The Greenbrier Classic, The Old White TPC, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia

We arrive at the strangely named town of White Sulphur Springs for the Greenbrier Classic played on The Old White golf course. It is a very recent addition to the PGA Tour, this being only the 4th time that this event has been staged, after it took over the Buick Open in Michigan. Although the course has been around for many a year now, it is only recently that they have come back here. Following on from the Merion, we have another Scot who came over years ago to dream of putting a bit of Scotland in his back yard in the form of a golf course. Back in 1922 Charles Blair MacDonald ‘borrowed’ holes from North Berwick, Prestwich and St. Andrews to design a 7,724yard, par 70 course from his memories of back home. There are 4 golf courses that they could play on, and all of them would pose a test for any golfer, but it’s the Old White course that they will be playing this weekend...

Just looking at the field I should let you know that the rumours on the US Twitter and Facebook pages are that Big Phil Mickelson is here on his own accord after supposedly receiving payment of $1,000,000’s for his visit last year. The recipient that could have ‘earnt’ the fee this year was the one and only Tiger Woods. He has a slight back injury, so pulled out so that he could rest up before our own Open. It’s nothing new paying players to just to turn up and play regardless of how well they do, but it does mean that Phil will start a hot favourite for this year’s title...

If we go off what has happened here in the last 3 years of this event then you may as well back a long odds name. Last year’s winner Ted Potter was ranked 218th when he won, doing so in a play-off with Troy Kelly who was ranked 464th in the world. Both would have been over 100/1 with the bookies, and it just followed on from the previous winner in 2011 with Scott Stallings. Again he won the title in a 3 way play-off with Bob Estes and Bill Haas, of which only Billy Hass would have been under the 100/1 betting mark…

So I don’t have a lot to go on really with the history of the course and the event but I will say that you still have to play well here. Both Tiger and Phil missed the cut here last year, so that tells you, that you need to play well here to feature come Sunday night. Ted Potter’s stats show us that he was 1st in Strokes Gained Putting, T3rd for Total number of putts made for the week. He also came 3rd for Driving Accuracy, T21st for GIR and 37th for Total Driving Distance. That said he had missed his previous 6 cuts and so predicting that he would perform like he did last year would have been a total fluke…!!!


The weather isn’t given to be very good over the 4 days, mainly rain and a little wind, so that will take away some yardage of the lesser hitters. This isn’t the longest course in the world, but it’s the longest it’s been since this event has been played here the past 3 years. And in those past 3 years we have seen scores of -16, -10 and -22 to win here, so scoring low is always going to be the way forward here…

Graham DeLaet is showing a great deal of consistency at the moment, and for only shooting -2 on the Sunday of the AT & T last week, could have well won his first title of the year. Drives well, hits the greens and can putt so the only thing missing is the Tour win, so if he can get his game together for the four days he has a very good chance…

Brendon DeJonge is 6th in the All-Time money earners for this course, and that’s gotta count for something here. A 3rd place finish in 2010 at -17 under par, followed up with a T4th place finish in 2011 on -9. So, he knows how to score low here, he’s total average scoring at Greenbrier is 69.58. Three times he has finished in the Top 10 this year and a return to a course he knows and likes will be just up his street hopefully to add to them Top 10’s…

Roberto Castro played well in the AT & T last week, shooting a final round of 66, to get him a 2nd place finish. He also shot the lowest round of the four days last year in the Greenbrier, a 63, to gain him a T7th place finish. His stats are not exceptional so im picking him on form both on the current and course form…

Kyle Stanley has finished 3rd twice now after he has missed the cut the previous tournament, that’s a good come back strike rate…!!! So his missed cut last week dosnt put me off one bit, in fact it hasn’t. On the 2 occasions that this has happened, his game has been in tip top form, and he lead many of the stats for that particular tournament. He lead most of the stats in his 3rd at the Memorial in late June, plus came top in the putting stats for Birdies Made, Actual Scoring and Driving Distance in the Zurich Classic. So im guessing that he must work at his game to get it right the next time out. Well, this is his next time out…!!!

