Houston Open & Indian Open | Golf Betting Tips | The Sweet Spot

Get the latest golf betting tips for the upcoming Houston Open and Indian Open, as Jack Reeve and James Mason take a look at this week’s tournaments.

The team also take a look back at the Valspar Championship and Singapore Classic from last week, analysing who stood out, as well as who underperformed. James gives us his best predictions for this week’s tournaments, including other selections who could be worth backing in the markets.

🔊 Listen to The Sweet Spot Podcast here: https://audioboom.com/posts/8479031-houston-open-indian-open-golf-betting-tips-the-sweet-spot

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00:00 – Intro
02:17 – Singapore Classic Review
05:51 – Valspar Championship Review
12:17 – Indian Open Preview
25:56 – Houston Open Preview
38:22 – Best Bets
38:41 – Outro

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#iTheSweetSpot #GolfTips #HoustonOpen #IndianOpen

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Hello and a warm welcome to The Sweet Spot your goto golf tipping show brought to you by the Racing Post no Steve Palmer this week but fear not we have James Mason in the hot seat we are ready to preview this week’s tournaments they are the Houston open and the Indian open

A quick look back on last week’s showings as well we had the valvar and the Singapore classic and James how are you I haven’t seen you for a while I know it’s been a long time I’m writing thinking this is our first first our first Sweet Spot show I think it’s

Definitely the first Sweet Spot show of the season for us anyway but um some big shoes to fill but uh hopefully I can manage to to pick out some winners but no I’m all good um I was keeping a breast of the golf last week I was away

At Center Parks um up in pen R um with uh with my partner and my child so that was a good few days but managed to squeeze back into the weekend back in lead so I could get a bit of the in excellent how how’s the kind of golf

Season gone so far for you from a from a punting perspective because the the PJ tour in particular and the DP well toys been big price winners lots of um first time winners it’s been tough out there yeah it has been tough I mean I think it just shows the quality of both

Tours I think I I do quite a bit of sort of Midway betting as well after round two that’s been a little bit more difficult I think it’s been harder I think sometimes to get big prices coming from behind but yeah it’s um there’s been some tournaments where you kind of

Kick yourself a little bit when you you know you realize who wins you think you of course when look at on a hindsight you think that they were definitely going to win um but it’s been it’s been up and down um I like to do sort of

Bigger prices at times try and get as many places but get a big price in there I’m never really a favorite backer um although Scotty Sheffer at the moment has been has been coming in for anyone that has decided to back him but yeah it’s been it’s been up and down but I

Think I’m slightly up for the goal okay good well not being a favorite backer May well tease us into the tournaments later on we do have a very short price favorite in the in the Houston open this week just a quick look back on last week’s tournaments um James we’ll start

With the with the Singapore classic It Was Won by yesper senson and when you say you know kicking yourself that maybe you know yes’s been on the kind of um radar for a little while now first um season on tour I know Steve’s backed him a couple of times season um starting

Final round wins in a playoff clearly a very talented player yeah talented player indeed and yeah the fact as you mentioned he graduated from that that challenge tour I think he was fifth on the road to meor I think it was and then was it 14th or 15th DP wilal start and

He’s managed to win so it it shows the quality that he has so yeah very impressive performance I think last week’s course again when you look back at it it suited him he’s you know he’s a good driver of the ball hits it a fair

Whack in yeah to put a nine under round in especially when you had kired ay Barat as well who is again you talk about inconsistency he is so up and down Affy bat because he can be Sublime from one round and then he’ll be terrible in

The next but again that that shows the complexity sometimes at trying to find trying to pick out a winner but you’ve got to give credit to Fenson for for holding his nerve as well they both made birdie at the first playoff hole and he’s managed to uh he’s managed to

Dislodge ay bamat there the more experienced player looking at the players in behind there was some decent showings I thought s b though he’s sort of somebody who’s been knocking on the door a few times over this season and last season as well good to see Andy

Sullivan back in there as well and maer pavon is the one I’m looking at the Frenchman because he was great on the DP wil tour last season got one of those 10 cards to go over to the PJ tour has been doing okay over there some good results

And then he’s come back to the DP W tour it just seems to elevated him to another level where he’s got that confidence he thinks where he comes back to a DP event and everyone looks at him now as somebody who is going to be challenging

