Abu Dhabi Review

With all the hype surrounding the new Nike brothers and the great expectations behind them there will be a few at the company feeling very disappointed that their exposure was cut down by two days after both players missed the cut. At least Rory got to put his feet up at the weekend and watch Caroline though....

Justin Rose led for the majority of the week but failed to show a killer instinct today to finish the job off- something that I feel has probably lacked throughout his career. Still, a great start to the campaign at a new course and clearly one to watch out for this season. I'm already fancying him a bit for the US Masters- could be a great shout for 1st round leader. 

Another player who reared their head today after a long time in the doldrums with back problems was David Howell. Judging by the sentiment on Twitter there wouldn't have been anybody who wasn't happy to see him win today regardless of who they'd backed. He's not your typical icon but I am still using a 31" putter that was inspired by the Howeller back in the day- I can see where that bad back must stem from now....

The tournament was finally won by Jamie Donaldson who tee'd it up at 60/1 and is a popular winner with those on tour. Well done to birdieclubtipster.blogspot.com for tipping him this week- great start to the season.

Bit of an annoying week for my picks. Jason Dufner bogeyed the last to miss an e/w payout by 1 shot and last week's pick Thorbjorn Olesen who was absolutely shocking in Durban contended to the 72nd hole. Not happy- but the beauty of golf is we only have to wait 3 days for another chance!

I am also expecting that this week I will have dropped down the ranks from 3rd overall in the Golf Bettings System punter's league 2013. There's a long way to go though and I'm sure one week can bring about a massive swing in the standings. Which also means it's still a great time to get involved if you haven't already!

Come back tomorrow for my Monday Lesson- what have I learned this week?!