TPC 1st Round

First round leader bets. I am looking for players who come out of the stalls hot ideally coupled with an early tee time, when the weather is cool and the wind is down.

Dustin Johnson. 40/1. 1 point each way. Dustin sits T6 in 1^st round scoring average; however his tee time is fairly late. Fear not though, Johnson’s attacking style of play can reap first round dividends, and his distance off the tee should assure eagle potential on the Par 5s, and possibly a Par 4 or two. 40/1 seems generous for this 1^st round specialist, and StanJames are paying 6 places.

Charley Hoffman. 50/1. 1 point each way. The Hoffmeister is 2^nd in 1^st round scoring average. He has an 8.32 local time tee off. He’s playing with Danny Lee and Chris Kirk, both of whom have a few years on him, which should inspire the 39 year old to get going and play some quality golf. Charley shot 67 to open last year, giving him a tie for the lead, and there is no reason to think that the Texas Open champ won’t do the same here.

Charles Howell III. 80/1. 1 point each way. Howell boasts the number one spot in 1^st round scoring average on Tour. Last year he shot a 68 to open here, which was good enough for a place, and despite a missed cut at the Wells Fargo last week, arrives here in good form. Charles was in the places after the 1^st round of the Zurich, and was close in the Heritage. I can fathom no eventuality that Mr Howell won’t give himself an early chance this week.

Francesco Molinari. 90/1. 1 point each way. Francesco is T31 in 1^st round scoring average. He has an excellent early tee time, and starts from the 10^th. This means that he should cruise around, facing the challenging 17^th and 18^th early in his round, giving plenty of time to recover from any mistakes.

That’s all for now. As mentioned, StanJames are paying 6 places at ¼, with Paddy paying 7 at 1/5.