Betting.Betfair

[b]Brian Davis returns to the scene of his incredible act of sportsmanship and he's in form too, but they'll all have to go to beat Luke Donald this week says Mike Norman.[/b] Another fine week was enjoyed by the Form Guide at last week's US Masters. Three of our four selections recorded top-10 finishes, and two of them - Phil Mickelson and Peter Hanson - recorded top-five finishes. Hanson was the biggest success story however. A pre-tournament 280.0 selection, the Swede led after round three and was available to lay at a low of 4.1 on Saturday night. Although my recommended bets are always in the Winner market, I would always lay such huge-price selections should they reach a single figure price and/or cover them in the Top Five Finish market pre-tournament. In the last three...

[b]Mike Norman takes a look at some young golfers who have very exciting futures ahead of them on the European Tour, and who could provide backers with a big price winner in 2012.[/b] As preparation for playing on the European Tour there's arguably no greater experience than plying your trade on the [b]Challenge Tour[/b], European golf's second tier. In recent years players such as Rhys Davies, Richie Ramsay, Nicolas Colsaerts, David Horsey, [b]Alexander Noren[/b], and Joost Luiten have all graduated from the Challenge Tour and claimed wins - and in some cases multiple wins - on the main tour. And not content with being a multiple winner, Italian Edoardo Molinari has made a Ryder Cup team having been a Challenge Tour player in 2009, whilst German [b]Martin Kaymer[/b] - who finished...

[b]There's action all over the world but where has the Punter put his cash? Read his thoughts on this week's three events here...[/b] The [b]Race to Dubai[/b] returns to Valderrama this week for the second staging of the Andalucía Masters. Although this week's event is new to the schedule, Valderrama has been a popular staging post on the European Tour for many a year as it was the venue for the old season closer, the Volvo Masters, so there's plenty of course form to peruse. It's a short, tree-lined track and accuracy is most definitely the key. Course form repeats and as a rule, it's the sort of place that the players need to get to know. Very few debutants fair well, although Jeev Milkha Singh won the Volvo Masters at his first attempt back in 2006. Last year's inaugural winner...

[b]After some big-priced recent near misses, our man again hunts out the value in the outright golf markets. Can he hit the jackpot this week?[/b] For the 10th year running [b]Le Golf National[/b] hosts the Open de France, and it was also the venue most used during the 90's, so there's plenty of form to wade through. Although Miguel Angel Jimenez won here last year, and [b]Martin Kaymer[/b] 12 months earlier, recent results have been hard to predict and shock winners are the norm rather than the exception. With water in play on a number of holes, accuracy holds sway over power. The first player to come in for serious consideration was Kaymer. I managed to catch him in 2009 at the rewarding odds of 34.0 and I was again onboard last year at 20.0 when he led with a round to go but...

The 2011 Race to Dubai moves into top gear this week, with the start of the 'Desert Swing'. In keeping with the general shift in golfing power towards the Middle East, the swing is extended to four events this year, including the new Volvo Golf Champions in addition to regular fixtures at the Abu Dhabi Championship, Qatar Masters and Dubai Desert Classic. Here's five regional specialists to follow over the next month. [b]Martin Kaymer[/b] No prizes for originality here, but this week's favourite and world number three has previously been seen to best effect in this part of the world. Abu Dhabi was the scene of his maiden victory in 2008, and he regained the title last year with an impeccable front-running display. Kaymer also has a fine record in the Dubai Desert Classic, where his...

I've enjoyed a break of a few weeks from PGA Tour Golf but I'm now ready for the action to start once more. The first tournament kicks off on January 6 in Hawaii and the recent big money end-of-year tournaments provided a fascinating insight into what we can look forward to. After day one of the Chevron World Challenge in America, it seemed that [b]Tiger Woods[/b] was going to cut short Lee Westwood's time as World number one. However, after four days of play, Westwood had emphatically won the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa and Woods, having been reeled in by Graeme McDowell at the Chevron, now has a real fight on his hands to regain that top spot. However, despite all his troubles, a winless season and the fact that he finished 68th on 2010's Money List, Tiger is remarkably as short...

Given that there are four of them, and nobody rates them equal to the majors, the World Golf Championship 'tag' for events such as this has always struck me as slightly inappropriate. Sure, this is a big event with a high-class field, but does the winner really deserve to be labelled a 'world champion'? This year's renewal of the HSBC-sponsored leg in [b]Shanghai[/b] does, however, take on extra significance due to a unique scenario in the rankings, which could see any one of four players emerge as world number one on Sunday. Doubtless, that battle between [b]Lee Westwood, Tiger Woods, Martin Kaymer and Phil Mickelson[/b] will dominate the week's narrative, but punters might do well to assess each of these four market leaders on their most recent form, rather than the long-term performance...