Not sure if Mark Twain was a golfer, I suspect not, but golf is a game of statistics, total putts, greens in regulation, driving distance etc.
However, on the USPGA website, one stat stands head and shoulders above all others, at least for betting purposes, "scoring average final round".
When the pressure is on and the big bucks are on the line, who can hold their nerve and who will wilt under the strain. Time and time again the same players produce the goods and others disappoint.
Last week Stuart Appleby ran away with the Shell Houston Open, so much so, that by Sunday, bookies were quoting odds "without the favourite". The only leading contender with a proven R4 record was cash cow, Bob Estes. This man is a money earning machine, he earns $1-$2m EVERY year, yet his own mother would struggle to pick him out of a police line up.
In 2005 he was 14th for final day scoring and 11th in 2004, this on a tour consisting of some 200 of the best players in the world. You could virtually guarantee that he would play his usual game, whatever the course threw at him.
Starting just two shots behind the talented, but erratic, Mathias Gronberg and clear of the rest of the field, he was priced at 5/1 and duly obliged.
The final round 2 balls can be a real gold mine, sometimes pairings can match a player ranked top ten, against another ranked at 180. In real terms, this can be as much as a three stroke difference and a true guide as to how they are likely to perform.
Some of these rankings are as you might reasonably expect, Tiger and the ultra consistent Furyk, Toms and Singh almost always appear in the top 20. However, there are some real surprises, Bart Bryant has been top 10 for each of the last two years, Lucas Glover 14th and 17th and little known Taq Ridings, 2nd in 2004 and top 25 last year.
At the other end, Sergio Garcia has barely made the top 100 in either year and former Masters champion Mike Weir was 123rd in 2004 and 160th last year !
This is information to make money from.
Check back on a regular basis for final round betting advice.
Good Luck.
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