We move into the second half of The Players Championship on Saturday as the tournament really ramps up a notch on what is traditionally known as ‘Moving Day’. Those who struggled have been cut from the tournament and we’re left with the best of the week so far.
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Friday Recap
In fairness it was an extremely frustrating day betting wise for us on Friday as two players we backed shot comfortably under par but could still only tie their three balls which was an annoyance. Ian Poulter was five under for his round but that was matched by Tommy Fleetwood so we only got two half pay outs from those bets.
We have two men at the top of the leaderboard heading into Saturday. They are Louis Oosthuizen and Kyle Stanley but as you would expect with a tournament of this stature the chasing pack is a very strong one.
Oosthuizen and Stanley sit on nine under with JB Holmes two back and Vijay Singh another shot further back on six under. There is a solid group on five under which include the European trio Ian Poulter, Rafa Cabrera Bello and Alex Noren. Another sizeable group on four under includes Jon Rahm, Paul Casey and Webb Simpson.
Saturday 2 balls
The only markets available to us on Saturday are the two ball ones but as ever with a tournament of this size all the pairings have been priced up. There are two which catch my eye.
Ian Poulter vs Chez Reavie
Match tees off at 19.10 BST
Two men who maybe wouldn’t have expected to be out this late on Saturday match up against each other where for me Ian Poulter is a worthy favourite. Chez Reavie is a solid tee to green player hence why he is going so well but as these greens firm up his putting is going to come under the microscope and I don’t think it will stand up to the scrutiny.
Had it not been for a sloppy 45 minutes in the first round, Poulter could be one shot off the lead and bang in contention right now but he is going along nicely and importantly he is putting well on these greens. Poulter has a new lease of life since the turnaround which meant he kept his PGA Tour card and he can enjoy that further by seeing off Reavie.
Louis Oosthuizen vs Kyle Stanley
Match tees off at 19.50 BST
The last group goes off just before 8pm UK time where all eyes will be on Kyle Stanley to see if he can handle the pressures of being in contention in one of the biggest tournaments in the world. We know that Louis Oosthuizen will. He is a major champion who with a bit more luck could have three majors to his name so he’ll be perfectly comfortable.
I think tee to green Stanley will be fine but whether he can continue to putt well remains to be seen. I was particularly interested to hear Oosthuizen big up his putting after his round on Friday. He looks very comfortable and has only dropped one shot in two rounds which around here is amazing and testament to how well he is hitting it and his game plans. I expect him to pull away from Stanley on Saturday.
Tips
WON – Back I.Poulter to beat C.Reavie for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with Betfred
Back L.Oosthuizen to beat K.Stanley for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfred
Back them here:
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