WGC World Cup – Mission Hills, China. The Olazabal Course at Mission Hills looks to be a very good course featuring a lot of bunkers, a lot of dog leg holes and water a big danger on 15 and 18. It is hard to say exactly who it will favour but looking at the lay out it should require a sound positional game but at over 7200 yards, the short hitters might struggle a little. An interesting mix of teams, from the very strong looking English pairing of Rose and Poulter, to the pathetic Irish entry of Hoey and Maybin. Is that really the best the Emerald Isle can offer up? As with so many of these end of year events, even the big money on offer is not enough to tempt some of the big names to come out and represent their countries. 7 points Austria to beat Ireland @ 1.80 (tie no bet) with Unibet. won 5.6 points The Irish pair is dire for a nation that can count the Open Champion amongst its number. Michael Hoey must be one of the most out of form professional golfers on the planet right now. He plies his trade on the European Challenger Tour and has missed the cut in 7 of his last 8 events. He has played in China on three occasions and of course missed the cut each time. His partner, Gareth Maybin is at least showing some form on the Challenger Tour with 3 top fifteen finishes from his last four events. Hardly earth shattering however and he will be no match for the Austrian number 1, Marcus Brier. Brier has been one of the revelations on the European Tour making the change from journey man pro to two time winner. His most recent win came in China earlier this season and with a 5th place in the Asian Open (also played in China) just two weeks later, it is clear he likes playing in China. He has played in this event once before, finishing a very creditable 5th when partnering Martin Wiegele, hardly a golfing colossus. His playing partner this time is Claude Grenier, a 47 year old pro who might just be on the same level as Hoey. This looks like a match that Brier can win single-handedly. His Chinese form is very strong and he is in pretty good current form, making his last 4 cuts, all with top 30 finishes. That is at a level Maybin and Hoey can only dream about. Outright betting. There are a handful of star pairings, Rose and Poulter being the obvious favourites. Rose is now officially the best golfer in Europe and Poulter won his first event for a while in Japan on Sunday. Bang in form, good mates off the course and sure to go well. However with best odds of 3/1, value they are not. Sweden has an abundance of quality players and Karlsson and Hanson are in form and possible winners. The worry is how well Karlsson can forget his last hole collapse in Hong Kong on Sunday. Very nice for Jimenez backers of course, but it cannot have done the Swedes mental state much good. Hanson also played well last week, finishing 5th and along with the English pair, the Swedes look the obvious choice. However Hanson is not a proven winner and Karlsson might just be burnt out after the horrors of Hong Kong. Perhaps 7/1 is a little on the short side. The South African pairing of Goosen and Immelman could be anything this weekend. Goosen is not in good form, but he is not playing total rubbish either and could well dovetail well with Immelman, whose form is better but not totally predicable. In Hong Kong last week his play was very hot and cold, but when hot, he was quite brilliant. These two could still string it together to devastating effect, but they could just as easily blow it completely. After the big three, many of the remaining teams are just too poor to be considered or have serious question marks about one or both team members. The Danish duo are not in good form, ditto the French, Australians, Scottish, Argentineans and Welsh. The US team have never really got to grips with team golf and Slocum and Weekley are hardly the cream of the PGA Tour. Spain have to be considered with the in form Jimenez in the team, but Lara’s form does inspire confidence. This column tipped 50/1 winners Germany last year and while there is nothing like that price on offer this year and the team is different, Kaymer and Cejka do look a decent pairing. Both are in good form and Kaymer’s big hitting and Cjeka’s accuracy could compliment each others game in the same way as Langer and Siem last year. 1 point e/w Germany @ 14/1 generally available. lost 2 points The Dutch pairing of Derksen and Lafeber may not be the strongest on paper, but they do have a good record in this event having teamed up in 2005 and 2006 finishing 5th and 6th respectively. Derksen has had a very good 2007 and with three top 15 finishes in his last four events he is still in good nick. Both players are straight hitters so the course should suit. A good week with the putter and these two could be this year’s surprise package. Lafeber’s top 30 finish last week was hopefully a hint of a return to form. 1 point e/w Holland @ 33/1 with BetFred, Coral, Totesport. lost 2 points Thailand have no great pedigree in this event but the pairing of Jaidee and Marksaegn is a strong one that should enjoy the conditions. The length of the course will not help but both players have good records in China and they will find the greens easier to read than most. 1 point e/w Thailand at @ 28/1 with Coral, Boylesports and Stan James. lost 2 points |
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