The ‘Texas Swing’ comes to a close this week at Colonial for the Crowne Plaza Invitational in Fort Worth. It’s a short and fiddly course by tour standards so it plays into the hands of the tours ‘thinkers’ with an eye for a shot and good solid putters.

Jim Furyk finds himself at the head of the betting with totesport but I’m not confident his putter is going well enough to actually win a tournament at the moment. Last weeks winners Paul Casey and Rory Sabbatini come here in fine fettle but I’d be surprised if the former can back it up here after his exploits at Wentworth and is worth swerving at 16/1. Sabbatini on the other hand bases himself in Texas and home comforts would have helped his keep his feet on his ground this week. He’s also a former winner back in 2007 so deserves respect at 25/1 and worth backing each-way at least.

Another 25/1 shot with a good shout is Sean O’Hair. The American has finished in the top ten in six of his eleven starts in 2009 and is in the form of his life after winning in Charlotte a few weeks back.

at 28/1, totesport.org Tim Clark is always worth an speculative each-way bet in our opinion, but none more so this week on a track that should suit. Clark missed out last year when finishing second and had a twelfth the year before. The South African is having a good season but lacks that killer touch to add his first PGA Tour win to his CV. A good week on the greens at Colonial and that could all change.

At slightly bigger odds, Mike Weir is a golfer I like a lot. His compact game should do him well this week. He has two top twenty finishes in his last two outings on tour plus a 15th place finish here last year. Weir ranks second in the putts per round stats and if he can keep this up surely another win for the Canadian is only a birdie or two away and can be backed this week at 35/1 with totesport.

Finally, we’ve picked a 50/1 outsider in Briny Baird to go well here. Baird leads the greens in regulation stats on tour and accuracy is most definitely the key here. If he can hole some of those puts he could go a few places higher than his 8th place finish last week and improve on his 15th place finish here last week.

For all your golf betting this week visit totesport.

Ross Fisher was a nat’s whisker away from delivering us a 33/1 winner at last weeks PGA Championship at Wentworth. A final round 64 left the Englishman just one shot adrift of winner Paul Casey but it’s fair to say that Fisher comes here in good form as he looks to defend his European Open title at the London Club in Kent.

That saying, I nearly spat my corn flakes out all over my monitor when seeing that Fisher was priced up 12/1 favourite for this weeks tournament. Not to say he has an excellent chance, both course form and recent form are very much in his favour but there’s a couple of variables this week which lead me to conclude that he’s poor value.

Fisher’s price has since been snapped up and he’s now an 11/1 shot with totesport. He romped to a sven shot victory here last year after a blistering course record 63 in the first round. However, he’s not won on tour since and the expectation of being market leader and defending champion may count against him, especially when you look down the field.

The greens are said to be some of the easiest on tour, there’s no doubting it’s a long track at the London Club but if you’re straight it’s a real birdie fest, as last years results show. Rory McIlroy is second in the betting at 14/1 with totesport but again, it looks a little skinny when you consider that you can back Henrik Stenson at the same price with the firm.

Stenson’s price is a point bigger than last week when he teed off at Wentworth favourite. A poor first round meant he missed the weekend, but a few extra days off to recharge the batteries after winning the TPC three weeks ago won’t have done him any harm and he has the length off the tee with just a three wood to ensure that he’ll stay straight. He’s the kind of streaky putter who could make mincemeat of these greens and he’d be my pick of the market leaders.

There’s no doubting it’s another quality field playing in England this week and we shouldn’t complete our preview without a mention of some of the other main protagonists in the betting. It’s not often for example that Sergio Garcia comes over to the UK these days and after missing a bigger prize at Wentworth last week he once again comes to the London Club with a bid to pick up some more Race to Dubai points.

Garcia is 15/1 but isn’t on his game at the moment. He finished second here last year but he’d already won a TPC at that stage and was having a far better season in general. Robert Karlsson is taking some time to get going after his ultra consistent 2008 season, so won’t be backed at 20/1 this week. Martin Kaymer is showing some form but again at 20/1 seems a little short. I’d be amazed if Angel Cabrera (25/1) graces the winning circle again this season after his Masters heroics and Retief Goosen is seemingly blower more cold than hot.

So, from the batch of those around the 28/1 mark we’ve picked out Alvaro Quiros, himself a 33/1 shot with totesport. Quiros is the longest player on tour and the open nature of the London Club should suit. The Spaniard showed enough last week around the considerably tighter track of Wentworth finishing sixteenth and his big hitting nature will play to his strength this week in Kent.

At a bigger price, Stephen Dodd has been quietly going about his business and finished a season best fourth in the PGA last week. That will pretty much secure his card for the 2010 season after a pretty dreadful run of form for the last two seasons. A straight hitter with a red hot putter on its day and Dodd can cause a surprise at a juicy 66/1, either way, he won’t show too much excitement!

