Puerto Rico Open golf betting preview and tips


Argentina's Fabian Gomez heads three picks from David John for this week's Puerto Rico Open golf.

Recommended bets:  Puerto Rico Open


1pt e.w. Fabian Gomez at 110/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5) - came close here in 2013 and win in Hawaii confirms a liking for this type of test

1pt e.w. Tyrone Van Aswegen at 80/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5) - starting to click this year and the sort of event he can shine in

1pt e.w. Jonathan Byrd at 125/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5) - still capble of contending at this level and decent effort last time

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The Puerto Rico Open has thrown up some surprise winners since its inception in 2008 and has a wide-open look once more at Coco Beach Golf & Country Club perched on the north-eastern section of the island.

It sets up for a good test as well with sea breezes in the region of 15-20mph around a layout that measures over 7,500 yards but players on the whole have very much given the place a thumbs-up down the years with a decent mix of both challenging and more scoreable holes.

This is a week as well when punters will see a handful of names at short prices who are usually go off closer to the three-figure mark.

The world’s best are elsewhere and while a less formidable field is duly noted, there are enough players towards the head of the market with something still to prove and getting over the line here is no less difficult than usual.

One who is on offer though at a fair price and should make an impact is Argentina’s Fabian Gomez. 

His most notable effort here came four years ago when tied for second alongside a certain Jordan Spieth after he dropped a shot on the closing hole to let eventual champion Scott Brown sneak home by a stroke. 

It was a tough one to swallow at the time for Gomez and he admitted his rather shaky finish was down to nerves getting the better of him in a situation he had not experienced previously.

He is clearly a quick study and has since won twice on the PGA Tour in Memphis (2015) and Hawaii (2016) so will be much better prepared if on the sharp end this time when push comes to shove on Sunday afternoon.

A run of missed cuts to start 2017 probably explains his inflated odds but he had a similar profile prior to that second place here while there were also a rash of missed weekends surrounding his maiden victory at the FedEx St Jude Classic two years ago (MC-T27-MC-1-MC-MC-MC-MC). 

I don’t necessarily think then Gomez needs to show his very best in the build-up to a prominent performance and his victory at Waialae highlights that a breezy, seaside course on grainy greens with warm weather thrown in suits him extremely well indeed. 

The fact he got four competitive rounds in last week at Bay Hill should help sharpen him up a little bit more and I fully expect Gomez to be firing on all cylinders at a cracking price.

Check out the Sky Bet Specials - includes all three selections to make the cut at 11/4!

Graeme McDowell deserves his place alongside those towards the top of the betting after his victory around a similar style of course in Mexico at the end of 2015 while the pressure remains on fellow former Ryder Cupper Ian Poulter as he tries to scramble enough cash together to regain full status on the PGA Tour with just three events of a Medical Exemption remaining. 

Fellow Euro Thorbjorn Olesen is an interesting participant too and a victory in the dim and distant past on Sicily gives him cause for optimism under these conditions while a handful of improvers like Wesley Bryan, JT Poston and Luke List will all fancy their chances of posting that first victory in this company.

I am going cast my net a little wider though and South Africa’s Tyrone Van Aswegen has been on my radar for a little while this year and his turn does not look too far away.

He arrives on the back of consecutive top-30 finishes in the Honda Classic and Valspar Championship, showing up well in the latter after opening rounds of 69-65 before tumbling down the leaderboard over the weekend.

That was a disappointing state of affairs in the circumstances but only detracts slightly from the fact he is happy with the current state of his game.

“I feel like I am trending in the right direction,” he said 

“I am hitting the ball well and swinging well and have been putting nicely this year,” and looks exactly the type of player who could get right into the shake-up.

He has not made a huge impact in three tries in the PRO but did play the weekend on each occasion and that course experience could prove just as important allied to that promising form in recent weeks.

Final pick this week goes to veteran Jonathan Byrd in what looks like a good opportunity for a shot at getting back in amongst the ranks of those at the top table in the game.

A five-time PGA Tour winner, he was good enough at his peak to land the Tournament Of Champions in Hawaii in 2011 but a subsequent issue with his wrist that required surgery saw him severely lose his way and continue his career on the Web.com Tour.

He remains at that level but an interesting interview with him just before last Christmas revealed how he has not sulked or moaned and taken on the challenge very much with the right frame of mind.

“It was humbling," Byrd said. 

“To go back to the Web was difficult. There are so many reminders every week that you are not where you want to be. But I tried to embrace it.”

“But what I've learned from being out here so long is that I've got what it takes. I've got something in there that's good enough. And I still think it's good enough.”

Byrd has played in Puerto Rico four times and posted three finishes inside the top 16 while he has further experience down here from his college days at Clemson.

That should all stand him in good stead for the test ahead while a T5 in Panama on his latest outing in the middle of last month catches the eye and suggests the 39-year-old can take advantage of a rare start coming his way on the PGA Tour.

Posted at 1840 GMT on 21/03/17.

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