PGA Betting – Transitions Championship Preview & Pick
Well here we go with what promises to be another thrilling week on the PGA TOUR. This week there is no Tiger, no Rory, no Phil and no Westwood – the field is wide open as the TOUR moves to Copperhead at the Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Florida for the Transitions Championship.
Transitions Championship Betting Odds
Dates: March 11th – Sunday March 18th, 2012
Location: Innisbrook Golf and Spa, Tampa Bay, Florida
FedEx Cup Points: 500
Defending Champion: Gary Woodland
Purse: $5.5 million with a winner share of $990,000
Copperhead is the polar opposite of last week’s Cadillac – there won’t likely be anyone shooting a 62. Although its scoring average was 70.817 in 2011, it was the fourth-hardest par 71 of 11 used in non-majors. Gary Woodland returns to defend, hoping that his solid, consistent play can carry him to another victory. I had Lee Westwood winning last week but he failed to get it going in any one of his four rounds at Doral – he did finish a respectable -5 in the tournament, well back of Justin Rose.
So here we go with the Picks for this week’s Transitions Championship.
The Favorites:
Luke Donald 11/2
Donald played very well last week after a slow start to 2012 – T6 at the WGC-Cadillac. He was ranked T7 in greens hit and T8 in birdies – consistency which is definitely beneficial on the Copperhead course.
Charl Schwartzel 14/1
Finished T4 at the Cadillac last week and continues to hover around the top of the leaderboards in the events he enters. Last week was his seventh top five in last 11 starts worldwide and his second consecutive Top 5 finish. Schwartzel has never played Copperhead before but his scrambling skills are perfect for this type of course.
Justin Rose 16/1
Rose is quietly making a name for himself this year after a win last week and a T5 in the Honda in his start before. He finished T5 here last year and hasn’t finished outside the Top 25 in his last five starts at Copperhead. Rose is on fire and should contend.
The Contenders:
Matt Kuchar 20/1
Kuchar finished T8 at the WGC-Cadillac Championship last week – his first impressive result in quite a while. Kuchar hasn’t played the Transitions since 2009 – in that tournament he finished T9.
Nick Watney 20/1
Watney had high hopes of repeating last week but failed to do so. He did have one of the best weekends of anyone in the field with a 69 on Saturday and a 67 on Sunday to finish T17. He has finished in the Top 15 in his last three starts at Copperhead including a fourth in 2010. If last Saturday and Sunday are any indication, Watney could be the one to watch this week.
Webb Simpson 20/1
Simpson had a terrible final round at Doral last week but has a good track record at Copperhead including a runner-up in this event last year. He has a couple of Top 10’s already this season and if he can finally put together four good rounds together in one tournament, he could be a surprise. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
John Senden 35/1
Senden was arguably the most impressive player at last week’s WGC-Cadillac Championship finishing T6 in that tournament after a brutal 76 on Thursday. Rounds of 67 on Friday, 68 on Saturday and 65 on Sunday have generated a little momentum for Senden who is a two time runner up in this event (2007, 2008). He was T15 here last week as well and is definitely the best value on the board!
The Sleepers:
Peter Hanson 40/1
Hansen finished T4 last week, had a 3-1 record at the Match Play the week before and finished T15 here last year. That makes two starts on American soil in 2012 and two top 5 finishes. Hanson is decent value at 40/1!
Bo Van Pelt 45/1
Finished T8 last week and led the field in Strokes Gained-Putting. He has looked good in 2012 but only has two top eight finishes in eight starts at Copperhead.
Brandt Snedeker 50/1
Snedeker has been a factor in every tournament that he has played in 2012 – only food poisoning last week slowed him down! Snedeker is long, he’s accurate and he’s well suited to do well here.
Jonathan Byrd 55/1
Has never missed the cut in nine appearances at Copperhead with five Top 15s and a Top 20 last year. He has top 10s this year already in the Tournament of Champions and at the Northern Trust Open and is a decent bet to at least sneak into the Top 10.