Finally, we’ve picked out Shane Lowry on his professional debut. Ok, so nobody backed him at 500/1 at the Irish Open a fortnight ago and what are the chances of lightning striking twice? Well, he won his first professional event as an amateur so what’s stopping him winning his first pro event as a professional? The young Irishman is 150/1 with totesport this week, compare that to the 50/1 available on Robert Rock who he beat in a play-off that wet afternoon and i reckon there’s some value to be had.

Others that deserve a mention are Lee Westwood, out to 33/1 this week a hell of a big price considering his form of last year would see him head the betting. Graeme McDowell, a 28/1 shot who finished third here last year and shot a 61 in Ireland before retiring hurt. McDowell sprang into life around this time last year so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him there on Sunday afternoon.

For all your golf betting this week visit totesport.

After the late withdrawal of Phil Mickelson for this tournament Ian Poulter finds himself catapulted to the head of the betting for the Byron Nelson Championship stateside. Mickelson’s wife has been diagnosed with breast cancer so Big Phil’s understandably taking some time off and we all wish him and his wife our best wishes.

Poulter’s been in good form, three top fifteen finishes on the bounce including a second place finish last time out at the TPC. He also has course form having finished second here two years ago. I like Poulter, despite his allegiance to Arsenal and I hope he can win this one but at 14/1 the price is a little to short for my reckoning.

For my money, I see some value in backing some stalwarts of the PGA Tour with dozens of titles between them. I’ve been banging on about if and when Vijay Singh gets back to form he’ll make a mockery of his odds and this week is no different. There’s no argument that Vijay’s form has been poor since his early season knee op, but there’s plenty of evidence that the 46 year old Fijian still has plenty to offer. After all, he was celebrating his fourth victory in five months as close as last December at the Chevron World Challenge and he showed enough talent in his final round 67 at the TPC to earn him a top ten finish in a difficult and competitive field. He won this tournament back in 2003 and take his last two months form out of the equation and he’d be starting favourite here. At 20/1 he’s a value bet.

David Toms and Scott Verplank have seventeen tour wins between them and both come here showing some good form. Toms has had two top ten finishes in his last three tournaments and Verplank has been chipping away in the top twenty-five of events and picking up some nice cheques in the process. Toms is a 22/1 shot with totesport and amongst this field I reckon he looks a decent bet. Verplank is a few points longer at 28/1, but has previous having won here two years ago and is another worth an each-way bet this week.

Further down the betting there are a couple of Aussies worth a squeak. I couldn’t go a post mentioning Vijay Singh without also mentioning another player whose struggling with form and his odds belie his talent. Adam Scott has missed his last three cuts and is playing some dreadful stuff, but at some point i’m banking on him clicking into gear and when he does the price is going to be massive. He’s touched 50/1 in recent weeks but he’s as short as 35/1 this week. This may have to do with the general quality of the field or something the compilers know that we don’t, but still a win for Scott at that price would be a right touch!

Another Aussie Rod Pampling looks a good each-way bet at 66/1 this week. Pampling has been playing some steady stuff on tour this year and has three top fifteen finishes to his name. He also has some course form having finished in the top ten in two of the last three years and he could be one of the outsiders to have a look at here.

For all your golf betting this week visit totesport.

It’s one of the biggest weekends on the European Tour this weekend as the Race to Dubai reaches leafy Surrey for the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

What with last weeks sensational win for amateur Shane Lowry at the Irish Open, it’s a tough time for tipsters and punters alike, with this week seemingly no different. The PGA Championship has thrown up some big priced winners in the past, none more so than Scott Drummond, Ignacio Garrido and Andrew Oldcorn in recent years.

This year we have a quality field and it’s really difficult to see someone priced up at 100/1 or bigger winning here.

Of the main protagonists, TPC winner and totesport.org favourite Henrik Stenson heads the betting at 12/1 with totesport. The Swede won in fine fashion in the states a fortnight ago and returns to Europe in fine form, hoping to go one better than his second and third place finishes in Qatar and Dubai at the start of the year. Stenson looks the worthy favourite to us and definitely worth a bet.

Further down the betting, Englishman Ross Fisher looks a decent each-way shot at 33/1. Fisher’s game has come on leaps and bounds since his win at the European Open last summer and it won’t be long before he’s in the winning circle again. Fisher represents Wentworth on Tour and knows the course well. He blew up here when leading two years ago going into the final round carding a disastrous 84 which dropped him 38 places, but he’s a different player now so expect a better show if he’s in contention come Sunday.

The winner two years ago was Dane Anders Hansen, who made it his second win in the tournament after victory in 2002. Hansen had to wait another two years for his third win on tour which came at the start of this year in the Joburg Open. He’s followed up that win with some consistent play on Tour and with his undoubted course form represents a bit of a dark horse here this week at 40/1 with totesport.

