High Class Field Features McIlroy, Mickelson at Quail Hollow
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Frank Doyle
A suddenly flush Frank Doyle makes his picks for the Wells Fargo Championship, formerly known as the Wachovia, which is on this weekend at Quail Hollow, Charlotte, NC.
Bubba Watson, the first name in our Fore! to Follow last week came up trumps at the Zurich Classic and paid out at a handsome +2500. All the tour winners this year have been big golf betting prices, with the worst price winner since February being Phil Mickelson’s +1600 at Houston. And +1600 is a pretty good price on Mickelson.
Mickelson is the ante-post favorite this weekend at Quail Hollow and he’s certainly not a man you can easily rule out. Mickelson heads a very strong field at Quail Hollow, a field that features multiple major winners like himself and up and coming future major winners like Rickie Fowler and the current Quail Hollow Champion, Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy suffered torment on the back nine at Augusta when his Masters’ challenge fell to pieces, but McIlroy is young enough to come back from that. If it happened Sergio Garcia – well, it’s not nice to think about. McIlroy could certainly retain his title at Quail Hollow but he’ll face still challenges from the likes of Martin Kaymer, a former World No 1 who also left Augusta with something to prove, Mickelson and Bubba Watson. So, without further ado, here are Sports Interaction’s
Fore! to Follow
Rory McIlroy (+1400). He’s got the game and he’s got the temperament. McIlroy finished third at the Malaysian Open the week after the Masters and that shows character. The infamous Green Mile of 16, 17 and 18 at Quail Hollow will be another test of character but what doesn’t kill us always makes us stronger.
Bubba Watson (+2500). Back to back wins aren’t common on the tour but Watson could be the hottest player in golf right now.
Martin Laird (+3500). The Arnold Palmer Invitational champion is driving them 300 yards off the tee and he has five top ten finishes from ten starts. That’s a man to trust with your money.
Tommy Gainey (+5500). Gainey was joint third last week at the Zurich Classic, and third on his own at the Heritage, as well as coming fifth at the Honda Classic in March. A price of +5500 on that sort of form is too good to resist.
World Golf Rankings, May 3rd, 2011
| Rank | Change | Last Week | Player | Nationality | Average Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | 1 | Lee Westwood | England | 8.22 |
| 2 | - | 2 | Martin Kaymer | Germany | 7.55 |
| 3 | - | 3 | Luke Donald | England | 7.28 |
| 4 | - | 4 | Phil Mickelson | USA | 6.55 |
| 5 | - | 5 | Graeme McDowell | Northern Ireland | 5.65 |
| 6 | +1 | 7 | Rory McIlroy | Northern Ireland | 5.54 |
| 7 | -1 | 6 | Tiger Woods | USA | 5.54 |
| 8 | - | 8 | Paul Casey | England | 5.49 |
| 9 | - | 9 | Steve Stricker | USA | 5.34 |
| 10 | +6 | 16 | Bubba Watson | USA | 5.24 |
| 11 | -1 | 10 | Matt Kuchar | USA | 5.24 |
| 12 | -1 | 11 | Charl Schwartzel | South Africa | 5.08 |
| 13 | -1 | 12 | Dustin Johnson | USA | 5.07 |
| 14 | -1 | 13 | Jim Furyk | USA | 4.79 |
| 15 | -1 | 14 | Nick Watney | USA | 4.61 |
| 16 | -1 | 15 | Ernie Els | South Africa | 4.34 |
| 17 | +1 | 18 | Adam Scott | Australia | 4.21 |
| 18 | -1 | 17 | Ian Poulter | England | 4.12 |
| 19 | - | 19 | Francesco Molinari | Italy | 4.07 |
| 20 | - | 20 | Hunter Mahan | USA | 4.05 |
| 21 | - | 21 | Martin Laird | Scotland | 3.99 |
| 22 | - | 22 | Robert Karlsson | Sweden | 3.98 |
| 23 | +4 | 27 | Miguel A. Jimenez | Spain | 3.92 |
| 24 | -1 | 23 | Jason Day | Australia | 3.87 |
| 25 | -1 | 24 | Retief Goosen | South Africa | 3.8 |