And a fifth place finish for him I thought was a good result it was quite a fun closing stretch the course we had last week with the singing W classic there was opportunity wasn’t there but there was danger as well unfortunately for us sort of Richard Manel was doing

Well and then finished one over on the final four holes and it seemed like that was the stretch from kind of 16 to to 18 15 to 18 where they the the big moves were happening you had Paul Casey pushing on late so for these players at

The top to to kind of keep their nerve what was a big tournament for them it was it was really impressive yeah no agreed I mean I think they would have been looking the the players in the field at the top of the leaderboard of someone like Paul Casey’s stature and

His caliber I know Casey hasn’t really gone all guns blazing since he’s made that move to live golf but he’s still a very very good player on his day and yeah he didn’t quite have the finishing round that I I thought he would at 69 so just couldn’t quite get it going but

Again like you said it’s even more credit to senson just to when others are maybe faltering in those you know those closing holes he made a birdie birdie finish as well which which is even more impressive and I always think making a two is even more impressive birdie than

Making a three or a four you know having to make a a two at the par through 17th and then make a birdie at the last I just thought yeah he’s got something about it be really really interesting to see how his career does develop and you

Know if at the end of this season he gets onto the PJ tour or whether he decides to stay on the DP for another campign we’ll have to wait and see but certainly he’s got the confidence about him and he’s just another another player that the swedes are producing absolutely

Yeah some really talented youngers coming through on the on the um DP well through at the moment so keep your eye on him let’s um let’s take a look at the Val SP It Was Won by Peter um Mal it was his first tournament win in nine years

On the PJ tour again um Jay you know you you’re going through the kind of short list of players at the start of the week and I think if anyone had picked out the winner here then incredibly well done because he certainly wasn’t on my short

List no and again that just shows the quality that is on the PGA to you know somebody who is not on anyone’s Vision going into a tournament just suddenly comes up with an absolutely fantastic four rounds and again it’s it’s credit to him you know second PJ toal you

Mentioned their first win in nine years or 2015 is is when he broke is Dirk he’s up to 65th in the world rankings but a biggest thing as well for Malnati he’s got a two-year exemption and he’s also qualified for the Masters for the first

Time as well so he’s got that to look forward to in two weeks time at Augusta National and of course we all get to see the bucket hat that is’s wearing I’m not a big fan of the bucket at or Cricket but if it works for you you may as well

Do it well he’s kind of got the double bubble hasn’t he he’s got the bucket hat and the yellow ball and I I I was kind I’m not a huge fan of seeing people you know spraying yellow balls about but I did see that he he uses it because of

His young child said he sort of loves yellow balls over white balls and when he sees the ball he thinks of his child so I was I was going to sort of come in a little bit harsh with for for poor old Peter here but I feel a bit um I feel a

Bit hard hard on him a quick word on on Justin Thomas um James because it well I think when he sort of Hit the front or was one back at about the mid round um Midway stage and I’m thinking oh really going to kick myself here because JT was

A relatively big prize for a fairly weak field last week and then put up what I can only display as one of the I only say as one of the worst of putting displays I’ve ever seen on the Saturday I mean this is a real concern for Thomas

Now yeah the the thing with Thomas for me I know everyone was saying there’s a lot of people saying he’s back you know he’s back to where he is best you know where he was in the world winning tournaments winning Majors but for me at the minute there’s just there’s still

That niggling doubt in my head about Thomas about like you said there the put are going cold or the irons don’t go right there’s always one little part of a game where just isn’t quite there at the moment and I don’t know whether it’s just he doesn’t have the belief in

Himself um but when you don’t have confidence on the greens that’s always the biggest thing for me because you know everyone was going on about sheffler that he was brilliant T to Green he was leading most statistics but he wasn’t putting well now he’s got the put right he’s winning everything it was

The same with John Ram a year or so ago he was winning he was leading all these stats with driving iron approach Greening regulation but he wasn’t making the puts and he was getting asked in interviews why aren’t you winning and he’s going well it’s obvious it’s like

I’m not I’m not putting very well if my if my you know Strokes gain stats are putting a way down then that’s what the issue is and for Thomas yeah that putting display on you know his second round oh sorry his third round I’m just not really sure about him especially

