September as a financial month for me finished on Sunday (always the last Sunday in the month) and to be honest it was better than August, but only just! I added a further £200 which now leaves me on £16,200 and despite nine winning months in a row I am now behind target for the £25k for the year, I am going to need a strong final three months.
The European Tour moves to Scotland this week for the Scottish Open and with some very probable iffy weather forecast I am going into battle with just the one player – Romain Langasque. There is a theme so far this year of young players quickly doubling up their winning tally on tour and I can see the 25 year old following suit and finally fulfil his potential. Whilst the course has changed a bit from last year and certainly will play tougher he can draw strong positives from his 3rd place. He clearly has an affinity for Scottish links golf as he won the Amateur at Carnoustie. I have backed him @ 50/1 e/w 6/7/8 places and is my only Betfair bet with £100 @ 55 resting on his shoulders.
The PGA tour travels to Mississippi for the Sandersons Farm event and again I’ve gone in lightly, it just seems that I am doing better betting in running on the PGA Tour. The selection is Tom Lewis and is speculative based on the fact that players who have done well at Jackson have played well at the Victoria National course on the Korn Ferry Tour. There is no rhyme nor reason to it and in a few years time it could be a forgotten coincidence but I’ll let it ride this year. Lewis won on that course last year, and it wasn’t long ago he was 2nd in the WGC Fedex St Jude, plus this time of year he seems to play his best golf. I backed him @ 80/1 e/w and on Betfair @ 85.
After a bit more thinking I added last weeks in play pick Nate Lashley @ 125/1 e/w and 130 win only. It simply seemed a big price for a player who really knows how to seal the deal and has often played well the week before a victory.
We also have action on the Korn Ferry Tour this week with the Savannah Championship in Georgia. It’s the third year the event has been held and two years ago I noted that past winners of event in the State had strong ties with the area. That year I picked out Roberto Castro who after a slow start came up just shy of Sam Burns. This year I have gone for Seth Reeves a Georgia Bulldog and Atlanta resident, I had to split the stake between 66 and 80 (Ladbrokes/Coral) to get what I wanted on. A 71st here two years ago hardly inspires but he was out of form at the time and did shoot an opening 67 to lie 4th before fading. He has certainly been in good form of late with a first tour title in Nebraska followed by a 3rd in the KF Tour Championship. The fact that he had never played those courses well before is worth noting, sometimes current form outweighs what a player has achieved at a venue before.