Event Info
Starts: 29th July 2021
Course: Kasumigaseki CC, Japan
Par: 71
Length: 7,447 yards
2016 Champion: Justin Rose
Results
Overall Profit/Loss: +20.57pts
Pre-Event Bets: +26.07pts
0.75pts EW CT Pan 175/1 @ 10bet (1/4 1-5)
0.5pts EW Yechun (Carl) Yun 200/1 @ William Hill (1/5 1-7)
0.75pts EW Anirban Lahiri 250/1 @ 10bet (1/4 1-5)
1.5pts Scott Vincent Top 10 Finish 14/1 @ Betfair
2pts Jazz Janewattananond Top 10 Finish 19/2 @ Betfair
In-Play Bets: -5.5pts
29 July 2021 (-2pts)
1pt EW Juvic Pagunsan 125/1 @ Bet365 (1/5 1-5)
30 July 2021 (-2pts)
1pt EW Alex Noren 20/1 @ Bet365 (1/4 1-3)
1 August 2021 (-1.5pts)
1pt Win Only Tommy Fleetwood 40/1 @ Bet365
0.5pts Win Only Cameron Smith 80/1 @ Bet365
Preview
Course Info
Designer: Kinya Fujita and Shirou Akaboshi
Used Since: N/A
Fairways: Generous, Zoysia grass
Greens: Bentgrass
Water Hazards: One - 18th
Premium on: Approach
Significant Info
Golf was made an Olympic sport again in 2016. We place little emphasis on that event in Brazil.
There are only 60 participants in this event and no cut.
The South Korean players receive an exemption from military service if they win, they may feel some extra pressure.
Tom Fazio carried out a redesign on this course in 2016.
Weather
Thursday
Hot (33 Celcius) with possibility of afternoon thunderstorm.
Friday
Hot (32 Celcius) with possibility of a thunderstorm.
Saturday
Hot (34 Celcius) with possibility of rain in the morning.
Sunday
Hot (31 Celcius) with possibility of afternoon rain.
Course Quotes
Tom Fazio, Designer
"The new greens are generally medium-to-large in size, allowing for interesting contours and angles to the green approaches and surfaces. The course has been lengthened for the Olympics and other high-level competitions."
Dennis Ingram, PGA Tour agronomist
“a big, mainly wide open, in your face course of 7,600 yards with big, deep bunkers.”
Player Quotes
Gunn Charoenkul
"This is a pretty long course. With the weather forecast, the fairway might get softer and we'll have long irons in. Some greens are really undulating too and you have to put your ball in the right spots to give yourself chances. The greens are soft and you can go really low. It could be 20 under and better."
In Play
With no recent tournament golf at Kasumigaseki, we have no in-play information available.
In-play
Men's Olympics In-Play Blog
31st July 2021, 9.30pm
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
| Schauffele | -14 |
| Matsuyama | -13 |
| Ortiz | -12 |
| Casey | -12 |
| Four Players Tied | -11 |
Xander Schauffele has held on to his lead but Hideki Matsuyama has cut the gap to one shot and bookmakers now rate them a 7/4 and 3/1 chance of victory.
First of all, we must admit to have not watched much of the action due to the unsociable tee times for UK viewers. It makes it extremely hard to have a strong grip on the tournament but the fact Xander is leading is enough for us to have a couple of speculative plays.
The world number 5 has a 1 star Pressure Performance Rating on our player profiles and for good reason. He is winless in over two years and has failed in his last five attempts to win when leading or co-leading after three rounds. In particular, he was extremely poor at the Phoenix Open and it’s enough for us to take him on.
Matsuyama will have the backing of the limited spectators but he will have to deal with an enormous amount of pressure as he bids to win gold for the hosts. With that said he was tremendous under the collar at the Masters and he is preferred to Xander at the prices.
Paul Casey, Rory McIlroy and Carlos Ortiz all have valid claims but we’re going to play two from further back who are capable of going low.
Round 4 Bets
- 1pt Win Only Tommy Fleetwood 40/1 @ Bet365
- 0.5pts Win Only Cameron Smith 80/1 @ Bet365
Fleetwood is four behind after a 64 on moving day, showing exactly how capable he is from off the pace. A similar effort could ask the leaders questions and it wouldn’t be the first time he’s challenged from a few back. Similarly, Cameron Smith has shot 67-66 in his last two rounds and capable of continuing that trend to go even lower. There is a lot of pressure on both Schauffele and Matsuyama so a small win only play on each is worth chancing.
30th July 2021, 7.00pm
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
| Schauffele | -11 |
| Ortiz | -10 |
| Pereira | -8 |
| Noren | -8 |
| Straka | -8 |
| Matsuyama (thru 16) | -8 |
The weather meant that the 2nd round of the Olympic men's golf was unable to be completed but Xander Schauffele leads the way.
The American is now a strong 6/4 favourite to win the gold medal after a sensational finish to his round. Five under par for his final five holes, Schauffele is very much the man to beat over the weekend.
Schauffele's grandparent's live near this week's course and the fact he's comfortable in Japan (he's visited over ten times) meant he was very much on our shortlist pre-event. However, the price was a little on the short side for a man who has struggled recently when in contention. This could well be the event where he takes the next step in his career but the 6/4 makes no appeal to us.
Round 3 Bet
- 1pt Each Way Alex Noren 20/1 @ Bet365 (1/4 1-3)
With concerns over Schauffele's ability to close out tournaments, we're happy to side with someone who has a history of fast finishes. Alex Noren finished 4th at the Rocket Mortgage Classic as recently as three starts ago. That finish came courtesy of weekend rounds of 67 and 64. His wins at the 2017 BMW PGA and 2016 Nedbank Challenge came after final rounds of 62 and 63 respectively. In short, he can get hot over the weekend. Only one bogey so far this week shows how comfortable he is and we like him to be in contention on Sunday.
29th July 2021, 12.00pm
| Player | Total |
|---|---|
| Straka | -8 |
| Janewattananond | -7 |
| Pieters | -6 |
| Ortiz | -6 |
| Hansen | -5 |
| Vegas | -5 |
| Pagunsan | -5 |
Sepp Straka leads the way after the opening round in Japan. Conditions were absolutely perfect for the early starters, with no wind and receptive greens.
Straka may lead but the bookmakers rate Xander Schauffele as 11/1 marginal favourite. Schauffele shot a solid opening round of 68 (-3) to sit tied 12th. Five shots back, he'll at least be encouraged by the fact none of the players above him have won a major. Despite his familiarity with Japan (his grandparents live in Japan), we're content to leave that price alone.
The fact the bookmakers have priced eight players sub-18/1 indicates how open this event is. We're looking at adding one player to our pre-event staking plan and will look to review the situation again tomorrow.
Conditions are set to be mostly dry tomorrow with the possibility of a thunderstorm in the afternoon.
Round 2 Bets
- 1pt Each Way Juvic Pagunsan 125/1 @ Bet365 (1/5 1-5)
The experienced Filipino got off to a good start in round one, shooting a five under par 66. He won an event on the Japanese Tour as recently as four starts ago and we see no reason why he cannot compete here in surroundings that will be comfortable to him. Winning an Olympic medal would be his greatest achievement as a golfer but that's factored into the price and with doubts over some of the names at the top of the leaderboard, we're happy to back Juvic.
