Stay on right side of Lefty

Masters sportbet special
PHIL Mickelson provided one of the sporting highlights of last year when winning the Masters at Augusta.

And, with arch rival Tiger Woods totally out of sorts, Lefty looks to have a huge chance of winning back-to-back titles and his fourth Masters in all.

In trying to select the winner of golf’s first major of the year, which starts tomorrow, you should try to identify players with good track records at this venue.

Augusta, as well as being the world’s most beautiful golf course, is also one of the trickiest with its many difficult greens to land on, devilish pin placements and treacherous putting surfaces.

It is not enough to hit fairways and greens, either. The players need to place their approach shots on the right side of the pins otherwise they often face impossible situations which lead to three or even four putts.

So course knowledge is really vital and that’s where the likes of Mickelson and Woods, both multiple winners at Augusta, have a huge advantage over many of their rivals.

Mickelson comes into this tournament on the back of victory in the Shell Houston Open.

In the last two rounds, he shot 63 and 65 to blow away a top-quality field.

Few players have that sort of devastating scoring ability in their locker – Mickelson has it in spades. Remember last year when he thwarted our own Lee Westwood with a last-round 67?

Basically, if the Mickelson who played so superbly in Houston last weekend shows up in Georgia, then the rest might as well stay at home.

Hills’ odds of 8-1 about him retaining the green jacket are realistic and fair and, though I hate backing favourites at golf, it is not as though he is the sort of skinny price we have had to accept for Woods over the years.

So what can we say about Tiger? Well, there is a reason he is 12-1 for this year’s event and that is because his game looks in bits despite his assertion that the tinkering with his swing is about to pay dividends.

I can’t have Tiger at that price even though he is likely to finish in the top 10 through sheer force of will.

The likes of last year’s runner-up Westwood (16-1) and Martin Kaymer (22-1) – who play together in the first two rounds – Luke Donald (28-1) and Padraig Harrington (50-1) have the class to go close.

But I fancy the Americans to dominate this tournament and, to back up my main bet on Mickelson, I will be having an each-way saver on Anthony Kim, who shot 65 on the last day a year ago to be third.

He is running into form after recovering from thumb surgery and is a streak player who can collect birdies in clutches.

I also enjoy having a first-round leader bet and one who could go well at a price is 2009 US PGA champion Y E Yang, who opened with a 67 last year and has caught my eye on the US Tour in recent weeks. He is available at a generous 70-1.

Recommendations: Phil Mickelson, win, 8-1 (William Hill); Anthony Kim, ew, 45-1 (general); Y E Yang to be leading after first round, ew 70-1 (Blue Square, first six places).