Back Ben in Far East birdie fest
Betting tips 
/ Dan Geraghty / 26 October 2011 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market
As defending champion, with a win last time out and a bouncing new baby, it's hard to imagine a time when Mr Crane has approached a tournament in better spirits. He's an obvious selection but one that I'm not willing to turn down.
Dan Geraghty is getting with a trio of PGA Tour regulars ahead of the annual jaunt to Malaysia for the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic 2011.
It's hard to overlook Ben Crane ([15.5]) in this week's shortened field in Malaysia. Our shiny-headed friend is the defending champion, has shown his current well-being with a win at this month's McGladrey Classic and his wife has since given birth to their third child, meaning Keith Elliott's (infamous golf tipster) nappy factor theory may well kick in. Elliott has stressed the importance of the mental side of golf and the need to be able to spot when a player's confidence is high.
Well, as defending champion, with a win last time out and a bouncing new baby, it's hard to imagine a time when Mr Crane has approached a tournament in better spirits. He's an obvious selection but one that I'm not willing to turn down.
We know that this week is likely to be a birdie fest, only one golfer failed to break par last year and the scoring average of 68.606 ranked the course as the easiest par 71 stop on tour (PGA Tour) since 2007. There is certainly one man in the field who will be licking his lips at the prospect of low scoring. Brendon De Jonge ([60.0]) led the total birdies stat on the PGA Tour last year and is fourth this year. He's had a quiet time of late, didn't play here last year and is somewhat under the radar this week.
Fredrik Jacobson ([27.0]) is another who should approach this week in high spirits. Jacobson has had his best season yet on the PGA Tour, finally notching a win (Travelers Championship) as well as top 20s at both The Open and US Open. Having previously been a member of the European Tour, Freddie is used to travelling abroad for golf tournaments and can even boast of a win in Asia on his CV (Hong Kong Open 2002, European Tour). He wasn't in the field here last year but can certainly be considered among the favourites this week.
Dangers: Bangladeshi Siddikur Rahman ([140.0]) is an outsider worth keeping an eye on, he finished tied 11th here last year and has gone in a lot of notebooks in recent times having picked up seven wins of various description. I would like to tip up Vijay Singh ([40.0]) this week but potential birdie fests tend to turn into putting contests and that certainly won't suit the big Fijian. Cameron Tringale ([60.0]) played well last week and having seen flatmate Rickie Fowler gain his first win on foreign soil, he may well follow suit.
Selections: Ben Crane [15.5], Brendon De Jonge [60.0], Fredrik Jacobson [27.0]
