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The BMW Masters 2014 Preview

Written by @Matt_Cee for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!


The BMW Masters | Thursday 30 October – Sunday 02 November | Lake Malaren Golf Club

This week the European Tour heads to Shanghai, China for the BMW Masters and given there is a $7 million prize fund, the field that will be assembling at Lake Malaren Golf Club is nothing short of disappointing. Rory McIlroy has opted to sit this one out and Sergio Garcia will be heading to Malaysia to play in the CIMB Masters, so Justin Rose finds himself as clear favourite at 10/1. Given his form this season this isn’t surprising but I’m sure I speak for all golf fans out there when I say that this would have made for an incredibly interesting tournament had Garcia and McIlroy chosen to participate.

The course is an absolute beast and the par 72, 6,600 yard monstrosity is notorious for the length of a number the par 4s on offer. The fairways are generous though and the bombers may find themselves at a bit of an advantage so keep an eye on the big hitters. Something to keep in mind is that whilst it may be easy to find the fairway, the course is littered with bunkers and water hazards so accurate iron play will also be of utmost importance. The course is exposed and there is a bit of rain predicted so this could be anyone’s game; it’s often difficult to tell who will excel in conditions like that. With Rory out of the running there looks to be a bit of value floating around, let’s see if we can find a winner.

To Win Outright
Justin Rose  10/1
Victor Dubuisson 14/1
Chris Kirk  16/1
Brooks Koepka  20/1
Jamie Donaldson  20/1

VALUE BETS
Bernd Wiesberger (35/1 a win, 77/10 a place)
Bernd Wiesberger has two wins under his belt and will arrive in China hoping that he can secure that elusive third victory. He disappointed last time out and missed the cut at the Portugal Masters but he had been in great form prior to that. Against stiff competition he managed to finish inside the Top 15 in four tournaments in a row and almost all of those finishes could have been better had he finished in the same manner as he started. Back to back 66s at the Open D’Italia put him in contention but a final round 72 put paid his chances of winning and that seems to be a bit of a trend with the Austrian at the moment. If he can string together four rounds here he’ll be right up there come Sunday so keep an eye on big-hitting Wiesberger. Each way here looks a good bet to me.

Brooks Koepka (20/1 a win, 44/10 a place)
Brooks Koepka arrives in China with some great form behind him and in his last three starts he’s managed a ninth, fourth and eighth. He’s definitely going to win sometime in the near future and this course looks like it will suit his game to a tee. He hits the ball long and has the iron game to take advantage of those booming drives. If he comes here and plays his best he could well shed his maiden tag this week. Each way is the bet for me.

George Coetzee (35/1 a win, 77/10 a place)
George Coetzee hits the ball a mile and showed what he can do on this track two years ago when he managed to finish T6. Despite the fact that he has had a fairly quiet season he seems to be finding a bit of form and looked to be back to his best at the Volvo World Match Play Championship when he finished fourth. Prior to that he impressed at the Portugal Masters and the Alfred Dunhill links with Top 25s. Each way on Coetzee is the bet for me.

TOP BET: Nicolas Colsaerts (28/1 a win, 62/10 a place)
Against this field and on a course that is going to suit the bombers, Nicolas Colsaerts simply cannot be ignored. He hits the ball a mile and was in great form until he missed the cut at the Hong Kong Open last week. He opened with a brilliant 66 there but something went wrong on Friday and a 79 ensured that he missed the cut. A single bad round cannot take away from his current form though and a second at the Portugal Masters and T4 at the Wales Open show he has what it takes to get close. If all goes to plan he’ll finish inside the Top 5 again this week. 28/1 is a great price; each way is the bet here for me.

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