2015 PGA - Northern Trust Open
Where: Riviera Country Club, California, USA
Purse: $6,700,000
When: Friday 20th February 2015 – first tee off at 01:40am AEDT
Riviera Country Club has a rich history of celebrity members from the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Howard Hughes and Charlie Chaplin and nowadays it seems history is repeating itself with current celebrity members Adam Sandler, Larry David and even Tom Brady.
However the golf course is best known for Ben Hogan and has been named “Hogan’s Alley”. Have you ever walked into a pub and noticed an iconic black and white picture of a golfer on the wall. That’s Ben Hogan at Riviera with the famous one iron shot into the 18th green. These days players have nothing more than a 6 iron into the green if they can find the fairway.
The two tournament favourite’s Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson (12-1) don’t really jump out at me this week. Watson will be rusty and Johnson is still playing too inconsistent. I am very interested in the next two players Jordan Spieth and Jimmy Walker. These two are coming into this week with momentum. They both have the length off the tee and the stamina to win at Riviera.
So we are going to fade the big-name favourites and go with the inform golfers.
Bet On: Jordan Spieth - $15 at Betfair
Bet On: Jimmy Walker - $19.5 at Betfair
DIAMONDS “IN THE ROUGH”
As I’ve stated a few times, the gap between best and worst player is smaller than ever and without the world number 1 in the field all players are going to believe they can win. I believe when Rory is playing the whole feel of the event changes dramatically. With that being said here are my roughies for this week.
William McGirt - $170 at Betfair
he had the 54 hole lead last year with rounds of 69, 67, 65 but a final round 73 saw him slip to a T6. Value at 170-1? Yes!
Charlie Beljan - $75 at Betfair
Beljan almost made my top plays. He finished outright 2nd in 2013 and also had rounds of 67,68,68(73) last year for a T12. Clearly likes the course set up and I believe he’ll be right in the mix come Sunday.
Chesson Hadley - $310 at Betfair
This kid has a chip on his shoulder. He looks like he’s very keen to prove he is a top PGA tour player and not just a one hit wonder. Watch this space…
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
