Welcome to Virtual Insanity, where we spend virtual money to try and win virtual money on golf betting. It's that simple!
There was no joy for any of our selections at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am on the PGA Tour last week, which keeps me grounded after the 80/1 Luke List bounty at the Farmers Insurance Open the week before.
So profit is at 9% for 2022 as the virtual pot is at €1090 from €1000 entering this week's PGA Tour tournament of focus, the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Arizona.
The tournament is played at the par 71 TPC of Scottsdale and it starts at 2pm Irish time on Thursday.
World number one Jon Rahm, Seamus Power, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama and Viktor Hovland are among those in the field this week.
It's desert golf, with good approach play a must.
It's also a track that generates low scores, so it's important for contenders to keep the foot on the throttle on Super Bowl weekend. Conditions are expected to be fair, so this will be a week to make birdies.
Be sure to shop around, with bookmakers such as Paddy Power, Betfair, Ladbrokes, Coral, Betfred, William Hill and SKY Bet offering 1/5 the odds for your pick to get into the top 8 places.
Our first selection is Scottie Scheffler for €6 each way at 25/1. (1/5 the odds the first 8 places, SKY Bet, William Hill).
In the early days of Virtual Insanity two years ago, I tipped American Scottie Scheffler in this tournament. I find it hard to believe he still hasn't won on the PGA Tour. The 25 year old has been second, tied for second and fourth in three of his last six starts. We know he is not afraid of anyone after his dominant singles display over Jon Rahm at the Ryder Cup. Scheffler ranked third in strokes gained with his approach shots on his last start at the Farmers Insurance Open and he tends to putt better on the Bermuda surfaces he will encounter in Phoenix. He skipped the long rounds at Pebble Beach last week which I see as a positive, and he had every chance of winning this event last year, finishing in a tie for seventh. I rate Scheffler as a confident headline pick to deservedly break his tournament duck.
Our second selection is Louis Oosthuizen for €3 each way at 40/1. (1/5 the odds the first 8 places, Paddy Power, Betfair, SKY Bet, William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral).
The nearly man in golf is South African Louis Oosthuizen, who remarkably has never won in America despite his status as the Open champion from 2010 at St Andrews and his consistent near misses in majors. Oosthuizen was tied for second at the PGA Championship and second at the US Open last year. Oosthuizen hasn't been seen since withdrawing from the RSM Classic in November with a back injury. Taking a look at his Instagram page would suggest he is healthy again and while there may be rust, it's hard to discount a player who was third in Phoenix on his debut in 2017 and then tied for 11th last year. Oosthuizen has always had a glorious swing and he was the top ranked putter on the PGA Tour in 2020/2021, so another decent year could be ahead.
Our third selection is Keith Mitchell for €2.50 each way at 70/1. (1/5 the odds the first 8 places, Paddy Power, Betfair, Betfred).
One of the more progressive golfers in the United States is 30 year old Keith Mitchell, a fine ball striker and former winner of the Honda Classic who is currently in fine form. Mitchell has finished in the top 12 in three of his last four starts on the PGA Tour, and when he was in much worse form two years ago, he ended in a tie for 16th in Phoenix. Mitchell's long game was decent last week, but his putting was in the negative column. Now encountering Bermuda greens again, he can deliver the type of performance that saw him gain 3.8 strokes on the field with the flat stick on a similar surface at the Sony Open in Hawaii last month. Mitchell appears a solid each way proposition.
Our fourth selection is Denny McCarthy for €2.50 each way at 125/1. (1/5 the odds the first 8 places, Paddy Power, Betfair).
The best putter statistically on the PGA Tour in 2019 and 2020 was American Denny McCarthy, but what interests me about the former Walker Cup player is how his long game has started to click. He has made seven cuts in a row and finished in the top 15 five times, including last week in the Pebble Beach tournament. His strokes gained total rank last year was 108th. At the moment on the PGA Tour he's 24th in that category. With all of that evidence, I am willing to forgive a low key history for McCarthy in Phoenix, where his best performance was a tie for 33rd in 2019. That effort did include one round of 65, and McCarthy also putts better on Bermuda than anyone else on tour apart from Matt Fitzpatrick. Worth a shot each way!
Our final selection is Doug Ghim for €1 each way at 175/1. (1/5 the odds the first 8 places, SKY Bet).
American Doug Ghim is a favourite of mine in this feature, and I cannot resist one euro each way on the former world amateur number one and top college golfer in the USA, who is still trying to make a breakthrough. Ghim has made seven cuts in a row and while it's his first look at the TPC of Scottsdale in tournament play, I do think his ability to stay out of trouble may suit him here. Ghim's major issue is putting, but he did finish tied fifth in the desert at the American Express last year and putted well on Bermuda at Bay Hill and Sawgrass in 2021. He's shown glimpses that a good week could be on the cards soon. It's 35/1 that he finishes in the top eight and I think that's worth taking.
So that's €30 wagered virtually on this week's golf.
Please gamble responsibly, never bet more than you can afford, and good luck!
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