Golf / Editor / 08 January 2009 / Leave a comment Bet Now

Steve Rawlings has been waiting three weeks for this - the real beginning of the 2009 golf season - and you can read his early selections for the two big events here.

Nearly three weeks without a golf bet felt like a long time but I'm now fully refreshed, ready for the long year ahead and looking forward to this week.

During the break I'd pondered this week's action only vaguely and had decided I'd have two straightforward selections from the outset; Richard Sterne in the Joburg Open and Vijay Singh in the Mercedes-Benz Championship, but that was until I saw the prices on Monday.

Sterne has done me plenty of favours in his time and indeed was a successful selection for me in this event last year at [17.0] but I can't take a single figure price about him this week.

Along with the pressure of defending his title he's also bidding to win three events in a row, something that hasn't been achieved on the European Tour since 1986 when Seve Ballesteros completed the hat-trick at the French Open. Throw in his back problems and the price is just too short.

Also at the head of the market is Retief Goosen but he too looks plenty short enough, given his recent win ratio.

The event is co-sanctioned with the South African Tour and although it's a large field, with 210 players, there's not much strength in depth so alternatives weren't easy to find, especially as I don't profess to be any sort of Sunshine Tour expert.

It's only the third staging of this tournament so course form is scarce too but I've dug out a few speculative starters for ten anyway.

At the halfway stage of the inaugural event Hennie Otto and James Kingston led the field, but poor weekend performances saw the pair finish third and eighth respectfully.

They've both won on the European Tour since and would surely fare much better should they find themselves in a similar position after two rounds this year.

John E Morgan once held a card on both tours and very nearly won on the USPGA Tour. After a few years in the doldrums he's got his card back on the European Tour and has started the season fairly well with a tied 16th at Leopard Creek. His final round 74 was a disappointment but that can be put down to contention rust and he certainly shouldn't be a triple figure price.

I haven't given up on Simon Wakefield yet and would like to think the new year will bring him new impetuous to build on his excellent performance at last year's Open and his second place in Austria. I still think he'll get of the mark sooner rather than later and I'd imagine this week wont be the only week I'll take a chance on him.

Lastly, Edoardo Molinari led this event by about four shots during the second round two years ago but finished bogey, quadruple bogey to slump back in to the pack. He was worth a speculative punt at [330.0].

Selections:

James Kingston @ [40.0]
Hennie Otto @ [50.0]
John E Morgan @ [120.0]
Simon Wakefield @ [220.0]
Edoardo Molinari @ [330.0]

The USPGA Tour kicks off this week with the Mercedes-Benz Championship, an event exclusively for last year's Tour winners. I ummed and ahhed at Vijay Singh's price for far too long and eventually took [7.0], having missed the bigger prices on Monday. He may well be a shade short but his record here is very solid. In fine form last month when winning the Chevron World Challenge, you just know he wouldn't have rested on his laurels over Christmas. He's my sole pick from the outset.

Selection:

Vijay Singh @ [7.0]

As well as the two stroke-play events, the Royal Trophy, a team event that pitches eight players from Asia against eight from Europe, starts on Friday and is live on Sky Sports. I would imagine Europe will probably justify favouritism but I haven't had a good look at it yet and I may not get too involved.

I'll post an update at the halfway stage of both Tour events on Saturday morning.