. He was the top ranked amateur in the world for 44 weeks and upon turning professional, he reached the top 10 on four occasions during his rookie season. A win followed in the Military Tribute at the Greenbrier a year ago, locking down his card. Niemann produced an excellent performance at the tough BMW Championship during the Fed Ex Cup play offs, ending in a tie for third behind Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson. He is also unafraid to go low, arriving at 21 under par when he took the tournament at the Greenbrier. A tied 10th finish in this event two years ago included a round of 66. Niemann has the raw talent to make his odds of 50 to 1 look quite generous.
Our second selection is Harris English for €2 each way at 25/1. (1/5 the odds the first 8 places).
American Harris English hasn't won for 6 years on the US PGA Tour, but surely that will change sooner rather than later. Perhaps this week. English will find Las Vegas a much easier environment than New York, where he finished fourth at the US Open. That followed an excellent season, with English chalking six top 10's in 20 starts. It was a season which saw him inside the top 10 of statistics for greens hit and scoring average. He's finished fourth in this tournament in Vegas before and all he needs is the 'W' for the win.
Our third selection is Denny McCarthy for €2 each way at 70/1. (1/5 the odds the first 8 places).
A price of 70 to 1 is attractive for a player who is in form, and who possesses course form. McCarthy has topped the putting criteria in each of the last two years, but his long game is also getting better. Last week he was tied for sixth at the Sanderson Farms Championship and he's been inside the top 20 in Las Vegas over the last two years. It all points to another very good week on the golf course for the 27 year old American.
Our final selection is Doc Redman for €2 each way at 70/1. (1/5 the odds the first 8 places).
I don't think I could live with deserting Doc Redman after supporting him for many weeks now. As a reminder, he is a former US Amateur champion who represented his country at the 2017 Walker Cup. On his team back then was current PGA Champion Collin Morikawa. Only 22, Redman is brilliant off the tee and possesses a calm temperament. He looks to have a big future ahead of him and nearly won the Wyndham Championship in August. He followed that up with a 62 in the final round of the Safeway Open in September for another top three placing. Last week was only mediocre, a tie for 28th; and last year he was tied 42nd in this event. It's nothing to write home about, but one of those rounds was a 65 and Redman is going places. Worth one more look before I leave him for a while.
So that's €20 wagered on this week's golf.
Please gamble responsibly, never bet more than you can afford, and good luck!
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