After four events on the east coast in Florida we head inland to the second largest U.S state, Texas for the Shell Houston Open. The tournament is again being played on the Tournament course at the Redstone Golf Club in Humble.
This event was established in 1946 and has been played in and around the Houston area at several venues. It made its home at Redstone in 2003 where it was played on the Members course until it moved across the road to the Tournament course in 2006, where it has been played ever since.
The inaugural event was won by Byron Nelson who defeated Ben Hogan by 2 shots. The winner received US$2,000. Other famous names to win have been Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Bob Charles, Raymond Floyd and Payne Stewart. And more recently by Vijay Singh, Fred Couples, Adam Scott and Paul Casey.
This week the event has a Purse of US$6.2 million with the winner taking home US$1,080,000.
The Course is a Par 72, measuring 7,457 yards with 60 sand bunkers and 13 water hazards. Over the last 6 years the course has played at an average of -16 so expect much the same this week.
Much like early events on the Tour this year look out for the Par 4, 488 yard 18th hole to cause a few problems for anyone that tries to go for glory. The whole left hand side of the hole runs along the side of a lake and players will try to carry that as much as possible. There is a lot of risk involved however the reward can be good. The second shot to the green is also a tricky one with water on the left side of the green and a bunker on the right.
With the Masters being played in two weeks, several big name players tend to stay at home to practise however many others like to use Redstone as a good lead in to the event to fine tune their game. This week we will get to watch players of the calibre of Louis Oosthuizen, Brandt Snedeker, Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney, Lee Westwood and Bill Haas.
The bookies Top 5 in betting are: $10 Rory McIlroy, $15 Keegan Bradley, $15 Hunter Mahan, $15 Phil Mickelson and $19 Steve Stricker.
Looking at past winners of this event we need to pay close attention to guys who hit a lot of greens. This stat stands out above the rest as one of the most important. We also need to look at good scramblers as they have always done well here. With four Par 5’s on the course look at players with good Par 5 records as well. Accuracy off the tee is not as important as Distance off the tee this week as a good scrambler can negate the rough.
Taking these stats into consideration we have two players who should fair very well this week at Redstone.
Bill Haas $41.00 www.sportbet.com.au
If you want a player who is pretty much flying under the radar you can not go past Bill Haas. This season so far he has had 8 starts and made 7 cuts. Those 7 cuts have produced four Top 10 finishes! That is a 50% Top 10 strike rate.
Stats wise he is locked in this week. 6th in greens in regulation, 7th in scrambling and 7th in greens in regulation 100+ yards.
His last outing was at the Arnold Palmer Invitational where he finished T8th. He played the Par 5’s at -7. At the Northern Trust he was -8 for on the Par 5 holes and -10 at the Phoenix Open.
Bill has not played this event since 2009 when he missed the cut. In fact he missed the cut in 2008, 2007 and 2006 as well. However his golf has improved out of sight since 2009 so you should take that with a pinch of salt.
For a proven winner you can not go past the 40/1 on offer this week.
Jordan Spieth $67.00 www.sportsbet.com.au
He might only be nineteen years of age however he has already won two US Junior Amateur Championships. The only other person to win more than one? Tiger Woods.
Jordan made the field of the 2012 US Open as an alternate after Brandt Snedeker withdrew. He went on to finish T21st as the leading amateur.
Turning Pro in December 2012 this season will be his first full season on the PGA Tour. So far this season he has had four starts. He kicked it off with a missed cut in the Farmers Insurance Open. From there he was a comfortable T22nd in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am.
Next up was a trip down to Puerto Rico where he finished T2nd in their Open. And his last start was a T7th at the Tampa Bay Championship.
This is a kid with a big future and while several big names are missing this week he could sneak under the radar and post a great result.
Stats wise he is ranked 2nd in greens in regulation, 10th in scoring average, 14th in total driving and 3rd in ball striking.
It will not be long before this kid is on everyone’s lips.
Good luck and good punting.
