Northern Trust Open Preview

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Last week started well for the Golf bet tips with the top 3 all being picked out, Snedeker (1st), Kirk (2nd) and Walker (T3rd).

This week we turn our attention to the Northern Trust Open taking place at the Riviera Country Club, CA which was won last year by Bill Haas in play-off hole ahead off Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley.

Date:                      14^th – 17^th February 2013

Venue:                   Riviera CC, Pacific Pallisades, California

Yards:                    7,300 yards

Par:                        Par 71

Riviera has long been known within golfing circles as “Hogan’s Alley”, a nickname bestowed upon it by three-time Masters champion Jimmy Demaret after Hogan won the 1947 and 1948 Los Angeles Opens and the 1948 U.S. Open at the Club within a span of 18 months. Today, Riviera remains one of golf’s few genuine classics, with a course layout that is virtually unaltered, yet every bit as great and testing as the day it was opened.

The course is a lengthy 7,300 yard par 71 that ranked as the 7^th most difficult course out of 49 in 2012. Around this testing course you want an experienced golfer who ranks well for total driving, hits greens and has the ability to make pars out of the sand. These are the key skills but a difficult course such as this tests a golfer’s all-around game, and as a result we expect the lower priced golfers to be bunched together at the top of the leaderboard.

Players to watch...

Bubba Watson (28/1) finished T13 here last year thanks to his ability to maximise the birdie opportunities on the par 5’s (-7) while he dropped shorts at the shorter holes (+5). He has started 2013 brightly, recording a T4 and a 15 in his 2 starts so far this year, being a combined -24. Bubba is leader the 2013 GIR rankings and lies 8^th all-around. He will need his length off the tee to make the most of the par 5’s whilst hopefully it will help to negate some of his loose ones.

Hunter Mahan (35/1) tends to play well early season and in his 4 events so far this year has had nothing worse than a T26 finish. During the 2012 season he ranked 2^nd in total driving and 13^th for GIR so if he can re-discover those talents this week then he won’t be far from the top of the leaderboard.

Charles Howell III (50/1) won this event back in 2007 but has not faired particularly well since then. He comes to the event in great form, with 3 top 10’s in his first 4 events this year - including a T2 (Humana) and a T3 (Sony). Ranking 11^th in GIR and 13^th all-around we think that he could challenge this week, although may not be solid enough with the driver to win so we recommend each-way betting here.

Bill Haas (33/1) is the defending champion and arrives here full of confidence after back-to-back top 10 finishes (Farmers & Waste Management). Haas has been hitting the greens well in 2013 (9^th GIR) and if he can combine that with his 2012 strengths of total driving (23^rd) and sand saves (13^th) then he has a great chance of keeping the trophy for another year.

Jim Furyk (45/1) started his season with a T30 finish last week, despite a 75 in the first round. Furyk is a regular at this event and recorded a very respectable T11 here last year. He is perhaps a bit short off the tee to win but he hits greens and has an excellent bunker record (3^rd sand saves 2012) so worth an each-way punt.