Golf Betting Tips – Shell Houston Open
Golf betting tips for the Shell Houston Open which has attracted a top class field who are all trying to fine tune their games on a course that is set up to emulate the Augusta National test that awaits them next week. The Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas which was formerly known as Redstone Golf Club, is a well established venue which has played host to this event since 2003 and has been played in recent years the week before the first Major of the season.
The Par 72 7,441yd track is fairly generous from the tee, but will certainly test the short game prowess of the assembled field due to the lightning quick undulating putting surfaces (officials are hoping to get the speed to around 13 on the stimpmeter), shaved banks and collection areas around the greens. The signature hole, and statistically the toughest hole, is the 488yd Par 4 18th which has water running along the entire left hand side and consistently ranks amongst the toughest holes played on Tour. This is a second shot type of layout, which recent stats suggest rewards players who hit plenty of greens in regulation and have a good touch on these ultra slick greens. Warm sunshine with possible thundery showers are forecast for the tournament, with winds of 10-15mph enough to keep the field honest this week.
Shell Houston Open betting tips
From a punting angle, the obvious starting point for our golf betting tip is to look at the chance of World No.1 Dustin Johnson, who made it three wins in a row last week with another win in the WGC Match Play in Austin. It’s very hard to find any real negatives in DJ’s game at the moment and he is certainly a worthy market leader for both this week and also for Augusta in two weeks time. The only slight negative to flag up for any potential backers is that last week was quite demanding, both mentally and physically, for anyone who makes it through to the final, even for the super fit DJ. His least convincing performances last week were in his final two matches, so possibly tiredness could be a factor this week and it’s uncertain at this point if he’ll take part this week
Rickie Fowler 16/1 E/W Paddy Power (1/5 7 Places)
The main golf tip this week is Rickie Fowler, who should arrive here nice and fresh after giving the WGC Match-Play a swerve last week. The colourful American has been quite lightly raced on the PGA Tour this year, but in his five starts, he has won the Honda Classic and also finished Tied 4th in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He has course form having finished 6th in 2014 and Tied 10th last year and this layout, which is quite generous from the tee, sets up perfectly for his sometimes wayward driving. A bit of breeze which is forecast this week should also play to his strengths as he is a great shot maker with a silky putting touch which will be needed on these slippery surfaces this week.
Russell Henley 35/1 E/W Boylesports (1/5 6 Places)
Another player I fancy to go well this week is course and distance specialist Russell Henley. The 27 year old American has form stats of T7-4-T5 in the last three years at this track and he has shown enough form recently with a Tied 9th in the Valspar Championship to warrant each-way support this week. This type of layout is perfect for the previous two time winner on the PGA Tour, in that it is quite forgiving from the tee and it really tests the short game and putting skills of the field. When this player has his eye in he rivals Jordan Spieth on the greens, so there is every chance he can go well again this year.