Mark Wilson 60/1
Wilson looked good at Doral last week considering his length is nowhere near that of the leaders on the weekend. Accuracy is rewarded at Copperhead and that is Mark Wilson’s style. Wilson is a gamer and a sneaky pick this week.
The Pick:
Nick Watney at 20/1 is my pick after three sizzling rounds at the Cadillac to close out the tournament. His good history at Copperhead also has me intrigued! John Senden at 35/1 has also caught my eye.
My sleeper is Mark Wilson at 60/1. He is too good and too consistent to not contend on this tough course.
Good Luck!
Transitions Odds
| Luke Donald | 10/1 |
| Charl Schwartzel | 14/1 |
| Justin Rose | 16/1 |
| Webb Simpson | 18/1 |
| Matt Kuchar | 20/1 |
| Nick Watney | 22/1 |
| Sergio Garcia | 33/1 |
| Jason Day | 33/1 |
| Peter Hanson | 33/1 |
| John Senden | 40/1 |
| Martin Laird | 40/1 |
| Bo Van Pelt | 40/1 |
| K.J. Choi | 40/1 |
| Jim Furyk | 50/1 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 50/1 |
| Zach Johnson | 40/1 |
| Gary Woodland | 50/1 |
| Charles Howell III | |
| Robert Allenby | 50/1 |
| Retief Goosen | 50/1 |
| Mark Wilson | 50/1 |
| Ryo Ishikawa | 50/1 |
| Jonathan Byrd | 50/1 |
| Jimmy Walker | 60/1 |
| Kevin Na | 60/1 |
| Carl Pettersson | 66/1 |
| Ernie Els | 66/1 |
| Harris English | 66/1 |
| Jeff Overton | 66/1 |
| John Huh | 66/1 |
| Padraig Harrington | 66/1 |
| Paul Casey | 66/1 |
| Sean O’Hair | 66/1 |
| George Mcneill | 66/1 |
| Stewart Cink | 66/1 |
| Bryce Molder | 66/1 |
| D-A Points | 80/1 |
| Jason Dufner | 66/1 |
| Lucas Glover | 80/1 |
| Charlie Wi | 80/1 |
| Ryan Moore | 80/1 |
| John Rollins | 80/1 |
| David Toms | 80/1 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | 80/1 |
| Greg Chalmers | 80/1 |
| Rory Sabbatini | 80/1 |
| Pat Perez | 100/1 |
| Tom Gillis | 100/1 |
| Vijay Singh | 100/1 |
| Camilo Villegas | 100/1 |
| Geoff Ogilvy | 100/1 |
| Anthony Kim | 80/1 |
| Marc Leishman | 80/1 |
| Brendon De Jonge | 80/1 |
| Rod Pampling | 100/1 |
| Boo Weekley | 80/1 |
| Robert Garrigus | 125/1 |
| Brian Gay | 125/1 |
| Sang-Moon Bae | 125/1 |
| John Mallinger | 125/1 |
| Scott Verplank | 125/1 |
| Andres Romero | 125/1 |
| Seung-yul Noh | 125/1 |
| Jerry Kelly | 125/1 |
| Nick O’Hern | 125/1 |
| Bud Cauley | 150/1 |
| Cameron Tringale | 125/1 |
| Michael Thompson | 150/1 |
| Trevor Immelman | 125/1 |
| Scott Piercy | 150/1 |
| Jason Kokrak | 150/1 |
| D.J. Trahan | 150/1 |
| Justin Leonard | 150/1 |
| Chris Couch | 150/1 |
| Troy Matteson | 150/1 |
| Scott Stallings | 150/1 |
| Matt Every | 150/1 |
| Heath Slocum | 125/1 |
| Chad Campbell | 125/1 |
| Brian Harman | 150/1 |
| Angel Cabrera | 125/1 |
| Briny Baird | 250/1 |
| Kris Blanks | 300/1 |
| Kevin Streelman | 125/1 |
| Blake Adams | 250/1 |
| Josh Teater | 200/1 |
| David Hearn | 200/1 |
| Graham Delaet | 150/1 |