When we’re going into major season as well when when you’re starting with the Masters for me he’s somebody that I’ll be I’ll be swerving at the moment unless you see a big improvement with the flat stick leading into Augusta well uh we’ll get on to the Houston open obviously to

Preview that later on in the show Jam but just you know the Masters is very much on the horizon now and I suspect a lot of people have already you know picked their players earlier on in the campaign but you look at the form that Scotty’s had over the last couple of

Weeks and we’ll see if that continues this week and you’re kind of seeing that the the players around him no one’s really putting up too much of a of a of a threat at the moment are they we’re not seeing that stunning kind of run of

Form into the master so you you you’re kind of looking at the top of the market Scotty and you’re going who beats him yeah I mean everyone’s looking they always look at Mao at the moment don’t they and it seems to become kind of like a two two-way battle when you go into

Tournaments with those two were there but mro at the moment again it’s just something that you’re not quite confident with maroy at the moment I think he’ll probably contend maroy at the Masters but again it’s just that thing of completing the Grand Slam everyone goes in with that and Sheffer

Sheffer’s just such a cool calm character it’s he’s he’s an even more relaxed Dustin Johnson that kind of like nothing seems to pH him you think surely you get a bit High rate at times but he doesn’t really show it so he’s got that under grips and I think now with the

Putting confidence then you know shef is one of those players where you’re really going to have to knock him off the perk so it’ll be interesting to see again how he does in the battle for the green jacket I looking at sort of performances from the Val Spa last week and if you’re

Sort of looking into early contenders for the Masters I think Xander chaet is ticking along really nicely at the moment he’s one to watch out for had another good performance last week he’s he’s having runs are sort of top 10 at the moment he’s got a great record at

Augusta as well so for me Shuff on to watch out for Cameron young as well just a note for him and the Valar set an unwanted record of the most runner-up finishes since 1983 without breaking his PJ is that right seven seven runner-up finishes and he’s yet to win I mean it’s it’s

Incredible really when you think of what a player he is and when he was at the open when Cameron Smith won it you know he was the player that was coming up from behind and challenging with M well um so you’d feel young will break his

Stuck at some point but the longer it goes on the longer that question mark comes about him another player as well that I’m I’m slightly worried about heading into the Masters even though he’s won there before loves it is Jordan spe um because back toback Miss Cuts now

For him yeah again a bit like Justin Thomas something just isn’t quite clicking for him yeah spe both spe and Thomas just one of those one of those players where if you’re on you’re never feeling confident but then if they win you go oh how have I not backed them um

Look the BS is is coming up we got some really exciting content here on racing po so make sure you subscribe to the YouTube channel got some really exciting announcements over the next couple of weeks let’s go on to this week’s tournaments um then James a couple of a

Couple of good ones we’ve got the Indian open and the Houston open I know Steve isn’t here but he’ll kill us if we don’t go in chronological order so we shall start with the um Indian open um Talk us through the course the layout what can

We expect yeah I have to say out of the two tournaments the Indian open is the one that I’m looking forward to the most um and I’ll go into it now because it’s played at the the dlf golf and country club now relatively short time it’s had

It was established back in 1999 that was when there was an 18-hole Arnold Palmer Design park con course it hosted a few events the 2008 Johnny walk classic 2009 Indi Indian open in the 2010 ofan the Masters it then had a redesign in 2014 because Gary players company came in

Player design they built nine new holes on some newly acquired land that was around there and then they’ve Incorporated and refashioned nine of the existing Palmer designed holes into a totally new configuration that opened in 2015 so what it has made is an absolute Beast of a course when you look at the

Length you think that but it’s not actually the length which is the big thing about it it’s just shy of 7,400 yards it can play to the tips at 7654 but it is the viciousness of this course you listen to certain players there are bogies doubles everywhere

Around this course I think there was a 91 was posted last year there was several rounds in the 80s I mean it is an absolute horrible course to play with it’s all about man course management it’s all about picking your way around it if you go into the rough then you’ve

Got trouble I’m not sure if you watched the last round last year it was when Marcel SE W the German okay yeah it was the onew with yanek Paul and see him coming down the last he hit his drive down the last of par five I think right

