The Players Championship 2014- Betting Tips & Preview

The Players Championship 2014- Betting Tips & Preview

I can't say I'm too surprised Holmes took the Wells Fargo Championship last week. He had been playing pretty good golf and his stats matched up well for the course. He made my 1st cut (around 35 golfers) but ultimately didn't make the final card. A bit of a disappointing week overall but we move on.

Golf's 5th major is upon us and it truly is a world class field. With the exception of the injured Tiger and Jason Day, the top 20 players in the world are all in Ponte Vedra, FL this week for the 2014 Players Championship. The Players is certainly a world class event where the best players in the world will battle for the largest purse in golf.

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The Players is played at the World Famous TPC Sawgrass designed in 1980 by the legendary Pete Dye. Those who have been following will note that this is the 3rd Dye course in 4 weeks. Dye is known for making the players in the field visually uncomfortable. And that will be no different at Sawgrass this week. Sawgrass is a traditional 72 hole golf course with 4 par 3's and 4 par 5's (3 of which are very reachable.) The stadium course stretched to just over 7,200 yards for championship play. It's most famous hole is the par 3 17th. It is an iconic island green where many players have seen their dreams of winning crushed on the 71st hole of play. The Players has been held at this course since 1982 so there is tons of course data to look at. There has been a lot of talk about the greens being in bad shape this year and there is word that some of them are still closed during practice rounds this week.

This course is very odd as no type of golfer really stands out among the past winners. Past form has proven to be critical and par 5 scoring is very important. When Tiger won here last year with a score of -13 he played the par 5's in a total of -12. Course management will be important as always with a Dye course. In total, players will have to strike the ball well, manage their way around the course, score on the par 5's and survive the par 3's. Let's take a look at people who have manage to do that:

Past Winners:

Tiger Woods – 2013

Matt Kuchar – 2012

KJ Choi – 2011

Tim Clark – 2010

Henrik Stenson – 2009

The weather looks wonderful this week. May see some rain on Sunday but the rest of the week calls for sunshine and low wind.

Let’s look at some picks:

Sergio Garcia to Win: 22/1 William Hill- Open a new William Hill account by clicking this link and get a free £25 bet. 

Sergio is known for his ball striking. He's also known for throwing this tournament away last year with a ball in the water on 17. He seems more focused this year and has picked up a win on the European Tour. He also won here in 2008. He's ranked 25th in ball striking.

Luke Donald to Win: 22/1 Coral- Open a new Coral account by clicking this link bet just £5 and get a free £20 bet!

Donald is playing really fine golf and a breakthrough could be near. Luke finished 2nd in his last event on TOUR and has 3 top 20 finishes in his last 3 years at Sawgrass. Luke knows how to navigate this course and ranks 34th in par 5 scoring.

Jim Furyk e/w: 33/1 Ladbrokes- Open a new Ladbrokes account by clicking this link, and get a £50 free bet!

Furyk is as hot as anyone not named Matt Kuchar on TOUR. Top 20 finishes in his last 5 starts with a 2nd place finish last week. His track record here isn't the best but he hasn't been playing this well in years. He does have 2 top 5 finishes here despite his lack of success. ore should be up to the challenge. He also finished 6th here in 2013 and 5th in 2012.

Ryan Palmer e/w: 110/1 William Hill- Open a new William Hill account by clicking this link and get a free £25 bet. 

Palmer really struggled here until he broke through last year. And at these odds I cannot pass him up. He ranks 2nd in ball striking and 9th in par 5 scoring. He also has 2 top 10 finishes in his last 3 starts on TOUR.

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