Side with Coetzee, Andersson Hed and Webster in Portugal

The odds make George Coetzee, Fredrik Andersson Hed and Steve Webster worth supporting in the European Tour`s Portugal Masters at the Oceanico Victoria Golf Course.

While there will be punters out there who want to be with Jose Maria Olazabal at around 300-1 as he plays in his first event since captaining Europe to Ryder Cup glory, Coetzee, Andersson Hed and Webster are much better Portugal Masters propositions at around 25-1, 50-1 and 66-1 respectively.

Coetzee boats the coveted combination of excellent course and recent form and that is why bookmakers are listing him as one of the Portugal Masters title favourites along with Francesco Molinari, Martin Kaymer and Thorbjorn Olesen.

The South African shot a final-round 65 to finish tied for third position in last year`s Portugal Masters, his total of 18 under par three strokes worse than the winner`s tally. It was Coetzee`s tournament debut and he got better with every round, shooting scores of 70, 69, 66 and 65 in that order.

Last week, Coetzee blitzed St Andrews on the final day of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, firing a 62 to end the event in joint fifth place on 15 under par. It was the South African`s first appearance on the European Tour since just missing the second-round cut in the PGA Championship.

Coetzee has yet to win a European Tour title but he has won several times on the sunshine Tour based in southern Africa so he knows how to get the job done in the fourth round.

Andersson Hed was one of the half a dozen golfers with whom Coetzee tied for fifth position in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, with the Swede having an up and down week. He opened up with a 64 before shooting 71, 66 and 72. Still, it was a strong overall performance and meant that he posted his third top-five finish in his last five tournaments.

The Portugal Masters is a regular in Andersson Hed`s diary and he has a pretty good record in it. Four appearances have resulted in two top-10 placings, including being joint third behind Webster and Robert Karlsson in its 2007 edition.

Webster, whose 25-under-par aggregate in winning the first Portugal Masters five years ago is the tournament record, gets the third and final vote. The Englishman has been an ever present in the Oceanico Victoria Golf Course event, averaging 68.30 strokes per round and a mean finishing position of 20th place. More often than not he contends.

Without a victory since winning the 2007 Portugal Masters, Webster caught the eye with his final-round effort at St Andrews in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, burning up the Old Course with a 64 to end in a tie for 12th position.

Molinari is likely to start the Portugal Masters as the market leader at around 14-1. The Ryder Cup hero will have his supporters, not least because his form in the event is decent, including two top-five finishes in five outings.

The Italian is great at giving his backers a run for their money, with him missing only one cut anywhere this season. There will be worse tournament favourites than Molinari but, at the odds, Coetzee, Andersson Hed and Webster are better.

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09/10/2012     © Frixo 2024