Dyson to enjoy Asian soil
Betting tips 
/ Mike Norman / 08 November 2011 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market
Simon Dyson had a terrific record in this part of the world when he was a member of the Asian Tour in 2000 (a winner three times that year), and he always seems to play well on his return to Asia.
It's been over 10 years since Simon Dyson won the Asian Tour Order of Merit, but he always plays well when returning to Asia says Mike Norman, and has every chance of going well this week.
I don't think anyone pretends that golf betting isn't frustrating at times, because believe me, it most certainly is.
Two weeks ago I backed Christian Nilsson to win the Andalucia Masters at a whopping price of [200.0]. After two rounds he was languishing just outside the top 20 and seemingly had little chance of winning, in fact, his win odds were still around the [200.0] mark. I was at a family wedding on the Saturday some 100 miles from home, stayed over in a hotel, and travelled back on Sunday afternoon.
It was during my journey home that the sport news came on the radio; Nilsson was about to commence his final round, teeing off in the final group, in second place, just behind Sergio Garcia. And I was nowhere near a laptop to lay my bet back.
When I did arrive home Nilsson had made five bogies in seven holes and fallen out of contention. He was available to lay at around the [6.2] mark In-Play for good money at one point, and given the chance, I would most certainly have taken those odds. When you back someone pre-tournament at [200.0] you don't really expect him to win, and given the opportunity I would lay my bet back at [6.2] (the equivalent of a [32.0] winner) every single time.
My main selection to win that week was Martin Kaymer. Without a single penny on, guess who won the following week at the WGC - HSBC Champions? I warned you that golf betting can be frustrating!
This week's Barclays Singapore Open has attracted a truly international field, including star attraction Phil Mickelson - [17.0] favourite in the Winner market - and last week's always-in-contention duo of Graeme McDowell ([19.0]) and Louis Oosthuizen ([27.0]).
Oosthuizen is the player I like most of this trio and he is certainly worth a wager from the outset. Whilst G-Mac got the very best he could have out of last week, Oosty definitely left a few shots out there. His driving and iron play in Shanghai was arguably the best it has been all year, resulting in the 2010 Open Champion giving himself plenty of birdie opportunities during the four days. His putter was stone cold on Sunday, so the fact that he finished just three shots behind second place augers well.
Whenever a golf tournament is played on Asian soil I always give Simon Dyson a second look. The Englishman had a terrific record in this part of the world when he was a member of the Asian Tour in 2000 (a winner three times that year), and he always seems to play well on his return to Asia.
The fact that he missed the cut here last year is only slightly worrying as Dyson's game looked in good shape last week when he was always on the fringe of contention. Remember this tournament is played on two courses - Serapong and Tanjong - and the six-time European Tour winner also has a record to match anyone when playing multi-course tournaments. Dyson is available to back at [30.0] this week and I'm happy to get him on side.
I nearly avoided the temptation of backing a triple-figure player this week as my only other selection was going to be Alexander Noren ([46.0]), but then I noticed Wen-Chong Liang ([150.0]) lurking down the Winner market.
Noren's odds are starting to look very attractive again despite the Swede not playing bad enough to merit a drift. He opened with an excellent first round 67 last week and although it was slightly disappointing that he couldn't build on that, he has been largely consistent all year and generally in good form, occasionally in spectacular form (the Nordea Masters springs to mind). Noren has played in this tournament the two previous seasons, finishing 31st and 21st, and I'm hopeful he will improve on those results this week.
I won't claim to know a lot about Liang though I do know he's been pretty awful on the European Tour this season when playing in Europe, though his results have been significantly better when playing in Asia. So perhaps the Chinaman likes the comforts of his own continent, a view backed up by the fact that he finished second and 10th in the last two renewals of this very tournament.
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