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2010 Shell Houston Open Preview/Picks

Preview and free golf picks for the 2010 Shell Houston Open, which is hosted by Redstone GC Tournament Course, in Humble, Texas . The purse is $5.8 million, and the defending champ is Paul Casey…

PGA Betting – Shell Houston Open Championship Preview & Pick

Cappers Picks Golf handicappers have all your latest golf news and information so be sure to make us your trusted source for up-to-the-minute golf details. PGA Golf betting fans will also have plenty golf action to focus on as this year’s Masters is just around the corner.

Only one tune-up left before Tiger Woods turns the Masters into the Super Bowl.

The Shell Houston Open, played at the Tournament Course at Redstone Golf Club, rewards both long hitters and/or birdie makers (thanks to the large putting surfaces).

Date: Thursday April 01 – Sunday April 4th
Event: Shell Houston Open
Course: Redstone GC Tournament Course, Humble, Texas
Purse: $5,800,000
Defending Champ: Paul Casey
FedEX Cup Points Up For Grabs: 500

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Our potential picks this week include a bit of everything: boomers, putters and guys who are simply hot right now.

THE CONTENDERS

Ernie Els

Shell Houston Open odds: +1200

If the season ended today, he’d be the unanimous choice for Player of the Year. Locking down the Arnold Palmer Invitational yesterday gave him back-to-back wins. It’s tough to go against the Big Easy when he’s on – but what about the fatigue factor? You have to wonder if he’ll eventually crash after playing so many consecutive tournaments.

Paul Casey

Shell Houston Open odds: +1200

The defending champ wasn’t a fluke winner last year. He’s a beast off the tee, he’s strong with the putter and his game is in a good place right now. In seven starts this season worldwide, he’s made the top 11 six times. He’s due to bust out, so why not do so at the course where his confidence will be sky-high?

SOLID PICKS

Padraig Harrington

Shell Houston Open odds: +1800

Harrington hasn’t finished better than 24th at Redstone but his game is steadily warming up – he has two straight top-eight finishes. While he hasn’t made too many birdies this year (127th in average), he’s seventh in scoring average, so he’s capable of going low this week.

Hunter Mahan

Shell Houston Open odds: +2500

Here’s your rock-solid middle-of-the-road pick, as he qualifies as a highly educated guess but also gives you better value than the other favorites. Mahan has three top-15 finishes in his last four starts at the Shell Houston Open. Last year, he finished 11th and led the field in greens hit. Toss in a victory already this season and we also know Mahan is playing good golf right now. I can’t blame anyone for picking him.

THE SLEEPERS

Fred Couples

Shell Houston Open odds: +4000

I dare you to find a more fun pick this week. The big question with Couples: has he dominated the Champions Tour (three straight wins) simply because the field is weak or is his game truly on fire? Don’t be so sure he isn’t legit. His last two finishes at the Shell Houston Open: third and fourth. And that was the “washed up” Couples. What can the sizzling Couples do?

Matt Kuchar

Shell Houston Open odds: +4500

He’s a sneaky “sleeper” who really isn’t a sleeper when you look at the numbers to back him up. Check out these stats: three top-three finishes in 2009; first on Tour in scoring average, birdie average and par-four performance; sixth in putting; 29th in greens in regulation. Everything points to Kuchar tearing up Redstone, even though he missed the cut in his only other start there.

THE PICK

Hunter Mahan will draw a lot of interest this week – and for good reason. But my gut screams Kuchar. He’s playing as well as anyone on Tour without a win this season, so that tells me he’s next in line to triumph.

Pick: Matt Kuchar +4500

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By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"

One reply on “2010 Shell Houston Open Preview/Picks”

Take a break from those Final Four odds, which is all about the young players in college, and consider the golf odds for the Shell Houston Open on Thursday, the final tournament for PGA Tour players to get a handle on their game before The Masters. Paul Casey is the defending champion at this event, and while the tournament has been won by players that you would consider young, this year, you should keep an eye on the old guys, including a pair of former winners who lead the list of challengers.

Ernie Els (+1100): The “Big Easy” didn’t win for two years, and now, he’s won back-to-back events after taking the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. Els is playing as well as he ever has, but fatigue may be a factor this week. Els, who turned 40 in October, has a T-14 in last year’s tournament, which was his first time playing at Redstone. Beware of Els in March: of his 18 career wins on the PGA Tour, five have come in March, including his last three.

Paul Casey (+1200): Only two players have gone back-to-back at this event, but Casey has a strong chance according to your online sportsbook odds. In three stroke-play events, Casey hasn’t finished outside of the top 10, and he was runner-up to Ian Poulter in the Match Play. If it wasn’t for Els, you could argue that Casey is playing the best golf on the planet right now.

Anthony Kim (+2500): The young Kim is a birdie machine, which sets up well on Redstone’s massive greens. After a slow start, Kim is coming around with three straight top-25s, including a second-place result in the Honda Classic. Kim also has a T-5 from 2007 at Redstone.

Fred Couples (+3000): Couples loves this event, as he went to the University of Houston, and he’s finished in the top four in the past two years to go with his emotional 2003 win. The 50-year-old Couples has won three straight on the Champions Tour, and you can see that the game is still there. Will his back hold up, though?

Vijay Singh (+3300): Sports betting players should know that the 47-year-old Singh pulled out of Bay Hill with a back problem, so he may not even play this week. But with his track record at Houston, you have to respect him. Singh won this tournament in 2002, 2004 and 2005, with the last two wins coming at Redstone, so he knows his way around. It’s a shame about his back, too, because he followed up a fourth-place result in the Honda Classic with an 11th-place finish at Doral.

Pick: Casey seems to be the smart play here, but Couples has momentum, and probably the crowd on his side. Much like his Houston Cougars, who were a March Madness betting option for the first time since 1992, he’ll be looking to prove people wrong. 

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