Scottish Open 10-13 jul

[gecko6]

loch lomond this week (tough life for them eh ?!) - par 71 and just under 7,200 yards

defending champ is havret who beat micko in playoff last yr - this yr we have ernie, scott, cabrera, westy, monty, stenson, kaymer, clarke, etc as it's final warm-up for next wk's Open

early odds have mickelson clear fav @ 8/1, els westwood and scott next at about 14s and 20 upwards the rest

[gecko6]

event form > ernie ELS has finished 2 , 1, 50, 1, 3, 11, 9, 3 in 8 visits in last 10 yrs here... superb record (5 top 3s) and pleasing to see he was finding his form again recently when he started well in the US Open...

tim clark has had 4 top10s in 5 visits including a win but he's one of my fancies in the US this wk! - poulter and clarke have 4 top 10s too in 6/8 attempts

recent form > of the players here this wk, soren HANSEN has 3 top10s in last 4 events (4 in last 7), jeev singh, westwood & otto look to be the most in-form...

big names > mickelson isn't really firing and doesn't look to be as fit as he could be so an avoid for me... scott is capable of shooting low but I'm not tempted as not much recent form... stenson and romero are both players I like but not sure if they are primed and ready to win this wk

schwartzel looked a good thing last wk but blew it within the first 9 he played...

stats > looking at GIR and putting, throws up the usual suspects ( ie winners!) plus a few others mentioned eg willett, stenson, jonzon... dougherty shows well but has no form currently

selections >

ernie ELS is definitely worth tipping this wk i think, due to his improvement in form and his record here... 11/1 (various) isn't generous but could be worth a dabble - i might watch though and back him next wk if he plays well this wk

soren HANSEN has excellent recent form without really threatening to win - hitting it further and more GIR these days but needs to improve his putting... a good shout for top 5 i think... 33/1 (Ladbrokes)

graeme MCDOWELL had a chance last wk but had a bad start to final round and fell away rather than challenge - although he has had 3 top 15s in last 3 events, 13th then 3rd last 2 wks is good sign for me.. 45 on Betfair currently

longer odds >

john BICKERTON > tipped him last wk and he missed the cut but if he can hit the groove of weeks before that then 219 on Betfair looks long

danny WILLETT > I mention him again as at 250 on Betfair he's still an interesting price... 3 top20s in his first 5 events on tour and although he missed the cut last wk, he was shooting low in round 2 which was a positive sign - i think he will become a very good player and as I keep saying, worth watching

michael JONZON is 389 on Betfair which might be decent for an early trade if he shoots low in round 1.. doubt he will win but...

others worth a sniff could be michael campbell, who has no form whatsoever but has a good record here and I have have an inkling he might start well (daft but you never know), he was around 500 - o'malley at 220 and wiegele at 480 appeal for trading

so... can see westwood up there yet again, would like to see stenson get some form going, and ernie would be nice but will probably dabble on a few at longer odds and trade them

top 3 for me could be ELS, s HANSEN, McDOWELL with possibly mickelson, singh making top 5... and trading wise, the guys mentioned above for me

good luck all

[brewster39]

Ernie Els represents most value for me, even at 11s his form of late absolutely terrific
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PLAY UP POMPEY

[lochinvar]

My two main Loch Lomond fancies happen to be both European and are Lee Westwood and Soren Hansen.
Lee Westwood, a past winner here in 1998 and a frequent top 5 finisher in recent tournies (T3 Irish Open, 3rd US Open and T5 Open de France Alstom latest) looks a strong contender this week. With decent course form and as long as his putting holds up, it would give him a great chance of another victory.
Soren Hansen is on a good streak of form lately with a 3rd in Open de France and 5th in The European Open latest and has also finished in Top 20 the last twice at Loch Lomond and is sure to go well. Gecko also fancies him so that makes me even more confident of a good show.
Ian Poulter is another with great course form and could again get Top 10 finish or better along with Angel Cabrera at around 35s a piece.
Lafeber, Echenique and Jonzon, all of whom have shown in recent leaderboards are others I have played with looking to trade. Thongchai Jaidee, T14 in 2006 could also surprise at large odds.
South Africans also seem to do well here the last couple of years (3 in Top 5 2007 / 3 in Top 10 2006) and there are a few at tasty odds such as James Kingston and fav of mine Otto. Dare I say Charl Schwartzel too after his efforts last week.
I will be giving the John Deere Classic a miss this week as although an 8/1 winner is nice, Perry is too short for me although he will probably be even shorter at Milwaukee. Letzig e/w is tempting too though.