He then hits a layup shot but goes way too far trickles into this thick juicy rough he’s got all this water to cover to this green and he hits it and it’s like he’s worried and he only just gets over and then he manages to two putter

Up the slope for the first but you think that could have turned out into absolute disaster for him so you know it it’s a brilliant course it is long but tree lined you know abundance of dog legs on it huge undulating putting Services water comes into play on seven of the

Holes Fairways are tight it it is honestly it’s a really really tough test there won’t be a lot of plays finishing under par you want a bit of context for that there was 64 players run AP par at last week’s Singapore classic at the end

Of it only 24 run AP par at last year’s Indian open at the end of it and only three managed to get into double figures as well in the red numbers so it shows just what a test it is 10 par fours four par fivs and four par 3es so yeah expect

This to be a really really tough test it’s had four tournaments recently 2017 189 and 2023 Indian open of course it had that break in between with with the covid circumstances but your winners have been shev traia Matt Wallace Steven Gallagher and Marcel seam that probably

Gives you a little bit of of a clue what type of player that this sort of does benefit Gallagher seam even Wallace to an extent they’re all quite tidy neat players that don’t go that sort of aai off the tea so it should be fantastic has also held a couple of pgti

Tournaments as well it was the Karen Singh he won the Capal de Grant Thornton in 2023 and Varon perq won the year earlier in 2022 as well so there’s a little bit of coor to go on okay well if we usually going into these weeks aren’t you just hoping your player avoids

Double Bogies we’re probably hoping they avoid quadruple Bogies this week sound an absolute brute I did I think I remember at the time that 91 being shot and going oh might have a a chance of breaking that if I was to go around there um okay how many selections for

The Indian open James going for three selections three picks I should probably run through the top of the market before we get into them Rasmus hoard is your favorite around about 14 to1 Jordan Smith 18 Zan Ferguson 22 alongside anaban lery burn vburger Yanik Paul Richard Manson 25 to1 Alex Fitzpatrick

Same price bigger the rest so a familiar top of the market James um are you going there or are we looking elsewhere I’m going at close close towards that top end of the market for uh a couple of the selections anyway okay who’s the main pick going for Yanik Paul mentioned him

A bit early there talking about the about the course in his runner up finish last year um but it’s been a bit of an up and down 2024 for Paul so far I mean he was he was brilliant last year and of course he only just missed out on

Automatic qualification for Ridder cup didn’t get a pick but he showed sort of decent form at times he was tied eth at the Divi Invitational missed the cut next time out of the Desert Classic but then he was tied fourth at the Ras Al kimer so you know he’s got that in his

Locker he’s got the ability he struggled a little bit on his last three outings tied 35th tied 65th and a miscut last week however the miscut for me last week that gives him more of a chance to reset and travel to this tournament because it is a huge travel from last week it’s

Over 3,600 miles you going from Singapore to Northern India so it’s going to take it out of the plays we did the four rounds uh last week in Singapore and I think Paul he’ll be a bit disappointed with his performance and he’ be wanted to make amends I think going back to a

Course that he nearly clinched the title on on his course debut last year um I think he’s definitely someone who can get himself into contention you look at his stats as well this season they do make for good reading he’s eighth in Strokes gained approach he’s ninth in

Greens in regulation and he’s 19th in Strokes gain te green so you know that’s what you want for me he a solid te green player the putter that’s what could do with some improvement he did struggle with that club last week but I’m confident enough having seen him last

Year do well on these surfaces that he could definitely be in the mix once again if that flater can get going but it’s not a case I think of where there’s going to be loads of one puts made on these greens it’s going to be two puts

It’s going to be a lag putting in I think Paul definitely having again like I said having played on these this course before having played on these greens is someone towards that top end of the betting I think he looks he looks pretty good for me it sounds like one of

Those tracks James patience is almost key and you’re almost just trying to grind down your opponents keeping the big scores off the card and I think for some who love to go kind of pin hunting that’s probably quite a frustrating thing to have isn’t it because some people just if they’re not making

Birdies frustration Creeps in but that’s not the case this week no I mean cuz like you said a lot of tournaments you go in and you know you’ve got to make birdies you’ve got to try and push but it’s all about that ability just to contain yourself and just plot your way

