US Masters Side Market Preview
Best Bets
1 Pt EW (1-2) Romain Langasque Top Amateur (5/1 Coral)
2 Pts Charl Schwartzel Top South African (15/8 Coral)
We’ve taken a look at some of the side markets this week at the Masters. There appears to be value in a few places and we fancy some small plays.
1 Pt EW (1-2) Romain Langasque Top Amateur (5/1 Coral)
Our first side market tip this week falls in the top amateur category. This market is regularly settled on the Friday as amateurs often find it difficult to make the cut. Heavy favourite this week for top amateur honours is Bryson Dechambeau who is odds on across the board. In what really could be a 36 hole shootout this is too short in our opinion. Dechambeau has been great in recent attempts on the European and PGA tours, but the Masters is a much sterner test and one that most new-comers find all too difficult. In our opinion he rightfully goes off as favourite in this market but the odds difference between him and Langasque (our fancy) is too wide.
Langasque goes into this one sitting only four places behind Dechambeau in the amateur golf world rankings. As can usually happen he has received less attention than his American rival as he has a European heavy schedule and is from France. He recently competed in the Kenya Open on the Challenge Tour and came second amongst the Pros which is really encouraging and says a lot about his form going into the Masters. In his last two amateur starts he has finished third and first so really looks to be on top of his game prior to this massive test. Langasque has already played the Open so knows what it’s like to play in a major. This is a huge advantage as nothing can compare to the pressure cooker of golf’s major championships, and at least knowing what to expect will stand you in a good position.
When it comes down to it, it looks like a two horse race for us in this market. Cheng Jin has a lot of promise but he isn’t in the same league as Langasque and Dechambeau. If we were to price this one we would have Dechambeau as marginal favourite but the fact that we can get better than evens on Langasque to finish top two represents great value to us.
2 Pts Charl Schwartzel Top South African (15/8 Coral)
Our second side-market bet this week goes to Charl Schwartzel being the top South African this week. Trevor Immelman is likely a non-factor in this market and Ernie Els has been struggling for form over the last month so this is really a three horse race. Branden Grace hasn’t had his best stuff for the last few weeks and he has missed his last two cuts at Augusta. This leaves us looking at Louis Oosthuizen and Schwartzel. Although Louis has showed good form this year we feel his preparation has been less than ideal. After playing 7 rounds in the match play two weeks ago he missed the cut in Houston. Although he has played well at Augusta before finishing second back in 2012 he has never gone close in any of his other attempts. Schwartzel already has a green jacket as a past champion here and loves this venue. His form this year has been great and he already has two wins to his name in 2016. He was solid at Houston last week and tweeted he is very happy with his game coming into this week. We think he is a solid play to be the top South African come Sunday night.