Celtic Classic tips & predictions: Three big price plays in Wales
It's week four of the UK Swing on the European Tour and golf tipster Russell Palmer is back with three big priced selections for the Celtic Classic...
- Gavin Green - 1pt each-way @ 50/1 with 888Sport (6 places)
- Brandon Stone - 1pt each-way @ 55/1 with Bet365 (5 places)
- Oscar Lengden - 0.5pts each-way @ 125/1 with Bet365 (5 places)
Andy Sullivan wound up an impressive winner of last week's English Championship at Hanbury Manor. Jordan Smith gave us a squeak at some each-way returns tying for fourth place at one point on Sunday afternoon before falling away, as the UK Swing reaches the halfway point and moves onto Celtic Manor for back-to-back tournaments at the Welsh venue.
The Twenty Ten course hosts the Celtic Classic this week and I've picked out three golfers at a price in what is a fairly average field.
Sullivan returns and heads the betting as short as 11/1 with Bet365.
I'm never keen on backing players who have won the week before, whilst second favourite Joost Luiten has won here before (the Wales Open in 2014), he played in San Francisco last week and looks short enough at 12/1 what with the travelling.
Thomas Pieters made me look twice priced 22/1, but I've already been bitten backing players on their first tournament back since lockdown and I feel as though Pieters is the kind of guy who needs some rounds under his belt.
Which brings me onto my first selection in the shape of Malaysia's Gavin Green.
Indeed, backing him last week at 28/1 on his first tournament resulted in a missed cut, but I could do a near copy and paste of last week's write up for him here given his quality, at 50/1 with 888Sport and Unibet that price is too big to ignore.
Still awaiting his first win on the European Tour, he's trending in the right direction. Long off the tee which he'll need at this behemoth course, he's also accurate ranking 12th on the European Tour this season for accuracy and importantly ranking 6th for stroke average.
Last week was his first cut missed this season but I'm not letting that put me off. He missed the cut on the number, shooting two rounds of -4 on what was a really low scoring week, especially by European Tour standards.
At nearly twice the price as last week in what looks like a lighter field and a tougher test, the 50/1 looks really nice, given he's a general 33/1 chance elsewhere. Get on early!!
Second up is Brandon Stone, who is available at a smidge bigger in the betting at 55/1.
The South African brings a bit of class to proceedings and had a good week before his putter deserted him on Sunday in the English Championship.
Playing his way into some form, Sunday's tie for 6th was Stone's second top ten of the season, a player who has won three times on the European Tour and importantly is another long driver.
Ranking top ten for driving distance on tour, he also ranked in the top 25 for driving accuracy last week and 11th for scrambling. The 27-year-old ranks 14th for greens in regulation and should be suited to the Celtic Manor test.
At 55/1 with Bet365 I'm taking him each-way to get into contention.
At a big price I'm chancing my arm on Sweden's Oscar Lengden who has been showing some good form coming out of the Challenge Tour and had a top twenty finish last week in Hertfordshire.
A tie for 19th last week, he also finished 5th in the Nordic League before an 8th and 13th in the co-sanctioned Challenge/European Tour events in Austria before the 'UK Swing' began three weeks ago.
Keeping his eye in in-between with another top 25 finish in the Nordic League before losing in the final of a matchplay event three weeks ago.
He ranked second for driving accuracy at Hanbury Manor and he's long too, ranking in the top 20 this season on the Challenge Tour.
At 125/1 this week I'm hopeful he can follow up on last week's good performance and slip into the five places on offer with Bet365 and would be interested in some top 20 action when the prices come out.