Around you’re going to have to find Fairways you going you can’t take driver everywhere you know you’ve got to have really good course management like I said I think Paul having played it before he knows these holes he knows what you can do and what you can’t do um

I think probably he’s he’s someone I think with that little bit of experience has got a really good chance but yeah this is definitely one I think where you want to plot your way around well I love those kinds of tracks Yanik Paul the main selection for James Mason for the

Indian open two more to go who’s up next four selection is shanka Sharma now it’s been a long trophy drought for The Talented Indian 2018 was when he won his second EP World talk title but there were positive signs for me in Singapore last week he finished tied seventh you

Know there’s the hope that momentum can be taken into what will be one of his home events a couple of key areas from his performance last week when I was watching was his driving accuracy and his putting he was brilliant off the tea he was supremely accurate he ranked in

The top 10 for accuracy for each of the first three rounds went a little bit off in the last round but still he was around sort of the 34 35th I think in driving accuracy on that last round so that’s something that’s that’s good going into this week you know staying on

The Fairway as I’ve mentioned is absolutely crucial um and I mentioned earli as well the big undulating greens at this course well Sharma got the flat stick going in Singapore especially over the weekend he puted really well and the putter has generally been pretty good this season for him he’s 13th in Strokes

Game putting you know along with the same ranking and driving accuracy if he can tighten up the irons a little bit give himself more opportunities you know get that green and regulation percentage up more I think he should challenge it of course that he does have previous hat

As well there’s four routings here I’ve seen him finish 40th 7th 27th and 13 so certainly likes this kind of layout and I think also he’s just got that little bit of a boost little bit momentum playing with the the home crowd behind him we we talk about the depth in the in

The tours James earlier I mean Shaman’s a great example of that such a a brilliant player on his day and he hasn’t been able to win for however many years it’s frightening really the the talent even through the you know I guess these lower grade events on the DP World

Tour as well yeah it is I mean there’s a lot of talk when people go oh winning the DP World Tour if you don’t win on the PGA then you’re not as good a golfer but you think well hang in a minute there’s there’s differences between the

Two tours I mean the PGA you could say it’s just a bit of Target golf for a lot of it you know get your big boom away whereas the Dey World Tour and this course especially is it’s a thinker’s course you can’t just go around there

And smack it off the tea and leave yourself a you know 100 yard shot in you’ve got to plot way around him like I said Sharm has been on the scene for a long time now such a talented player but when he can’t win for a few years you

Just it shows what it takes to get over the line and just how much of an achievement it is when you do actually manage to lift a trophy absolutely Shan Karma joins yanic Paul one more pick in the Indian open who is it it’s Darius vanre now a sweet spot hero I believe

From a few weeks ago um you know I I think he’s a big player coming to this one of course that again should be right up his street you know he won the Kenya open three starts AG go he went tied 74th in South Africa when his next

Outing after I can understand that one because he’s made maybe still maybe still celebrating a little bit they’re still happy with his performance but he then was tied 21st last week in Singapore that was much more like it you think he’s got his head fixed again and thinking about vanre and sort of

Whatever type of player he is again driving accuracy he’s 16th in that so he’s going to regularly get in the fairways and you look at his Strokes gain stats for Samaras he’s in the top 10 for approach T to Green again two areas that he want to have in this

Tournament he’s 11th in Greens in regulation he’s a very tight player he rely goes off course stay away from the roof give yourself a chance to hit the greens and make some puts it’s his course dayut for him but I’d be surprised if he didn’t contend for me

Again it’s the putter if you can get the putter going if you can get that warmed up nicely and you know you make good lag puts you make your two puts you don’t make many errors then I think this is just a test for andreal and for the

Price he is and for uh the fact that he’s won a few starts ago I just think he’s been overlooked for me he almost remained kind of the same price as he was when he won You’ have thought he’d have shortened up a little bit I guess

You know course debut angle means that you know he’s going to go off too short but yeah Darius vral the third and final selection here just probably a quick mention for Rasmus hoard James who’s top of the market I suspect people will see that name and almost back in blind the

Talent that we know he has What’s um what’s putting you off him it’s just the fact that he can at times go slightly wild with the driver so out of the two Hoards Nikolai is the better driver of them both I’m I’m much more happy with Nikolai hoard when you

