Go For Bubba at Kapalua

Our Tip:

1.5 Pts EW (1-5) Bubba Watson (11/1 Sky Bet)

The PGA Tour season gets back under way this week after a brief break for the players. 2015 was a good year for Boston Gambler in the golf and we are hoping to get off to a fast start this year with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the Kapalua Plantation Course in Hawaii. As the name would suggest this competition is open to winners from the previous season which makes for a strong, albeit small field this week. Jordan Spieth and Jason Day headline the field in terms of world ranking and odds quite rightly. The bookies have given the marginal edge to Spieth which is probably fair given all of 2015.

Spieth is 4/1 in some places and Day sits at a best price of 6/1 and we are happy to avoid these two at such a low price. There is probably going to be a bit of rust all around this week so we can’t justify a pick this short.

After much deliberation we decided to stick to one golfer this week. Bubba Watson goes off at 11/1 on Sky Bet who are paying five places in the each way market. Watson enjoys this course and can really unleash the driver given the forgiving nature of the Plantation Course fairways. He has placed in the top 10 in his last two starts at this course demonstrating an early season win isn’t out of the question.

Watson has demonstrated fantastic form as of late. His last 6 starts have yielded four top ten’s and only one finish outside the top twenty. He was able to win the Hero Wold Challenge early in December and now sits at fourth in the world rankings looking up at what has been declared by some as the new ‘big three’. Bubba will be desperately trying to bridge the world rankings gap this week, and given his recent form 11/1 seems very fair.

It looks like the wind is going to blow this week in Hawaii, but given Bubba’s amazing ability to shape shots both with and against the wind he surely carries a small advantage compared to most. A final factor we considered is the level of rust golfers will have at this point of the season. Many players will have taken a few days off over the festive period and might need a bit of time to get back to their best. Bubba is someone who massively dislikes ‘serious’ practice and will probably suffer less than most with the rust factor this week. Furthermore, based on his twitter his family have been out with him in Hawaii over the last few days. This might just add to the relaxed feel good factor that Bubba thrives upon.