2011 Franklin Templeton Shootout Golf Betting Odds – December 9th – 11th

Annual team play event swings back into action

Steve Striker - USA)
Steve Striker - USA © GEPA pictures

The Franklin Templeton golf betting this week, is clearly not going to draw as much interest as the Dubai World Championship over on the European Tour, but it still presents some good betting opportunities. The tournament is sanctioned by the PGA and is an event which raises money for charity and is played in Naples, Florida. There is a 24 man field and the entrants are paired up into twelve teams, and it is hosted by the golf legend that is Greg Norman. It just a tournament over three days, 54 holes of stroke play. Last year’s winners were Dustin Johnson and Ian Poulter, but neither player are back to play in the event. Would expect the event to be a pretty close run thing at the end, because it usually is. On just one has the event been won by a greater margin than two strokes since it moved to Naples. There’s some big names in the field and some interesting pairings. Let’s look at some Franklin Templeton shootout golf betting options

Steve Stricker/Jerry Kelly – 7/1 at SkyBet

What these two have going for them is consistency and they won the event back in 2009, so they know how to play together. This is just one of two teams out of the dozen who have played together. That has to count for something you would think and with the class that Stricker is able to bring to the table, then they are going to be worth a decent punt.

Keegan Bradley/Brendan Steele – 10/1 at Totesport
Well, this is going to be our tip for the event, simply because of Bradley. The PGA Championship winner knows the course like the back of his hand. He has been playing at the Tiburon course for years and after winning the Grand Slam of Golf as well, you would expect him to be relaxed enough to really drive this partnership forward. Trading at a decent price and naturally his knowledge and familiarity of the course should pay dividends.

Anthony Kim/Webb Simpson – 4/1 at BetFred
Well you can’t overlook a partnership that has Webb Simpson in it. The guy can pretty much do no wrong as he has proven in this remarkable year of his. When you pair him up with fellow American Anthony Kim, then on paper this is the strongest looking partnership in the field. If both of these get rolling off with confidence then they are going to take some stopping. No real surprise that they are the favourites in Franklin Templeton shootout golf betting.

Ricky Fowler/Camilo Villegas – 7/1 at Totesport

This makes for a really interesting partnership and you can just see them eyeing up the tee with pretty much every shot. Remember this is a relaxed event and a great chance for the natural young talent of Ricky Fowler to come through. Colombian Villegas really hasn’t shown too much this season. While he will be the experienced hand, will expect the fireworks to come from Fowler, who is a joy to watch.

Rory Sabbatini/Jhonattan Vegas – 12/1 at Boylesports
Going to dig deeper in the field and mention these two. South African Sabbatini has bags of experience in stroke play, appearing in the World Cup enough times for his country. Not a major threat in terms of winning titles this year, but with the driving ability of Vegas alongside him, this could be a very strong partnership.

Other Franklin Templeton Shootout Golf Betting Odds
Dufner/OHair: 9/1 at Boylesports
Cink/Pelt: 9/1 at Bet365
Howell/Leonard: 9/1 at Victor Chandler
Campbell/DiMarco: 18/1 at Totesport
Holmes/Perry: 18/1 at Totesport
Calcavecchia/Price: 33/1 at Totesport
McCarron/Norman: 33/1 at SkyBet