Wanted someone who’s going to you know hit it well but stay on the fairways and and Rasmus can at times go off course a little bit and if you do that on this course that’s when you’re going to be choking up double bog his triples and again with the fact that his youthful

Exuberance yes he’s very experienced in terms of the titles that he’s won but he might get in the rough and you think I can this I I can I can not this on the green with think no sometimes you got to take your medicine and I’m just not sure

If he’s going to be able to be that sort of that steady Ed player that I want for this there was there was one more I nearly put up um was Kazuma Kori now he almost made it into the selections he’s won three times on the PJ tour of

Austral Asia this year alone so he’s in fantastic form but I’m just not sure whether he’s ready for this sort of step up to this level so as the last two DP world exper as he’s missed the cut so I’m not ready to go in on him yet but

Certainly I think he’s one to keep an eye out for in the future if he continues to win the lower levels and then does manage to say have a decent performance this week make the cut on this type of test then he’s someone that I’ll be be keeping in my uh my eyesight

I think for the rest of the season what price was he he’s around 66 to one that that that was all my thought if he was maybe triple figures uh I know I’m getting a bit greedy there but if he was maybe triple fig figures um I would

Potentially have put him in there but he’s even for me it’s 66 to1 for someone who hasn’t had many DP World Tour appearances and he’s missed as cut on as last two at this level he’s just someone I think that’s maybe again at 66 a big

Price but a bit skinny in that regard in in the market sure well you’ve said it now so if the viewers fancy uh fancy backing and then they can do it you’ll be pick sick if he does go and uh go and win um okay that’s the Indian open we’ll

Recap the selections at the end of the show so if you not jotting down that fear not we we will do so at the end let’s move over to the PJ tour we’ve got the Houston open um Talk us through the the course layout here James yeah it’s

An interesting one I mean Houston open’s been around since 1946 that was the first official event anyway uh Byron Nelson won that one this year the tournament has moved to a spring slot for the first time since 2018 um with it being just a couple of weeks before the

Masters as well it’s a Stella field Stella field that is competing at Memorial Park golf course it’s hosting it for the fourth time in a row as well they didn’t have the tournament last year uh that was because of the The Tweak in the schedule of where it was

Being played so the defending Champion the last time it was played is 2022 and that’s Tony feno coming into this one it’s a par 70 7,412 yards so a decent he the te but again it’s nothing too bad for most sort of a large proportion of your players on

The PJ tour anyway 10 par fours three par fs and five par 3es to tack um it was redesigned in 2019 by Tom Doak he consulted Brooks keper as well during this operation and there was a number of bunkers taken out so they went from 54

Bunkers down to 20 uh on the course and they might think well why have they done that that’s made it that’s made it easier but it hasn’t because they replaced the bunkers with lots of big slopes and runoff areas so what it was is if a player missed the green um for

Your average Joe playing it in a bunker it was harder to get out but for pros playing out a bunker was easy and they’re fantastic but you know the runoff slopes it’s that optimal do you try and put it up do you try and Chip it

Up and I think that again makes the course a little bit more difficult for them approach play key to success I mentioned there with with the runoff areas and the slopes that they have that’s the primary defense of the greens you look at the three course winners

That we’ve had here as well they ranked highly in greens and regulation and also uh it was approach play as well and huling put so those sort of three areas what I’m looking at Tony Fel mention is the defending Champion Carlos Ortiz and Jason CRA have both won here as well but

Of course they’re Liv defectors so they won’t this tournament great St really looking forward to this one let’s take a look at the top of the market your favorite is incredibly short he goes by the name of Scotty Sheffer he’s 11 to4 to win this week next up Windam Clark 12 to1 sah

Theala 18s will zalat Tores 20 to1 Jason day 22 to1 um defending champ Tony F now 25 seiw Kim 30 to1 bigger the rest I was trying to think James the last time someone would have gone off this short in the in the PJ tour you see don’t you

John Ram going off in kind of the Spanish open about five to two or something who would have been the last player to go off sort of three to one 11 to four you probably going back to maybe Woods days Peak or you maybe look at maroy in

A DP World Tour event when you know whether he’s gone over to Dubai he’s got great Rec Desert Classic something around there but it it’s such a skinny price and for how many for how many players you’re competing against and for everything that can come in and the fact

