Reed to Deliver At Home
Best Bets
1 Pt EW (1-5) Patrick Reed (25/1 Coral)
0.5 Pts EW (1-6) Scott Piercy (80/1 Sky Bet)
This week sees the return of a regular stroke play event on the PGA Tour in the Shell Houston Open. A lot of the top pros like to get a run out the week before The Masters so once again the field is fairly strong for this one. Jordan Spieth tops the market and last year lost out in a playoff in what proved ideal preparation for The Masters.
It’s true that a lot of the top players this week will have one eye on next week’s major. Many will be looking to simply fine tune their game so they go into next week as sharp as possible. This shouldn’t detract from what is a strong tournament however. With regards to Spieth he isn’t an attractive prospect for us this week. Although he looked stronger at the Match Play last week I wouldn’t be quick to back him at the top of the market.
In terms of an angle in on this 7,457 Par 72 venue, long hitting has often proved to be a big advantage. Water is in play on most of the holes round this course, and the greens are quite large providing solid preparation for next week at Augusta. We’ve come up with a couple of selections and are happy to make an each-way play on both for this one.
1 Pt EW (1-5) Patrick Reed (25/1 Coral)
Our headline pick this week is Patrick Reed who we like for a number of reasons. He was eliminated in the World Match Play last week by Dustin Johnson in the last 16. In this tie there was little that Reed could do and his -5 scorecard wasn’t enough to stop the streaky Johnson. Over the course of the first four days at the match play however there wasn’t a better player than Reed. All aspects of his game seemed to be on song at the Austin layout. We are looking at his last 16 exit as a positive going into this week as he will be relatively fresh compared to some of his biggest rivals.
Many people, including us favoured Reed last week playing in a ‘home event’ in Texas. Reed is a proud Texan but the event this week is much closer to home. Reed resides in Spring, Texas which is where the Shell Houston Open is located this week. He will likely be living at home this week which often proves an advantage for the Pros. He also has course form and posted a top twenty finish last season which provides something to build on for the young American this week. Finally we like Reed this week as unlike some of the other names at the top of the market he should be aiming to make a statement this week prior to The Masters. Reed’s record in the majors is poor, and he will be looking to throw his name into the mix going into next week and what better way to do it than win in his home state this week.
0.5 Pts EW (1-6) Scott Piercy (80/1 Sky Bet)
Our second selection this week goes to Scott Piercy who looks a good price on a course that should suit. In the match play last week Piercy went unbeaten and perhaps unluckily was eliminated in a playoff despite producing a win and two draws in the group stages. Piercy has the length off the tee to be an ideal candidate for a win on this course and will be looking to continue his solid form going into The Masters next week. He hasn’t missed the cut in this event in five previous attempts and last year posted a top 10 finish. We are hoping he can capitalise on high confidence at a familiar golf course this week.