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Golf – Indian Masters, Delhi G.C. The first trip to India for the European Tour and we have respectable field of players. Not as strong as the Middle East swing but the sponsors have obviously delved deep into their pockets to persuade Ernie Els to bring his wheelbarrow, along with his clubs of course. The Delhi Golf Club appears to be a traditional type of course as opposed to the modern American style courses used for the last three weeks. The good news for Els is that the course features no water hazards, so he will be sparred facing that particular demon this week. The fairways are narrow, undulating, lined by bushes, with the bunkers deep and well placed. At just over 7000 yards the par 71 curse is not long by modern standards with the three par fives reachable in two for many of these players. Overall however, it looks like a course that will reward accuracy rather than power. Els will start as 4/1 favourite but you all will be familiar about my thoughts about Els and his odds, even for modest events such as this. His mental state is bound to be somewhere from ideal after yet again losing to Woods and once again losing on the 18th hole in recent weeks. Of course he has the talent to win if he plays near his best, but you have to consider if he has lost the winning way. It wasn’t just the splash down on the eighteenth hole, his back nine was littered by short putts missed and easy birdie holes turned into pars. There are enough decent players in this field to expect that Els will not have his all his own way. The Asian Tour players definitely have an advantage this week as the Delhi course is a regular tour venue. There are a few very decent Indian golfers playing on the European tour and they must be respected in what is the biggest thing ever to happen to Indian golf. Shiv Kupur is the local pro and as he featured well in Dubai last week, it is no wonder to see him in the top ten in the betting. Kapur himself has tipped up Joyti Randhawa as the most likely home winner as he is a four time course winner and clearly has the game for the course. 1 point e/w Arjun Atwal @ 33/1 with Coral, Sportingbet. Twice a winner on the European Tour before moving to America and playing with some success on the US Tour. Form took a dip after a back injury and he was then involved in a fatal car crash last year, the legal implications of which affected him badly. Lost his tour card and only just retained his Nationwide Tour card. Practiced with none other than Tiger Woods over the winter and his form appears to have returned with a 2nd place in his first Nationwide Tour event this year. His course record here is very good with a win and five top 6 finishes. He says he is on the way back and is determined to return the US PGA Tour and if he is close to his 2005/2006 form, he should figure this weekend. lost 2 points 1 point e/w Joost Luiten @ 55/1 with Boylesports The best thing to have come out of Holland since Heineken? Certainly one of the hot young golfers who look set to be a major force in the coming years. If accuracy from tee to green is going to be an advantage then Luiten should thrive. He is ranked 6th for shot accuracy and that stat might well improve over the season. He won twice in his debut season on the Challenge Tour and was runner up in the Dutch Open in the European Tour event. He came 4th in the Dunhill in South Africa in December and has proven he can compete at this level. No course form but it is only going to be a matter of time before he wins and he must have a chance in an event which is not going to be the hardest to win. lost 2 points 1 point e/w Jyoti Randhawa @ 14/1 generally available. lost 2 points One of the best home players with a course record that is impossible to ignore. He has won this event form the last two years running and his 7th place in Qatar two weeks ago show that his game is in good shape. The field is stronger than for the last two years but so long as the expectation of the home crowd doesn’t put too much pressure on him, Randhawa should be in contention. The odds are not great however. 0.5 point e/w Oliver Fisher @ 75/1 with VCBet. lost 1 point Much like Luiten, Fishers game is based around accuracy so this course should suit him. He is still very young (19) but perhaps the fact that this is his second year on tour will mean he is a little more relaxed and the expectations about being England’s answer to Tiger Woods will have faded. Certainly his start to the 2008 season has been better with form figures of 9/11/25 and his confidence will be high. His big problem is putting and he really needs a hot week with the short stick if he is to win, hence the small stakes. Adding: 4 points Joost Luiten to beat Ross McGowan @ 1.90 with Unibet (tie no bet) lost 4 points Gowan has made a good start to his professional career but I am taking the ultra accurate Luiten to be much more effective on this tight course. Put simply Luiten hits more fairways from the tee and more greens from the fairway (Luiten's shot accuracy rank = 6th, McGowan's = 94th). Reports coming in from the course are reinforcing the fact that keeping the ball in play is going to be vital as the penalty for missing fairways will be very high. Lost balls will be common and the driver is likely to be least used club in the bag, for the wise golfers at least. 3 points Alexander Noren to beat David Howell @ evens with Totesport. won 3 points One player who is suffering from a broken radar is David Howell. I mentioned last week that he will be a player to follow this year once there are signs that his driving accuracy and greens in regulation stats improve. There was nothing in his performance in Dubai last week to suggest he has cured his very poor shot accuracy, if anything it was worse (current shot accuracy ranking = 141st). What is keeping his scoring moderately good is a very hot short game. The difference between the courses that he has been playing recently and this one is that missing the fairway here will mean lost ball or unplayable lie, not just a shot from the rough or desert waste areas. I suspect that he will have a mare this week and his caddie should remember to slip another dozen balls into the bag. Noren is another youngster with great potential and despite a poor H2H record vs. Howell, he is a decent price against a player who may well miss the cut. |
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