That you know one wrong swing or you know you don’t quite get the put and going something goes off it’s an incredibly short price and it’s not one that I I’d like to entertain especially in golf tournaments okay um we shall see who you go for how many selections for the Houston

Open three tips again for this one three tips and the main one is who sahi thala uh towards the top of that market like you mentioned but still available at a very very nice price around 20 to one enjoyed a fine start to this PJ tour season he’s particularly impressed over

The last few weeks as well he was fifth at the Phoenix Open tied sixth the Arnold Palmer and tied ninth the plays you know that’s really good form from him for a player I mean I think he’s one of the most likable players on tourus thearer and of course if you watched any

Of the uh the the golf the swing full swing documentaries then yeah I think his sort of standing in the game and how people like him his character went up even more um but two stats mentioned before was Greens in regulation and strokes game putting now theala is 29th

And 7th respectively and those two that’s a big big b for me going into this one you look at his debut here he was 61st in 2021 on his debut at this course but then he came 2 second a year later and then he’s had a substantial

Improvement since then as well he’s a better player he’s a PJ tour winner as well he broke his duck last year expect him to challenge you know he’s a good all round player and someone I think that will really like this test okay sah theala the main selection for the

Houston open two more to go who’s up next bit of a bigger price at around 40 to one solid performer this season couple top 10 three top 20s he’s always in a short player off the tea is Mitchell he’s sixth in total driving so there’s no worries there big positives

For me are his green and regulation stats that are going up you know he’s six and that at the moment on the US circuit he’s also in the top 10 for strokes gained approach T to green and off the te so you think hang in a minute

Why is he not winning again it comes down to the putting slightly that’s been the weakest part of his season so far far he is way down in the rankings so you may say well why are you putting him up for this one if the flat stick’s not

Working well he did get a grip of these greens in 2022 he was ninth in the last edition of this tournament so there’s enough confidence for me to suggest that he can get the flat stick rolling well again and he can challenge you look at his performance last week at the valpar

It was a poor final round for him just he just blew up a little bit on the back and I I think he knew he had to try and push and he made some errors he made made a double bogey bogy here bogey there but the pleasing aspect for me at

The end of it was a Strokes gained approach he led the tournament in that category so obviously his eyes are going well he’s hitting enough greens just needs the putter to work and you know I think for someone like Mitchell he’s he’s got a chance for me I think at

Decent odds as well he’s he’s never for me going to be someone that’s going to go in as one of the top five in a tournament really unless it’s really low level in the field but he’s someone that’s got a lot of ability B him he’s

One before in the PGA Tour and it just sticks out to me that price yeah absolutely always gives you a good run for your money doesn’t he Keith Mitchell um one more to go for the Houston open um who are we going for Joel Damon um it’s another it’s another sort of full

Swing person who’s came I’ve not been watching it and just picking my players off there he’s yet to really spark it a Al but he’s 80 to one going into this and he did impress recently when he was tied 11th at the Players Championship that would think was was a confidence boost

That he needed he’s enjoyed his two visits here before as well he was fifth in 2021 he was ninth the following year so his game seems to suit this test and I’d be very surprised if you don’t see another sort of strong showing on the cards from him again I’m quite staty

Sometimes with me Arguments for players but he’s 27th and greens and R he’s eighth in Strokes gained approach 28th and driving accuracy so he’s not really going to go that far wrong you know from T to Green again the that has been lacking is the putting he’s way down in

The Strokes gain rankings like Mitchell is but the fact again that he’s puted well here for two tournaments in a row suggests that he has the knck of these surfaces and you know it is a putting surface that he likes to be on so yeah Damon 0 to one looks like he’s worth

He’s worth a good sort of look going into the tournament yeah absolutely I mean clearly a talented player on his day um we have to talk about Scotty Sheffer and James I you know 11 to four 3 to one there or thereabouts for this week it it it it there’s almost felt

Kind of a um that the feeling that if he turns up and puts well he wins at the moment and and he may well do that this week Steve was saying a couple of weeks ago that he always hopes he wasn’t playing this week um so he’s completely

