[Ian Hudson]

It’s very much early days and I know from experience that any golf tipping service should be judged over a full season but I hope everybody is enjoying these tips. It was great to see Gregory Bourdy hole three long putts to win the Wales Open at 35/1 and we even got Matt Kuchar sneaking in for a place in the Deutsche Bank Championship. I must admit I thought Henrik Stenson was done for the season after such a consistent run and having backed him in four big tournaments over the last few weeks it was frustrating to see everything fall into place and win at a nice price.

So, we move on to this week and with no tournament on the PGA Tour the focus is on the European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland. At less than 7000 yards the course is very short by modern standards. It becomes even shorter when you consider the ball flies further in the rarefied air. This is very much a course where experience is key, particularly in judging the flight of the ball to tough greens to hit. That means the significant skills are finding the greens in the correct number of shots and scrambling.

Brett Rumford is third in Europe for scrambling and in the top 10 for putts per hole. His average ability to hit the greens in the conventional number of shots is more than offset by an excellent short game. He won back-to-back tournaments earlier this year so is proven at this level and is a former winner on the course where he has made his last six cuts.

Miguel Angel Jimenez has reached the veteran stage and is now looking forward to playing in senior’s golf. Before joining the over 50s he can still be competitive on courses like Crans-sur-Sierre. He led the Open after 36 holes on a course that put a premium on accuracy over distance. Jimenez faded over the weekend at Muirfield but still made the top 15. He is another former course winner who has built up a solid bank of form at this week’s venue.

Simon Dyson is a more speculative selection but he is another player proven at this level with plenty of experience of playing on this course in the mountains of Switzerland. He has made the cut for the last five years on this week’s host course and has also played over the weekend in his last four tournaments this season. He scores highly for greens in regulation which will put less pressure on a short game that is not outstanding but solid enough for him to figure this week.

Richard Sterne’e greater course experience should see him outscore Matteo Manassero over 72 holes. Manassero has won four tournaments and is still just 20 but may need to play the course more times in order to master its intricacies. Rumford has enough in his profile to beat Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano in their match while Ross Fisher combines solid course and current form and that profile gives him a great chance of bearing Branden Grace over four rounds.

Selections:

Outright:

1 point each way Brett Rumford at 35/1 with Stan James (Top 6).
1 point each way Miguel Angel Jimenez at 25/1 with Paddy Power (Top 6).
1 point each way Simon Dyson at 33/1 with Stan James (Top 6).

72 Hole matchbets:

3 points Richard Sterne to beat Matteo Manassero at 9/10 with Bet365.
3 points Brett Rumford to beat Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano at 1/1 with Bet365.
3 points Ross fisher to beat Branden Grace at 9/10 with Bet365.