The PGA Tour heads to Carmel, Indiana this week for the BMW Championship which is the third leg of the FedExCup playoffs.
Crooked Stick Golf Club will host the Top 70 players in the FedExCup standings.
Peter Dye designed the course in 1964. It is a Par 72 and measures at 7516 yards. The greens are Bentgrass; Poa annua and they are on the smaller side of the tour average much like TPC Sawgrass. The stimpmeter is runing at 12 feet.
The field this week consists of the Top 70 players in FedExCup standings. Due to the size of the field there will be no cut this week.
The bookies have the Top 5 in betting as-
- Rory McIlroy $7.00. Won the Deutsche Bank Championship last week. In form
- Tiger Woods $8.00. Third last week and three wins this season to date.
- Dustin Johnson $15.00. Two Top 5’s in last two starts.
- Louis Oosthuizen $19.00. Second last week at TPC Boston. Back to his best.
- Phil Mickelson $21.00. Last week was his sixth Top 10 of the year.
To play the course well you will need to excel in four main areas.
- Putting- The greens at Crooked Stick can be tricky to play and are sure to catch many players off guard this week.
- Accuracy- Keeping the ball in play and setting yourself up for the correct approach to the greens will be vital.
- Ball Striking- A good ball striker will have a distinct advantage being able to land the ball in the right areas.
- Par 5’s- With four Par 5’s on the course playing them well will take you a long way up the leaderboard.
Two players fit the bill this week.
Bo Van Pelt $56.00 (www.sportsbet.com.au)
Bo was born in Richmond, Indiana so he will feel at home this week.
He has made 18 cuts from 22 cuts and recorded 14 Top 25’s and eight Top 10’s. That is a pretty good strike rate in anyones book.
In the four Majors this year he had two Top 20 finishes with a T17th in The Masters and T18th PGA Championship.
Playing on the big stage has not been a worry which will help this week when you consider the money on offer.
Highlights of his season have included-
- T8th Phoenix Open
- T8th Northern Trust Open
- T8th WGC Cadillac Championship
- 9th Transitions Championship
- T7th Players Championship (Peter Dye Course)
- 2nd AT&T National
- T7th Canadian Open
- T8th WGC Bridgestone Invitational
In his last three starts he has been T18th PGA Championship, T24th The Barclays and T26th Deutsche Bank so we know his game is up to the challenge this week.
Stats wise he is suited well to Crooked Stick. 34th in driving accuracy, 25th in GIR’s, 9th in strokes gained putting, 8th in birdie average, 3rd in all round ranking, 15th in Par 5 birdie or better average and 11th in ball striking.
All this makes Bo a fantastic each way bet at odds of over 50/1!!
Zach Johnson $71.00 (www.sportsbet.com.au)
When it comes to Peter Dye designed courses there is one player who springs to mind and that is Zach Johnson.
This season he has produced two great results on Dye courses-
- 2nd RBC Heritage
- 2nd The Players Championship
Other good results this season include-
- 1st Crowne Plaza Invitational
- 1st John Deere Classic
- t8th Humana Challenge
- t9th The Open Championship
This season has been one of Zach’s best on the Tour. Only one missed cut from 22 starts! Which includes nine Top 25’s and six Top 10’s.
His stats will see him contend this week as his game is perfect for this course. 18th in driving accuracy, 7th in strokes gained putting, 9th in birdie average, 10th in all round ranking, 35th in scrambling and 6th in Par 5 performance.
At odds of 70/1 Zach should be backed each way and in Top 10 markets.
Good luck and good punting.
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