If you’re looking for another rank outsider to follow in the footsteps of past winners in this tournament, we’ve picked out a few to consider this week. Australian Richard Green has a good record at Wentworth, finishing in the top fifteen in the last three visits. Green hasn’t played much in 2009 and it’s not encouraging to see he’s missed his last three cuts. However, he’s carded a tied 11th finish in the Dubai Desert Classic this year and is based just down the road in Bagshot is worth a shot at 66/1 here.

At 100/1 Alejandro Canizares catches the eye. The Spaniard doesn’t play too often on Tour but comes here off the back of a good May to date and two top twenty finishes here in his last two visits. Finally Colin Montgomerie showed glimpses of former glory days last week in Ireland before fading badly over the weekend. He does have course form though having won this tournament three times in a row at the turn of the century. Monty knows the course like the back of his hand and it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see him turn back the years this week and at 125/1, he may well be worth a small each-way bet.

With such a high quality field there are plenty of other runners worth a closer look. The likes of Paul Casey (14/1) and Luke Donald (22/1) come here in good nick from the PGA Tour. Youngsters Rory McIlroy (28/1)and Martin Kaymer (25/1) have the game to take this prize, along with former winners Miguel Angel Jimenez (28/1) and Angel Cabrera (16/1), the latter of course comes here off the back of his fine win in the masters last month.

All in all, you’ll be doing well to pick the winner!

For all your golf betting this week visit totesport.

Firstly, apologies for not completing the write up on last week’s TPC, I hope some of you who followed our 40/1 pick of Henrik Stenson will forgive us! If last weeks tournament was the 5th major, then this weeks Valero Texas Open is a lot lower in the pecking order, with Anthony Kim the highest ranked player in the field at 15. Considering Kim has been struggling on the course and with a shoulder injury, this could be a very open betting heat indeed.

Top of the betting are last years winner Zach Johnson and course specialist Justin Leonard, both at 12/1 with totesport. Johnson has had a good season to date with a win in Hawaii at the Sony Open and some strong top twenty-five finishes to his name. I can’t get too excited about the 12/1 available though and I’d probably be looking for some bigger value elsewhere.

Leonard has three wins, a second and six top tens from 11 starts to his name in this event and obviously loves the place. However, he’s definitely not on his game at the moment, his best finish a 19th at the Shell Houston Open in the last month. The price again looks too short for Leonard this week and for that reason we’ll be leaving him alone.

So, who do we back? Well, providing Kim’s poor form continues we can easily look past him and from the main protagonists in the betting South African Tim Clark’s 16/1 has the biggest appeal. He hasn’t got too much course form to go on, but his recent form is the most consistent in this field, finishing 9th at Sawgrass last week. he’s finished in the top twenty-five in seven of his nine events on tour this year missing just one cut. I expect him to go close this week.

Texan Chad Campbell has only played a couple of times since losing out in a play-off at the US Masters. It’s fair to say he’s not set the world alight, finishing well down the field both times (missing cut last week), but back here in Texas he’ll always have a decent shout. At 20/1 Campbell looks a solid each-way bet.

Daniel Chopra, sporting new hair colour played well at the TPC last week eventually finishing 14th. He acquitted himself very well in round three paired up with Tiger in front of massive galleries and providing he can get a bit of luck on the greens is well overdue a win. The Swede has clocked up a win in each of his last two seasons on tour and has a third place finish to his name on this track two years ago. At 33/1 he’s another that looks a good each-way bet and will have been buoyed by his fellow countryman’s win last week in Florida.

Further down the betting we’ve picked out a couple of outsiders, including another Swede in the shape of Richard S Johnson. Johnson has a couple of consecutive top fifteen finishes here in 2006 and 2007 and has four top twenty-five finishes on Tour this season. In this field his 100/1 price looks a little big for someone who has one on tour before and is worth keeping an eye on.

Finally, just a quick word on Chris Stroud, available at 66/1 with totesport. I admit I know very little of the Texan but he’s finished 6th here for the last two years and already has a top ten finish to his name in 2009 at Pebble Beach. He’s no mug and could be worth a small each-way bet as a course specialist.

For all your golf betting this week visit totesport.

After the sunny climbs of continental Western Europe the Race to Dubai reaches the Emerald Isle this week for the Irish Open. Expect the temperatures to drop, the wind to get up and the rain to come down in what looks like a competitive tournament at Baltry, Co Louth this week.

Head of the betting is Padraig Harrington at 10/1 with totesport. After becoming a victim of an intervention from his nearest and dearest in Florida last week, Harrington recognises that his obsessing of the perfect swing is holding him back so far in 2009 and although he’s promised to knuckle down to just playing the game, I wouldn’t expect him to be ready to win this tournament just yet.

