Written by @Matt_Cee for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!
Turkish Airlines Open | Thursday 13 November – Sunday 16 November | Montgomerie Maxx Royal
We’re halfway through the Final Series on the European Tour and things are getting desperate in the Race to Dubai. Rory McIlroy is still the firm favourite to win but Jamie Donaldson, Sergio Garcia and Marcel Siem can still pull off a major upset if things go their way over the next two weeks. They’ll all need to win here and at the DP World Tour Championship next week, which is definitely a long shot. This week’s tournament is the Turkish Airlines Open which tees off in Antalya and despite McIlroy choosing to sit this one out, a quality field has assembled to compete. Last year we saw that the course plays really easy and Victor Dubuisson came out firing, ending up on an incredible -24. If things remain the same this week then it’s going to be a question of who arrives in form and who has the ability to make the most birdies.
There is always a chance that tournament organisers have chosen to make life a bit more difficult for the field, but we’ll only be able to find out if that is the case on Thursday. For those of you interested in long shots, course designer Colin Montgomerie will be playing but let’s face it, he’s not worth backing, even at 600/1. Closer to the top of the leaderboard there are a few players who look to offer a bit of value though, let’s see if we can find a winner.
To Win Outright
Henrik Stenson 11/1
Sergio Garcia 11/1
Martin Kaymer 12/1
Jamie Donaldson 16/1
Lee Westwood 22/1
VALUE BETS
Eddie Pepperell (80/1 a win, 17/1 a place)
Eddie Pepperell made a bit of a splash this season and if everything goes well, this week he could find himself in the Top 60 in the Race to Dubai and competing in the DP World Tour Championship next week. After a two month break earlier in the season he spent a bit of time working with his swing coach and that paid serious dividends as he managed to pull off Top 5s in the Czech Masters, The KLM Open and the Wales Open. Unfortunately he didn’t manage to carry that form through to the Alfred Dunhill, but he looked to be back to his old self at the beginning of this month and should come out swinging on Thursday. 80/1 looks like a great price, get on.
George Coetzee (30/1 a win, 66/10 a place)
George Coetzee is due a win and with his booming drives he could completely decimate this course and finally get what he deserves. He came agonisingly close to getting his second win of the year in the Volvo World Match Play Championship and carried that form through to the BMW Masters where he finished inside the Top 10. He then looked great in China and finished inside the Top 15 in both tournaments over the last two weeks. Each way here looks a great bet, get on.
Brendon de Jonge (45/1 a win, 10/1 a place)
Zimbabwean born Brendon de Jonge is playing some great golf at the moment and after narrowly losing out in the McGladrey Classic, where he lost in a playoff to an in-form Robert Streb, he showed that performance was no flash in the pan when he came out and finished inside the Top 15 in the CIMB Classic. He’s known for his accuracy with his driver and if he hits a lot of fairways this week he’ll make his fair share of birdies. Each way here is the bet for me.
TOP BET: Alexander Levy (30/1 a win, 66/10 a place)
Alexander Levy continues to impress this season and if he carries on playing like he has been lately, he could pull off a third victory before the year is out. He’s incredibly accurate with his irons and hits it stiff more often than not these days, a factor that should allow him to make a lot of birdies this week. Now that he’s tasted victory he’ll be hungry for more and I reckon come Sunday he’ll be right up there. Each way looks a great bet here, 30/1 looks way too generous from the bookies.
