Donald to end season in style at the Tour Championship

Imagine if at the end of the Champions League as Bayern Munich celebrated with the trophy it was revealed that the actual winner was Real Madrid due to a complex maths formula that nobody outside the inventors understand. The problem with the FedEx playoffs is that the winner is not the one who wins the last event. So while Luke Donald might win the last event it takes a series of complicated equations to work out who has won the overall event.

A system like the US Amateur Championship would be much more logical where the event is concluded by some form of Matchplay event where the winner is the clear winner. This would surely make for a much greater television spectacle.

At stake for the man at the top of the standings is a a trophy and the small matter of a 10 million dollar bonus, not bad work if you can get it. The top five in the standings know that they have their own fate in their hands as if any of Woods (1), Stenson (2), Scott (3), Zach Johnson (4) and Matt Kuchar (5) win then they will claim the trophy. Sixth placed Steve Stricker would also win if he wins unless Tiger comes in a solo second place. Every subsequent player has a chance though it gets harder and harder the further you go down all the way to 30th placed Dustin Johnson who needs to win, have Tiger finish last and have none of the top six finish highly.

PADDY POWER are the only bookmaker betting on the outcome and they make Tiger Woods the 11/10 favourite ahead of Adam Scott and Henrik Stenson at 5/1, Zach Johnson is 8/1, Matt Kuchar 11/1 and Steve Stricker 14/1. It is 22/1 and upwards the rest of the players. With so many scenarions and complexities it is best to avoid this betting and look instead at the Tour Championship event itself.

Tiger Woods is the 11/2 (BWIN) favourite and he has the best stroke average at this course over the last six years. The American has appeared here five times previously, winning once, finishing second three times and last year he came tied eighth. Woods has a tendency to do well on specific courses and this looks another one.

Luke Donald is another course specialist having come second here in 2010 and tied third here in 2011 and 2012. The Englishman has the pressure off him as he is unlikely to land the big prize so is free to treat this as he would an ordinary PGA Tour event. Donald came tied fourth in the BMW Championship last weekend and appeals each-way at 20/1 (GENERAL).

Another name I like the look of is Jim Furyk at 22/1 (STAN JAMES/paddy Power). The American shot a second round 59 last weekend en-route to coming third at the BMW Championships and he has a good record here having come no worse than tied 11th .

The prize money is an awful lot less but the chance to play at Hawaii is not to be sniffed at in the Senior Tour in the pacific Links Hawaii Championship. Betting is headed by Bernhard Langer and Kenny Perry at 8/1 (GENERAL) while Fred Couples is a 9/1 (GENERAL) chance. The selection is Duffy Waldorf at 14/1 (GENERAL) who looks a good each-way chance with four top five finishes in his last four events. He is a combined 42 under par in this stretch.

BEST OF THE BETS

GOLD: Luke Donald in the Tour Championship, EW 20/1 (GENERAL)
SILVER: Jim Furyk in the Tour Championship, EW 22/1 (STAN JAMES/paddy Power)
BRONZE: Duffy Waldorf in the Hawaii Championship, EW 14/1 (GENERAL)

Go To bet365

#Ad

19/09/2013     © Frixo 2024