[gecko6]

at the risk of being in a mutual back-slapping club! I agree totally with your comments mate - good to see we think alike..let's hope soren can keep the form going...

also agree on john deere classic - small stakes if any for me..perry is way too short @ 8/1 although justifiable fav obviously

defending champ byrd is 40/1 and will probably be up there (top 5)

recent pick of mine slocum is 21 which is a bit short but should be top 3

sutherland @ 59 could go well, 2 top 6s in last few yrs here

letzig looks decent at 89 - good birdie conversion

hamilton @ 159 is worth trading hopefully (improved recently), possibly nicholas thompson too at 289 (drives well, gets a few birdies) and scott mccarron @ 369 (course form)

one of the events that is a birdiefest so will look for those that can score low..might dabble on the above and trade a bit

[cabrera]

This week I hope the ''top players'' are using this to practise for next week:

Edfors - previous winner
Mikko Ilonen - some decent finshes this year
Lafeber - ok course form

Jiminez has a good record here and has been playing well of recent...

[stamina]

my bets this week for the scotish open

angel cabrera 33s
marten lafeber 66s
steve webster 80s

will be watching out for alastair forsyth to he was going to be my alternative.

[paul290603]

Not much to add to the excellent posts so far but for what its worth I will be starting off with a Lay of Adam Scott. A great player but like Sergio until he gets a consistent putting stroke he will never fufill his enormous talent.
I believe he will trade higher than the 16 currently on offer at Betfair.

Good Luck to all
Regards
Paul290603

[jaw101]

Some great tips by previous people.

However i must say that whilst ERNIE is coming back into form, i will be laying him in his 3 ball @ 2.42 against Jimenez and Mcdowell. I think the latter two are in better form and will make my dough in the 3 ball for next weeks OPEN. Should be only bet as i will make enough. hehe

Others to look for Hansen, Monty top 10,Wilson top 10 after a good rest, and Bickerton at 300 and 11 for top 10 is massive. My last tip is back Jose Manuel Lara in his 1st round 3 ball @ 3.25 this man has excellent 1st/ 2rounds in the last few months, he just don't have the staying power when it comes to the business part.

Good luck all

[jaw101]

Also Mickleson is a good Lay in his 3ball.

[swashbuckler]

hi all
a bit late with these selections but i have to be honest and say that i don't have much enthusism about this weeks scottish open,maybe its because the big one is only a week away.with that in mind i have selected some big price players with the hope that some of the top name players will be more interested in fine tuning their game.the players i like are;

B.Barnham 200/1=5th in this tournament 2 years ago and has been playing well this year with his best finish 4th at the welsh open in celtic manor.has also finished 4th at the scottish pga championship in 2000 , so he likes playing in scotland.

S.Little 350/1=has been playing well this year with his best finish 8th at the austrian open.a big price and he could make a appearance around the leaderboard on thursday or friday.whether he could stay there is another question?

S.Bebb300/1=his best finish was 4th at the omega masters last year.has 3 top 20 finishes this year, 8th (alfred dunhill championship) 10th(european open) and 15th(madeira open).another big price and i am hoping he can surprise this weekend.

G.Storm125/1=has been playing well recently and won the open de france last year.has 6 top 25 finishes this year including 3 of his last 4 events.best finishes this year were 5th (johnnie walker classic) 6th (wgc-ca championship) and 12th(malaysian open).

G. F -Castano 150/1=a player i backed often earlier this year but has failed to live up to expectations this year. has 3 wins under his belt,2005 klm open ,2006 bmw asian open and 2007 italian open.his best finishes this year are 5th (estoril open ) and 9th (celtic manor).beginning to show some improvement recently and if he can get his putter hot , he could challenge.

best of luck everybody with your selections
and roll on next week

[badcompany]

I agree with Soren Hansen and have backed him the last few weeks, I kinda think at 33/1 I shall be backing him ew yet again and hopefully this is his week. Good Luck all