Opinion & Analysis

Sybase Match Play Championship preview

Published

12 years ago

May 16, 2012

Vince Robitaille

By Vince Robitaille

GolfWRX Contributor

Not only does Yours Truly already enjoy the gritty test and gamesmanship of match play from a golfer’s perspective, the added pleasure of filling brackets after March – and to do it with you this time around – can’t leave us but fully contented. In fact, with the Sybase Match Play Championship coming back to Hamilton Farm Golf Club for the third consecutive year, it is now time for us to look into the year’s lone head-to-head tournament of the season – one which saw 2012 Kraft Nabisco champion, Sun Young Yoo, and World No.3, Suzann Pettersen, win in 2010 and 2011 respectively. In order to make an attempt at claiming grabbing rights versus a virtual opponent – at the risk of incongruent upsets causing me to fall flat on my face – inspecting the venue, first and foremost, appears logical. Once this is done we’ll go through the table and get a feel for who might come up on top of the 64-player event.

The par-72 Hamilton Farm Golf Club will play, for this week’s Championship, to a slightly above-average length of 6,553 yards. While this could appear to be a significant advantage for the upper tier, in terms of distance, of the field, with all four par-5’s covering more than 500 yards – the longest being the 568-yard-long 11th – players opting out of planning their par-5 adventures as three-shot holes should prove quite the rarity. Furthermore, while a par-5 finishing hole might usually lend a helping hand to the LPGA’s bombers, in match play, more often than not, pairings won’t reach the 18th hole; thus eliminating a clear birdie opportunity for the longer hitters.

Greens on the hilly grounds of Hamilton Farm, a location that also plays host to the United States Equestrian Team, are somewhat peculiar. The majority of them are quite deep – some reaching depths of 40 yards – yet narrow, or, much to the contrary, rather wide and shallow. Ergo, players who combine superior distance control and lag putting. Much like South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi, United States’ Morgan Pressel and Scotland’s Catriona Matthew, could knife their way through the brackets to exit victorious this weekend. Our quick course overview behind us, we shall now proceed to our selections and highlights.

In the Patty Berg Division, while clear favorites Tseng and Creamer should move on to the second round rather easily, Hee Young Park and Brittany Lincicome might experience harsher times on their way. Park, on her hand, will have to put a halt to the surprising hot streak of French golfer Karine Icher who came out of relative obscurity – at least, on this side of the pond – to record back-to-back top 5’s in the Mobile Bay LPGA Classic and the HSBC Brasil Cup. Ultimately, however, Park’s flat stick shall prevail. Perhaps the most intriguing matchup of the division at this stage, the Lincicome-O’Toole duel, will see two players that have shown the killer instinct necessary to dominate the format. Even though we see Lincicome pulling through and eliminating what could be her fiercest foe until the group’s final stage – assuming that the head-to-head battle reignites the fire, in O’Toole, that was put out by a fishtail ending at the Solheim Cup last fall – one would be hard-pressed to find a pick on which we’d prefer to be wrong.

The second round’s most heated match should be between the aforementioned Catriona Matthew and Caroline Hedwall. The Solheim Cup teammates will clash in what will either end in a decisive win for the veteran, or a hard-earned triumph for the young Swede in extra holes. Proving that sometimes guts are stronger than brains and hence dismissing the stellar form of Hedwall in 2012, our long established pick for the summer’s Ricoh British Open, we’ll opt for the former option. At the other end of the table, in the Battle of the Brittanies, Lincicome should take care of Lang who, over the last few months, has shown signs that she might take her spot on the weekly radar of the LPGA Tour back, after all.

The divisonal semifinals will, in Yours Truly‘s opinion, play theaters to what will prove itself to perhaps be the paramount upset of the week, namely Matthew’s victory over Yani Tseng. Yes, you heard right. The World No.1’s usually systematic quasi-perfect performances have ever so slightly faded recently and, despite this week’s visit with putting guru Dave Stockton, we expect a few slippery 5-footers to edge out and, eventually, cost her the match and leave Matthew to face Lincicome. Sticking with our previous reasoning regarding the primordial skillset to swiftly manoeuver around the Hamilton Farm Golf Club, and taking into consideration the American’s tendency of late to decelerate in her fourth trip around the course, we’re picking Matthew to reach the Final Four.