Another Irishman Rory McIlroy has had a fantastic start to the season and comes here fresh from some valuable time on the US Tour. After finishing in the top 25 in his first 5 starts in the States he’s tailed off a little since the masters missing his first cut last week at the TPC. What with the traveling and added pressure of being on home soil this week the 14/1 about his chances doesn’t appeal.

Lee Westwood completes the three who are clear at the top of the betting. The Englishman is 16 to win here with totesport but continued question marks over his putting and short game, plus his inability to come good on the final day he’s another one that can be left alone this week.

So, with 25/1 bar the rest of the field where is the value this week. Well Thomas Bjorn has had a rise in fortunes in recent weeks with two top ten finishes in consecutive weeks. As a result he’s been clipped in to 25/1 this week, but the flat-stick still seems to be his downfall and coming down the stretch in contention you wouldn’t be a confident backer. Gonzalez Fernandez-Castano looks a far better bet at 28/1. The Spaniard had three consecutive runners up spots to his name last month and although he failed to back this up on home turf in the Open de Espana, he comes here fresh after a couple of weeks off and could go close again.

Thomas Levet won in Spain but it’s another Frenchman that catches the eye here. Raphael Jacquelin comes here fresh from finishing second in Italy last week and also has some course form finishing second here back in 2004, the last time the course was played on tour. Jacquelin’s form has been patchy, but he knows how to win having two tour titles to his name, the last back in 2007 at the BMW Asian Open. You can back Jacquelin at 33/1 with totesport.

At bigger prices, there’s a trio of players on 50/1 who might be worth an each-way bet, all for different reasons. Firstly Paul McGinley looks the pick of the Irishmen this week. It’s fair to say that McGinley’s had some wretched form with the putter, but he looked to put some of those demons to bed at last month’s China Open where he finished tied for eighth. He finished fifth when playing here in 2004 and was a junior member at this course, so providing he clicks on the greens we could see a return to form this week.

Louis Oosthuizen started 2009 in blistering form, finishing in the top 10 four times in four consecutive tournaments at the start of the year including two second place finishes in the Dubai Swing. Add to this a 20th spot at the WGC-CA and his first taster of the masters it’s already been a memorable year for the South African. He’s played little golf in the last month so comes here pretty fresh and safe in the knowledge that he’s going to have his best season ever (10th in the Race to Dubai and already earned more prize money this season than any other). He’s finished in the top 20 on this track before and could make a mockery of his 50/1 price.

Finally, we’ve put up Brett Rumford as our third 50/1 shot. The Aussie won here back in 2004 and has shown glimpses recently in getting his game back on course with a 15th place finish at the Ballantines Championship last month.

For all your golf betting this week visit totesport.

This weeks selections:

Sergio Garcia - 40/1

Henrik Stenson - 40/1

Boo Weekley - 50/1

Chad Campbell - 80/1

Full preview to follow…

If each-way betting is your bag, you can bet each-way on the outright market of any European or PGA Tour golf event and if your selection finishes sixth, on his own, totesport will refund the place part of your stake with a free bet on the following week’s tournaments!

For all your golf betting this week visit totesport.

Francesco Molinari heads the betting on home turf in this week’s Italian Open at the Royal Park Golf and Country Club in Turin. The Italian is a 10/1 chance with totesport and whilst he’s had a good year on tour, we reckon him a little short and there should be some others to consider at better prices for this one.

First up Charl Schwartzel, second favourite in totesport’s book at 12/1. Last weeks 5th place finish in Spain could have been oh so better had his putter been in better form and the consistent South African has yet to miss a cut in 2009.

We tipped up Spaniard Alvaro Quiros last week and after a decent second round he was in contention going into the weekend. That never materialised and he eventually finished up 17th. Still, he’ll have settled back into familiar surroundings here in Europe after his foray in the States and has passed up the chance to play in this weeks TPC Sawgrass to come here and we expect him to go well at 20/1.

At bigger odds, Jose Manuel Lara has had a consistent campaign in 2009 with last weeks 8th his fifth top 25 finish this season. The Spaniard comes here in good nick and at 40/1 might be worth an each-way shout with totesport..

Stephen Dodd is another that’s caught the eye at a big price. His fine last round in Spain last weekend gave him an 11th place finish. That was his third top 20 finish in the last month which includes a 6th place at the China Open. The Welshman has had a couple of barren years on tour but does seem to be back on the right track and with three wins on tour to his name, in 2006/2007 he knows how to get over the finish line. At 50/1 he’s worth an each-way punt.

If each-way betting is your bag, you can bet each-way on the outright market of any European or PGA Tour golf event and if your selection finishes sixth, on his own, totesport will refund the place part of your stake with a free bet on the following week’s tournaments!

For all your golf betting this week visit totesport.