Graeme DeLaet @ 28/1…
Brendon De Jonge @ 40/1…
Roberto Castro @ 50/1…
Kyle Stanley @ 50/1…

All bets done in the usual £2.5 e/w… PadPow pays ¼ odds top 6…

 

Hey Red

Was so close to agreeing on 2 of your selections but ultimately went against BDJ and GDL

Instead i went for;

Louis Oosthuizen 33/1 - Will want to fine tune his game ready for a crack at the Open so i expect an all round performance this week

Jordan Speith - 40/1 - Talented individual, his first win is seemingly just round the corner

Scott Stallings - 33/1 - Picked him last week and he disappointed, he may do so again but i couldnt resist including him again

Couldnt find a 4th player who i was comfortable backing so instead il keep my powder dry and may invest after a couple of rounds.

Picked up just shy of £250 last week off Casey and Larrazabal so more of the same please

 

Nice return Smokin... Lets hope for more of the same then... No pressure, eh...

 

Leaderboard after the 1st round...

Leaders @ -8...

T9 - Brendon de Jonge................ -4
T21 - Jordan Spieth.................... -3
T21 - Louis Oosthuizen................ -3
T49 - Graham DeLaet.................. -1
T67 - Scott Stallings.................... E
T67 - Roberto Castro................... E
T153 - Kyle Stanley..................... +7

Johnson Wagner and Tommy Gainey both shot a season low 62, -8 under par, to take a 2 shot lead into the second day. Gainey shot 8 birdies, 10 pars with Wagner shooting 1 eagle and 6 birdies, no pars to take command of the Greenbrier Classic. Together this year they have played a combined 40 events on the Tour, missing the cut in 29 of them. So yet again this tournament seems to throw up very different players for contention than you would have thought...

The picks are going ok, DeJonge the best of the picks, but as always weve only had 1 round and a lot can change... In saying that my theory on Kyle Stanley seems to have faded away like the rest of his season this year...!!!

 

Hey guy's.. didn't have a bet on the American golf this week but good luck. I want your opinions on something away from the betting for a minute, what do you think is up with McIlroy's game lately? I ask because I am bemused really, obviously so talented and I thought once he got a few weeks with the new clubs and settled down he would be back firing on all cylinders but watching him play lately is a bit bizarre, he's all over the shop. Gary Murphy wrote a good article in one of the papers I was reading in the pub last night about how he now seems to be just another face in the crowd instead of this superstar he should be. Is he not putting the hours in? Is pressure affecting him? I always told people I couldn't see him doing the hours to be as good as Tiger but I at least though he'd be showing a better level of consistency than what he has done to date. Any views?

 

Hey STH

I think it must have something to do with the big money deal and him maybe taking his eye of the golf a bit.

I mean you see him at his GF's tennis tournaments longer than you do at golf comp's at the moment.

Nike must be gutted at the moment as they have had almost zero back from their investment so far!


change of subject for you and Red, do you play golf much, what do you play off? and what clubs do you play with?

 

Now then STH... Im in agreement with Smokin on Rory, to many distractions off the course than on it...

What i will say is that, i am surprised at how long his drop of form has gone for, something that will be doing his head in also. I read something on him last week in the Irish Open that he didnt know weather to stop playing and give it a rest for a couple of weeks, take his mind off it all together... or, he said that i should get my head down and practice, practice, practice and get my form back through the pure number of balls im hitting...

That tells me he dosnt really know what he should be doing...!!!

What ever he is doing i do think he is being advised badly with all the off field things he is doing. Not the girlfriend thing, he is obvioulsy very smitten with her, and that's something that happens to all people. But he has changed management twice in 3 years, got a huge deal with Nike that must mean he has to appear in places for adverts, corporate deals etc, and that will be a lot for any one to take in. Let alone a young man like him...

On the bigger picture, i will ask you this then... Do you think he will win another Major title...???

My answer would be yes... Its only a matter of time, but the problem is people got carried away and said that he has the potential to get up to Tiger in terms of Majors won. Let him win a few first before we get too far down the road...!!!

I wont be betting on him winning the Open next week or so... So get your money on him...

 

Leaderboard after the 3rd round...