As for the Kathy Whitworth Division, the first round should let us observe two heated pairings, the first consisting of two golfers who have enjoyed recent success despite an inability to close out, So Yeon Ru and Karin Sjodin, and the second comprising a resurgent star in Meena Lee, as well as a swashbuckling Vicky Hurst. Both melees should reveal themselves to be quite puzzling as a golfer in each of them, namely Lee and Sjodin, have the ability to go quite low on this specific type of course, as well as the predisposition to hit dry spells mid-round. Thankfully for both of them – and for us as spectators – the week’s format should keep the Korean and the Swede right in the thick of things, if either of them records an inopportune double-bogey like it has been the case at the Lotte Championship and the Kia Classic, respectively. Once the dust settles after the day’s rumblings, look for the statistically superior Ru and the fist-pumping grinder that is Hurst to stand firmly on their own two feet; until their next fixture that is. In fact, we forecast a short-lived celebration for our two golfers as Americans Michelle Wie who, despite absolutely horrendous performances over the last few months which resulted in missed cuts, has shined when put in a ring against one specific opponent whether it’d be at the Solheim Cup or in this very event – she tallied a 9th place finish and a top 5 in the previous years – and Cristie Kerr should play telephone poles to Ru and Hurst’s drifting cars.

Continuing this trend of quick dampers on previous successes of our featured players, the mechanical standouts that are Ai Miyazato and Angela Stafford, should steadily cut through both the course’s and their adversaries’ defenses to reach the divisional final; a final which, taking into consideration the fulgurant comeback of Miyazato to the very summit of the LPGA’s food chain, will turn in her favor – the Japanese’s short game mastery finally proving too much for the Texan’s steady ball striking.

The Mickey Wright portion of the table is arguably unbalanced; the previously cited Na Yeon Choi and Morgan Pressel, as well as 2008 U.S. Women’s Open champion and current World No.25, Inee Park highlighting the upper half of the bracket, while the bottom part’s star, Jiyai Shin, has suffered slender putting woes of late which have kept her from her reaching her usual crusing speed. That being said, her four top 10s in six events on the LPGA Tour this season and the fact that she has never finished in worse position than a tie for 26th in the first major event of the year, goes to show how fast her cruising speed actually is.

Joining her as favorites of this section of the field is the renascent, well one would be more accurate to describe it as trending, Natalie Gulbis. The American – who shall be profiled in a future installation – has enjoyed recent success, notwithstanding her propensity to hand in high scorecards early in tournaments, by showcasing a diametrically opposed faculty to get down in the mid-60’s. Three of those four players, according to our predictions will dispose of Jenny Shin, Inbee Park and Beatriz Recari, before colliding together in the semifinals; the other, Gulbis, succumbing – in the second round like both previous editions – to the 18-time top 10 finisher on the LPGA Tour, Amy Yang. At that stage, Na Yeon Choi’s loftier short game as well as superior ball striking, should enable her to upstage Pressel. In a battle where two identical swords – see playing styles – are drawn, Choi’s is, simply put, sharper. The Shin-Yang matchup would most likely turn out to be one of the Championship’s closest, one where an established star would confront a soon-to-be household name that could easily seem built from the former’s very own prototype. Riding her current wave of success, our vote goes to Yang. Nevertheless, our money won’t be riding on the 2010 LPGA Tour Championship runner-up against Choi.

The last fourth of the field is miles away from the other three’s relative homogeneity. A rather wild collection of golfers with contrasting styles, current forms and match play affinities, greatly widening the variance, an accurate prognosis seems somewhat unlikely. Thus said, this exercise is exactly that, an exercise; one wanting itself to open a dialogue. Reverting back to the Annika Sorenstam Division, while the victories of favorites Pettersen, Gustafson, Munoz and Sun Young Yoo are to be anticipated, don’t blink when you see Tiffany Joh – whose amateur match play track record is nothing short of spectacular, having won the U.S. Women’s Public Links twice in 2006 and 2008 – and Pornanung Phatlum defeat their opponents. The same could be said of Jessica Korda, for reasons analogous to Joh’s, if the Australia Open could start sinking putts; a hypothesis that hardly stacks up against Hee Kyung Seo. Nevertheless, on greens that shall play a tad slower due to the rain – hopefully permitting her to be more aggressive with the flat stick and quit leaving her putts a foot short – as well as on a course that renders obsolete the weakest part of her game, namely her play out of the sand, we’ll make Korda our wild card pick.

The latter rounds in the Annika Sorenstam Division should see the Sybase Match Play Championship’s two first champions, Sun Young Yoo and Suzann Pettersen, run the table, before running into each other. Ultimately, betting against Pettersen in match play is plain ludicrous and it is why, despite her lackluster form, we’re picking her to not only beat the reigning Kraft Nabisco champion, but her subsequent adversaries, presumably Na Yeon Choi and Ai Miyazato.

Click here for more discussion in the “LPGA/ladies golf talk” forum.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again

Published

2 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.

Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.

Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”

Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.

“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.

Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.

“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”

“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”

As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.

In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.

“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”

Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.

Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:

Fairways Hit

1.) Louis Oosthuizen

2.) Anirban Lahiri

3.) Jon Rahm

4.) Brendan Steele

5.) Cameron Tringale

Greens in Regulation

1.) Brooks Koepka

2.) Brendan Steele

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Cameron Tringale

5.) Anirban Lahiri

Birdies Made

1.) Brendan Steele

2.) Dean Burmester

3.) Thomas Pieters

4.) Patrick Reed

5.) Carlos Ortiz

LIV Golf Individual Standings:

1.) Joaquin Niemann

2.) Jon Rahm

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Louis Oosthuizen

5.) Abraham Ancer

LIV Golf Team Standings:

1.) Crushers

2.) Legion XIII

3.) Torque

4.) Stinger GC

5.) Ripper GC

LIV Golf Singapore Picks

Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)

Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.

This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.

Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)

Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.

This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.

It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.

Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)

Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.

Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.

Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.

Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)

Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.

Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.

If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.

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Opinion & Analysis

Ryan: Lessons from the worst golf instructor in America

Published

2 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

Brendan Ryan

In Tampa, there is a golf course that boasts carts that do not work, a water range, and a group of players none of which have any chance to break 80. The course is overseen by a staff of crusty men who have succeeded at nothing in life but ending up at the worst-run course in America. However, this place is no failure. With several other local courses going out of business — and boasting outstanding greens — the place is booked full.

While I came for the great greens, I stayed to watch our resident instructor; a poor-tempered, method teacher who caters to the hopeless. At first, it was simply hilarious. However, after months of listening and watching, something clicked. I realized I had a front-row seat to the worst golf instructor in America.

Here are some of my key takeaways.

Method Teacher

It is widely accepted that there are three types of golf instructors: system teachers, non-system teachers, and method teachers. Method teachers prescribe the same antidote for each student based on a preamble which teachers can learn in a couple day certification.

Method teaching allows anyone to be certified. This process caters to the lowest caliber instructor, creating the illusion of competency. This empowers these underqualified instructors with the moniker of “certified” to prey on the innocent and uninformed.

The Cult of Stack and Jilt

The Stack and Tilt website proudly boasts, “A golfer swings his hands inward in the backswing as opposed to straight back to 1) create power, similar to a field goal kicker moving his leg in an arc and 2) to promote a swing that is in-to-out, which produces a draw (and eliminates a slice).”

Now, let me tell you something, there is this law of the universe which says “energy can either be created or destroyed,” so either these guys are defying physics or they have no idea what they are taking about. Further, the idea that the first move of the backswing determines impact is conjecture with a splash of utter fantasy.

These are the pontifications of a method — a set of prescriptions applied to everyone with the hope of some success through the placebo effect. It is one thing for a naive student to believe, for a golf instructor to drink and then dispel this Kool-Aid is malpractice.

Fooled by Randomness

In flipping a coin, or even a March Madness bet, there is a 50-50 chance of success. In golf, especially for new players, results are asymmetric. Simply put: Anything can happen. The problem is that when bad instructors work with high handicappers, each and every shot gets its own diagnosis and prescription. Soon the student is overwhelmed.

Now here’s the sinister thing: The overwhelming information is by design. In this case, the coach is not trying to make you better, they are trying to make you reliant on them for information. A quasi Stockholm syndrome of codependency.

Practice

One of the most important scientists of the 20th century was Ivan Pavlov. As you might recall, he found that animals, including humans, could be conditioned into biological responses. In golf, the idea of practice has made millions of hackers salivate that they are one lesson or practice session from “the secret.”

Sunk Cost

The idea for the worst golf instructor is to create control and dependency so that clients ignore the sunk cost of not getting better. Instead, they are held hostage by the idea that they are one lesson or tip away from unlocking their potential.

Cliches

Cliches have the effect of terminating thoughts. However, they are the weapon of choice for this instructor. Add some hyperbole and students actually get no information. As a result, these players couldn’t play golf. When they did, they had no real scheme. With no idea what they are doing, they would descend into a spiral of no idea what to do, bad results, lower confidence, and running back to the lesson tee from more cliches.

The fact is that poor instruction is about conditioning players to become reliant members of your cult. To take away autonomy. To use practice as a form of control. To sell more golf lessons not by making people better but through the guise that without the teacher, the student can never reach their full potential. All under the umbrella of being “certified” (in a 2-day course!) and a melee of cliches.

This of course is not just happening at my muni but is a systemic problem around the country and around the world, the consequences of which are giving people a great reason to stop playing golf. But hey, at least it’s selling a lot of golf balls…

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

1 week ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.

TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.

Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.

However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.

Past Winners at TPC Louisiana

2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks

Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)

Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.

This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.

McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.

Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)

Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.

Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.

Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)

Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.

NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.

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