Fresh kind of going into the Masters he is he has opted to pick I mean there is a world isn’t there where he just rocks up here and and wins by five and you go well actually I could have taken that price but but not for

You no not for me me again just for the fact that there’s there’s so many different things that come into play for a golf tournament like I said shefer he might not have full focus on this tournament this just might be you know trying to keep the momentum going but if

He doesn’t win this one he’s not that first he’s just one back-to-back tournaments the play is being one of them you know defended his defended his title there and his mindset is already probably looking towards Augusta it’s looking towards the Masters so yeah for for me it just those those skinny odds

Those really really short odds he just he provides no value for me you know especially when we mentioned the quality in the PJ tour Fields I mean like we said who would have picked Peter manati last week to win nobody I I didn’t see anybody suggest his name anywhere so

They can come out of the pack anywhere and if Sheffer isn’t quite on the game or if the putter does go cold yes he’s got it going now but it could easily go away because that’s the area’s game that is the weakest then certainly I think there’s value elsewhere looking in this

Tournament like I said chef for me is already thinking about Augusta and just making sure that he’s he’s keeping this sort of momentum going but doesn’t NE necessarily mean that a victory is right up there sort of in in his vision this week one that may um catch people’s eye

At the at the prices I mean he’s sort quadruple the prize of Scotty is Windam Clark I mean he only just lost out in the players and quickly kind of putting himself in in one of the brackets of kind of the elite really I mean all

Areas of his game are fairly solid and you kind of just looking at down the names here I know you’ve gone for thear is of course a bigger prize but I think Windam Clark will interest a few this week yeah no I agree um he definitely he

Was looked at um just with sort of where he’s taken himself um in terms of career now since that major win and he’s kept going and he’s added a few more titles along the way he just seems to have that self-belief and that confidence about himself now that he belongs at this

Level and like he said a lot of areas of game is going well is putting going really well but he gives it a good hit off the tea as well I mean watched a few weeks ago when he was group Rory maroy and I think that might have been the

Players actually um and he was marro was hitting it and commentators are going oh my God how far hit it and then you see Clark hit it and he was either going past him or he was only just like five yards behind him and then it was like

Well I mean this this guy can give it a really good hit so yeah he’s he’s just got that confidence about him at the moment and certainly I think he will have his his backers going into this tournament but again maybe just too too short in the betting for me but again

I’m being greedy with what I want for him because he is such a good player at the moment and in this field he definitely stands out along with sheffler were the any other that made the short list that didn’t quite get onto the uh onto the final three

McKenzie Hughes was quite close um more just because he’s coming into this one in a little bit of form um top five last week at the Valar he’s had some decent enough performances um at Memorial Park at this course um over the last three years think he’s had uh a seventh and a

13th I think it was when I was looking at him so he’s certainly someone who was nearly making the cut in there um and then there was one which would have been a big Outsider and again I didn’t quite go for it was Martin trainer the French

American um but he was he was someone I quite likeed the look on because he’s he’s been doing well at sort of lower level events um again it was the question mark for me of making the step up obviously now going into a PJ Tour event in this field with some good

Players in it does he have the ability to to probably place is what I would have been looking at but you can get him when I looked at around 250 to one um but he just he just missed out he he went out of my selections I was happy to

Do three um for both tournaments three a piece yeah I really like that style uh let’s recap the selections um what are your three in the Indian open yanet Paul shanka Sharma and Darius vanriel and the Houston open Houston open we’ve gone for sahi theara Keith Mitchell and Joel Damon okay really

Looking forward to to this week’s tournaments it’s the I think it’s the just the one next week isn’t it is the Texas open you’ve got one on the PGA Texas open and then Liv GF Miami um is on the schedule as well at Trump National Dural nothing on the DP World

Tour okay I think it’s yourself and Steve sailing The Sweet Spot ship over the next couple of weeks I get I get to review my own tips next week and ask they were so you know it’s it’s all good it’s a different side of the camera I’ll be on absolutely I really looking

Forward to to tuning in for those of course Masters on the horizons well I alluded to it earlier but some really exciting plans here on the racing post YouTube channel so stay locked in um James thank you very much as always always a pleasure if you are following

In on any of James selections then please do remember to do so responsibly Sweet Spot will be back next Tuesday see you then everyone Bye-bye