I cover every tournament on the LPGA Tour on my Cobe Life Youtube channel. Usually I provide my Subscribers with a few Favourites, Dark Horses, and one or two Sleepers to potentially wager on. I provide them with some course history, and examples of why I selected the players I did.
In addition to that video I am going to highlight 3 players each tournament week on this Blog. They won't necessarily be players I am betting on. Instead these are players that I believe could possibly break out later in the season. I am scouting them for potential bets at future LPGA events. For single sports betting in Canada sign up with our affiliate partner Sports Interaction!
When scouting LPGA players there are a few key things to look for. The first and foremost is their putting ability. How accurate are they from distance? How confident is their stroke within 6 feet? Where do they finish in the Strokes Gained Putting rankings? You can't win an event if you don't Putt well so I always pay attention to their play on the Greens. Secondly how long and accurate are their Drives? What's important to note here is that a player doesn't need to be great at both. A nice balance between the two is preferable, but exceptionally great at either is fine as well. The last thing I pay attention to is their Approach play, or more specifically their proximity to Hole when they hit the Green.
If a player shows better than average ability across those 3 categories then they are poised to compete for Top finishes in future events. It's not rocket science. Those three areas of the game work in concert to produce low scores. Beginning on the Tee - a long or accurate Drive makes for an easier Approach shot. If your Approach game is on your proximity to Hole will be much smaller. Then if your average Putt is shorter you will make more 1 putts. Last season I was really high on Xiyu Lin because she was improving those 3 skills all season long. She finished the year 38th in Driving Accuracy, 52nd in Driving Distance, 20th in Greens in Regulation, 20th in Putts per GIR, and 34th in Putting Average. It was her Putting that let her down and prevented her from winning. That's why I rank it the most important. Ideally you want a player you're betting on to have a better Putting per GIR ranking compared to their Greens in Regulation, and a Putting Average no more than 50% worse.
Hopefully that has you fully versed on what to look for. Now for the three players I will be paying extra attention to at the Gainbridge LPGA tournament at Boca Rio Golf Club.
Yealimi Noh
Currently ranked 42nd in the world. Three Top 10 finishes in 2021. I was big on her last year because with her Distance off the Tee she is a threat every time out. With a full season of experience I expect her Course Management to improve.
Key Stats
-Driving Accuracy 99th on tour
-Driving Distance 27th on tour
-Greens in Regulation 62nd on tour
-Putts per GIR 43rd on tour
-Putting Average 42nd on tour
Obviously Yealimi Noh has an accuracy issue. It begins on The Tee, and then continues with her Approaches into Greens. If she can develop better ball control then she will have a far easier time finding Greens. I wouldn't be surprised if she dials it back a little off the Tee in order to find more Fairways.
Charley Hull
Currently ranked 25th in the world. Two Top 10 finishes in 2021. Charley has the game to potentially dominate on tour. She was runner up to Se-young Kim at the 2019 CME Tour Championship. Her problem has been inconsistency in her game. Hopefully this year she gets things figured out.
Key Stats
-Driving Accuracy 117th on tour
-Driving Distance 23rd on tour
-Greens in Regulation 28th on tour
-Putts per GIR 23rd on tour
-Putting Average 79th on tour
Looking at those stats it's obvious where she needs the most improvement. Her accuracy off the Tee is sorely lacking. When she puts herself in good position she is able to attack Greens. It's when she isn't able to reach Greens in Regulation that Par Saves become very difficult for her. Unless her accuracy off the Tee improves, she will need to seriously work on her short game to reduce the number of Bogeys she has been getting that ruin Rounds.
Caroline Masson
Currently ranked 50th in the world. Three Top 10 finishes in 2021. I really took notice of her last season in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympics. In 2019 she was 5th on tour for Greens in Regulation. Course changes, reduced length off the Tee, and Covid has messed with her game.
Key Stats
-Driving Accuracy 77th on tour
-Driving Distance 110th on tour
-Greens in Regulation 49th on tour
-Putts per GIR 18th on tour
-Putting Average 38th on tour
The Driving Distance may look like an issue but really it isn't. When you compare her Greens in Regulation rank with her Putts per GIR rank it becomes obvious. If she can get anywhere close to the number of Greens hit in Regulation as when she was playing her best. Then she will be in contention most weeks, provided it isn't an extremely long course design. All she needs to improve is her Approach.
Let me know if there's anyone you have your eye on this week. Follow me on Instagram @cobelifegolf
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Some very useful stats there, Cobe. Yealimi was a bit disappointing last year, took some of my money - thanks for highlighting her problems. But she was good enough to make the Solheim Cup team (captain's pick), which speaks for itself. I'll be watching her closely through the next couple of tournaments to see where she's at.