Golf fans have another double-dose of tournament action to look forward to this week, with the start of the eagerly anticipated Cyprus Open at the Aphrodite Hills and the Bermuda Championship at Port Royal.
We’ve got betting tips and predictions for both competitions below, and remember – last week bet365 launched a brand new feature to revolutionise in-play golf betting. bet365’s Live Golf Tracker features real time shot-by-shot data, accurate ball tracking on the fairway and green, the ability to navigate between holes through the interactive course visualisation and the inclusion of live streaming of two Par-3 holes per day.
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The Cyprus Open betting tips, start time and where to watch
Course and location: Aphrodite Hills Resort, Cyprus
Start time: 9:30am Thursday, October 29th
Where to watch: Sky Sports Golf
Cyprus Open winner prediction: Sami Valimaki at 30/1 & Garrick Higgo at 40/1
Genial Midlander Andy Sullivan has always been a popular selection with punters and especially since his seven-shot English Championship triumph at the start of August, so bookmakers are offering defensively short odds for this week’s Cyprus Open.
The favourite seems a stingy price for the European Tour’s first trip to Cyprus – the Aphrodite Hills Resort is uncharted terrain for almost everyone in the field – and preference is for bigger offers about youngsters with much greater scope for improvement.
Sullivan has probably reached his peak – he has won four low-grade Tour events and he flopped badly when making his only appearance in the Ryder Cup. The future looks bright though – and the possibilities seem boundless – for young guns Sami Valimaki and Garrick Higgo.
Valimaki won four times on the Pro Golf Tour before performing well at European Tour Qualifying School, then winning the Oman Open in just his sixth European Tour start. The career of the 22-year-old Finn was taking off just before lockdown – and the break came at a bad time – but from August onwards he has been swinging superbly again.
Sixth place in the Celtic Classic was followed by second in the Wales Open and tenth at Valderrama, then last time out he topped the greens-in-regulation statistics on his way to 13th spot at Wentworth.
Valimaki seems a huge threat in Cyprus, while Higgo, who made his Tour breakthrough in the Portugal Open a month ago, is a year younger and also bursting with potential.
Bermuda Championship betting tips, start time and where to watch
Course and location: Port Royal Golf Course, Southampton
Start time: 4:00pm Thursday, October 29th
Where to watch: Sky Sports Golf
Cyprus Open winner prediction: Aaron Wise at 40/1 & Henrik Stenson at 40/1
The Bermuda Championship at Port Royal proved a doddle for last year’s competitors and Brendon Todd romped to a 24-under-par total, but strong winds look set to make this week’s edition more challenging for Todd and Co.
Scoring should be low on Thursday – with hardly any breeze expected – but from Friday onwards the weather seems likely to put a premium on birdies. Punters need to side with players who are comfortable in the wind – and then pray that their selection does not end up on the wrong side of any draw bias.
It seems that a late-early draw could be advantageous, with Friday set for tough conditions and the later starters tackling a drying track with wind whipping across it, so Aaron Wise may turn out to be a value option.
Wise, the 2018 PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, has struggled to find top gear since his early successes as a newcomer to the circuit, but his best finish of 2019 came in the inaugural Bermuda Championship. Despite arriving in poor form – and playing just as badly in his event after Bermuda – he lit up Port Royal with rounds of 67, 65, 69 and 65 to tie for third place.
Wise is a class act, who has shown signs of life of late with eighth place in the Barracuda Championship and 17th in the Sanderson Farms.
An alternative is former Open champ, Henrik Stenson, who also appears to have a good draw. He won the World Challenge in the Bahamas in December and could take a similar shine to this event.
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