Leader - Johnson Wagner @ -14

T4 - Jordan Spieth.............. -9
T16 - Scott Stallings........... -6
T16 - Louis Oosthuizen........ -6
T27 - Graham DeLaet.......... -5
T47 - Brendon de Jonge ...... -3

Well done Smokin, all three of your picks in the top 20, impressive. Maybe a little short on maybe getting the winner but with the course playing the way it is you never know... They are all finding the birdies and so you can come back from a few shots back...

Ive got to find a winner or placed one soon as im having a nightmare just like poor ole Rory... Only he is a little bit better off than me...

 

I was a member of the Alt club at Southport Municipal golf course, but i stopped playing about 4 years ago as a member and just pick and choose when i play now. We have some good course's near us, some you will have heard of and seen. Royal Birkdale is one, obviously, as we play the Open there once every 7-10 years or so, plus we have Southport & Ainsdale, Hillside and the Hesketh. All 3 of these course's will hold qualifiers for all the big tournaments, plus at the end of this month 25-18 Royal Birkdale is hosting the Senior British Open... The membership fee's for these clubs are astronomical in my mind. Royal Birkdale has a waiting list, and you deffo need to know someone on the inside to get in there... They made Alan Hansen wait 3 years before granting him admission as a member, he plays there a lot with Kenny Dalglish....

I got down to a -14 handicapper once over, but play more like a 18 at best now. Officially i play off -16 though i dont enter any club comps now, i play just when i can when any of my mates are available...

Hillside golf club was voted one of the best golf course's in the country a few years back, and trust me when you get to tee off from the 10th hole on a clear day, sun beating down on your back, you can see why... Beautiful...

 

Sounds good red!

I play to a similar level to you then really...generally bogey golf with the odd exeception.
Played on thursday night and carded 99!! (+26) then played this morning before the comp started and got 82 (+9)
Consistency is the key (a bit like Rory!!) haha


In terms of the Greenbriar, i wouldnt write Spieth off just yet.
Skybet offering 16/1 (1/4 odds , 1st 3) and i think he will certainly finish in the top 3.
I cant help thinking that Wagner has to put a stinker in, his form recently has been so poor that if he starts badly, or tee's off 30 mins after Spieth and see's his lead shortened then he might falter! Its probably wishful thinking but i have stuck another £5 e/w on him.

Also have Bourdy (80/1) in the French Open so hoping for a decent round and sneak one of the 5 places!

 

What a lovely part of the country to live for a golfing fan that is Red.

For the record I play off 11, recently cut for a net 68 on day two of our club championship. Like you guys I can play to eight or eighteen depending on which one of me turns up.
My best ever round I feel was an 80 at Victoria in Villamoura. If you google the course you can see why I feel it was an achievement!

 

Yep, I think McIlroy will win more Majors in time if he concentrates his efforts on his golf. I agree also he has too many distractions off the course but can't blame him for that , he has to live a little too which is understandable but I don't think he will give the commitment required to be a Nicklaus or Woods but maybe he doesn't want that either so let him be, I just would like to see more consistency from him.

Smokin to answer your question, I try play golf 2-3 times a week mostly, I played a lot when i was younger, I play off 7 and I am now using Mizuno MP64's , I have a TaylorMade R9 driver and two TaylorMade wedges , 56 and 64 degrees and putt with a normal single head Odyssey putter, but, again like everyone some day's are better than others on the course, I think that's why everyone alway's goes back to play Golf because it is quite impossible to master. One day you can burn the course up and the next wonder why you even bother but thankfully I enjoy it mostly and have a decent temperament to handle whatever way I decide to end up playing

 

Just to show what this event has done in terms of odds for each player before the tournament...

1st - Jonas Blixt @ 100/1...
2nd - Steven Bowditch @ 350/1...
3rd - Matt Jones @ 150/1...
4th - Johnson Wagner @ 250/1...
5th Jimmy Walker @ 50/1...

This is the 3rd year in a row that the winner has been 100/1 or greater before the off. Plus to have a 350/1 and a 250/1 in the top 5 tells you that it is damn hard to find a winner no matter what the odds are...

I wont be giving my day or night job up in the near future...

We got 2 placed at 17th, De Jonge and Oosth... Better luck next time lads...