Not seen many bets on Women's Golf so thought I would offer the following.
This week sees the Honda LPGA Thailand and there's a few bets I like.
£25 E/W Lexi Thompson, 14/1 SJ, 12/1 several firms
£30 Pornanong Phatlum (great name) top 10 Finish, 10/3 Sky, 11/4 BV, Lad, Cora
£10 E/W Haru Nomura, 33/1 everywhere, 40/1 SJ
http://www.oddschecker.com/golf/honda-lpga-thailand/winnerAnd now read on if you want an essay of Antesque proportions.
Lexi Thompson won this last year by six shots, smashing two 64's in the process. It's fair to say that Lexi has had putter problems and would have won quite a few more tournaments if she had sunk the putts. This year she's played once in the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic where she lost in a play off. To say she was unlucky would be an understatement.
Brittany Lincicome started off like a train shooting 17 under for the first two rounds including an ace on the 12th in the second round. As you can tell the conditions were fantastic for a links course. Inexplicably she then shot a four under, third round to leave her in fourth place. This eventually won her the tournament.
A storm was forecast for the fourth round so the officials sent them out in threeballs. Lincicome went out in the penultimate group and shot a decent five under including birdieing the par five last. Thompson, in the last group, was going along nicely when the storm appeared. She had been overnight leader at 23 under and had got to 26 under by the eighth. The last two holes had palm trees bending at 60 degree angles and she, along with Stacy Lewis and Gerina Pillar, could only par in. They had fallen behind the previous group after Lewis had a triple bogey on the 14th and had taken an age to complete the hole.
Had the storm blown in half hour after it did the Thompson would probably have been sat in the bar with everyone toasting her as the new champion. As it was she went out against Linicome in a play off and lost.
The main talking point though was Lexi's putting. She has in the past had her Caddy line up putts for her and has changed her grip a few times. In the Bahamas she took sole control and sank several decent length putts.
With that in mind and last years showing I can't see why she's fourth favourite?
Pornanong Phatlum has had a T5 and T7 in her two starts this year. She sailed pretty much under the radar in the Bahamas. With the top four, 4 to 5 shots clear of the field at the beginning of the last round she shot a credible 6 under but was never in with a chance of reaching those in front.
At the Australian Open she was tied for the lead starting the final round but capitulated in startling fashion, dropping six shots in nine holes. A late rally of two birdies at 15 and 17 saw her come in at tied seventh with another six players.
What was apparent in the final round was the nervousness of the leading contenders. At one stage there was only one previous tour winner in the first ten. Ariya Jutanugarn, a five time winner last year, made a late rush up the leader board and when she posted a six under total in the club house it was starting to look good enough for at least another play off. Then Ha Na Jang happened.
Three birdies and an eagle in the last six holes saw the previous tour winner post a winning ten under total.
I'm hoping Pornanong has taken the positives from her last few holes and is ready to shoot another top ten finish. Her lack of a tour win under her belt puts me off the general 40/1 to win it. She's easy to spot by the way, she has pink balls!
Haru Nomura is another horses for courses pick. She was T5 last year, albeit a long way back on 11 under and T13 the year before. She has a couple of tour wins including the Australian Open in 2016. This year She's started with a T3 in the Oz Open, a 2 over first round 75 ultimately ruining her chances.
If she can get a decent start then I would fancy her to be in the mix up at the business end of the tournament and being a previous tour winner does seem to have a big factor coming down the stretch in the Women's game.
Of course Thailand's prodigious, Ariya Jutanugarn will probably run away with it but she hasn't done particularly well in her home tournament before. And why Shanshan Feng is favourite is a bit of a mystery? She had a great end to 2016 but hasn't started as yet for 2017 unless she's been winning some PGA tournaments which I've missed?
So there you have it, good luck if you have a dabble and well done if you read it all.
I know the substance is the real thing, Rubbish, but that's a beautifully presented recommend, thanks. Love to see stuff like this.
GL with it.
Keep us updated as it proceeds, please.
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