Its the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii as Bet365 release the latest odds as the firm report Webb Simpson, Dustin Johnson, Steve Stricker, Jason Dufner & Matt Kuchar are the market leaders.
The 2013 golfing season kicks-off with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in Hawaii and as always, golf punters have been keen to snap up the value in the outright win market.
Although not renowned as one of the bigger tournaments on the Tour, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions has grown in popularity over recent times due to its invitation only criteria.
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Looking over the 30-man field is a tricky task when trying to find the winner of this particular tournament as there is no recent form to go on as the players come back from a mini-festive break.
Therefore looking at past records for certain players at the course and finding how the course is going to play could be a crucial factor when assessing the likely winners of the tournament.
It seems as though the odds compliers are also struggling to form a strong opinion on the tournament and have priced up the players very cautiously. A look at the prices shows almost a dozen players stretched between 12/1 and 20/1, so if you do strongly fancy a player this weekend you are likely to get a very good price for your stake.
The Plantation Course at Kapalua is a very tricky par 73 course that includes some really challenging par-4’s that takes some plotting round, especially in the high winds.
The key attribute to look for in potential winners of the tournament is accuracy off the tee as despite not being overly long the rough on the periphery of the fairways in very challenging and hazardous.
Additionally, the ability to punt the ball a fair way off the tee also looks a key attribute to possess and with all this focus on driving in mind, it is probably no surprise to see big-hitting American Dustin Johnson leading the ante-post betting markets. Saying that, he has been by no means backed off the boards as the biggest price about him triumphing is 12/1 with William Hill.
A player that seems to tick a lot of the required boxes for a track of this nature is Jason Dufner, whose laid back attitude has won him plenty of friends in 2012. He played some excellent golf throughout the season where he was a rookie at the start of the campaign and now he is one of the most feared golfers on the Tour. He is certainly a golfer to follow throughout 2013 and at 14/1 he certainly has some appeal for this week’s tournament in Hawaii.
A quick look back through the recent winners of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions shows one key trend developing: experienced players whose game is focused around a safety-first nature. Jonathan Byrd and Steve Stricker are perhaps the most standout winners regarding that style of play.
A similar player to that of Byrd and Stricker for this year’s event looks to be Webb Simpson, who is a general 14/1 shot with a variety of bookmakers including Bet365, William Hill and Ladbrokes.
Simpson is a very economical player that showed his credentials at the top level last season by winning the US Open. Many pundits have questioned that victory as a bit of a fluke and the American will be keen to get off a quick start this season to show he can compete at the top level.
He finished tied fourth in this tournament last year and with better putting on his final round, a usual strength, he would have pushed winner Stricker all the way.
A man to keep onside at a bigger price could be Rickie Fowler, who is many people’s pick as a potential major winner this year. His game looks perfect for this type of layout and the 20/1 with Ladbrokes looks a good bet.