2014 - Week 1 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Hyundai Tournament of Champions (US PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. It's the first week of the new GP season (the 2014 calendar year) and it's time for everyone to look forward to another full year of golf! I would like to wish all readers/users a Happy New Year and a prosperous 2014 using Golf Predictor!

Golf Predictor Back Up!

I am delighted to announce that Golf Predictor is back up and running, just in time for the resumption of the golfing season next week. As stated in the previous post, I took the opportunity to upgrade the technology behind Golf Predictor during the quiet (and short!) off season around Christmas. Unfortunately, this did not go as smoothly as it should have and Golf Predictor was down for four days or so. However, one ruined Christmas later, the site is finally back on-line and appears to be running quicker than ever.

The reason for the site problems turned out in the end to be a couple of web services, which apparently the upgraded technology did not like. Once these were disabled, the site roared back into life. One of these web services returned the currency conversions on the subscribe page, so the old page without these conversions has been reinstated for the time being. I would like to apologise once again for any inconvenience caused by this longer than expected outage. I have tested the site and all appears well once again. If you find an error, please contact me as soon as possible.

Golf Predictor Down - Upgrade in Progress

I have taken the opportunity during the quiet Christmas week to upgrade the technology underpinning Golf Predictor. I was informed via email that the process was complete, but on checking with my host's technical support, it appears that the upgrade is still ongoing.

As this upgrade involves switching servers, the site is currently down while the transfer is ongoing. I have been informed that this transfer may take 24-48 hours, so I ask for your patience during this time. As there are no tournaments this week or next, this should not be an issue. Hopefully, the site will be back up and running more efficiently in the next day or two. Keep an eye on the Golf Predictor Twitter/Facebook/Google+ accounts for more updates and I will add comments to this post as necessary.

Results Tables Updated on More Pages

 

Snapshot of the new look table showing position colour coding, round columns and amended pop-up text for all of Tiger Woods' results in 2013

Further to the results tables amended earlier this year on the Prediction page, the results tables on the Season Stats and Results by Player pages on Golf Predictor have been similarly updated. Using the new sortable round columns, you can easily find each golfer's best and worst rounds (rounds 1-4) for the tournaments in a given season.

This is shown above for Tiger Woods' results on his 2013 Season Stats page. As before, clicking on a round row column header allows you to sort the round scores in ascending or descending order. To make room for the round information, the "Made Cut" column has been removed from the relevant tables. The removed information has been moved into the pop-up text (see screenshot above) and also incorporated into the new colour coding for the finishing positions (missed cut). As before, round five has been left out of the results tables due to space constraints. There are currently no five round events on either tour and  there have been only two since 2003 (the 2003-11 Bob Hope and the 2003 Las Vegas Invitational), so this should not be an issue. In any event, round five information is now also provided in the pop-up (see screenshot above), should it be relevant.

As also shown in the screenshot above, the Position column on the results tables have been colour coded like before. This will allow you to identify wins (red), top tens (yellow), withdrawals (brown) and missed cuts (blue) much more easily. The colour code itself is shown over the first results table on the page. There is now also pop up text on the Position column in the Season Stats page to indicate a tie and the colour coding from the round columns on the Results by Player page has been removed for consistency with all the other results pages.

These updates should make these pages much more useful. However, all these results for all golfers are only visible to subscribers, so sign up today to get the most out of Golf Predictor, the premier US and European PGA Tour statistics site.

2014 Tournaments Added to Golf Predictor

In preparation for the new year of golf, the 2014 European and US PGA Tour season events have been added to Golf Predictor. This covers US events up to the Tour Championship and the European events up until the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

There is very little change in the US schedule from last year, which makes my job of importing them somewhat easier! The European Tour, on the other hand, has its usual relatively large number of name changes and unconfirmed courses/tournaments. Note that I have left most of the changed European Tournaments with the same name as last year until their new names are confirmed.

Most/Least Consistent Golfers on the 2013 European/US PGA Tours

Using the standard deviation (SD) information in Golf Predictor, it is possible to see who were the most/least consistent performers in the 2013 season on the European/US PGA Tours*. It's almost all change from previous season, with only Matt Kuchar remaining in the list from last year (and improving his already good performance). The top five consistent golfers in 2013 were:

#	Name	St Dev	Ave. Pos.	Played
1	Matt Kuchar	14.58	19.60	25
2	Sergio Garcia	15.18	17.08	25
3	Jason Day	17.36	23.24	21
4	Adam Scott	18.54	20.56	16
5	Donald Constable	20.42	107.50	16

The top four golfers were consistently good, with very little between them. Unsurprisingly, none of them missed a cut, which explains why their results were so consistent! David Constable was consistently bad, unfortunately! At the other end of the scale, the top five most inconsistent golfers in 2013 were:

#	Name	St Dev	Ave. Pos.	Played
1	David Higgins	52.43	77.39	23
2	Oscar Floren	50.73	83.00	19
3	Daniel Gaunt	50.04	91.56	16
4	Scott Piercy	49.53	61.44	28
5	Richard McEvoy	48.93	88.90	20

Not many well known names there, with the exception of Scott Piercy. It is disappointing though to see a fellow Irishman as the most inconsistent golfer of the year! Click on the "Lists" category opposite to see more such lists.


*Only golfers who played at least 15 events are included in this analysis. This explains why Steve Stricker is missing, as he only played 13 events in 2013.

2013 - Top 5 Easiest Courses/Tournaments on the European PGA Tour

Based on the average score in relation to par in the tournaments hosted on them, these were the 5 easiest courses on the European PGA Tour in the 2013 GP Season (calendar year):

1. Oceanico Victoria Club de Golfe (Portugal Masters)
2. St. Andrews/Carnoustie/Kingsbarns (Alfred Dunhill Links Championship)
3. Montgomerie Maxx Royal (Turkish Airlines Open pres. By Ministry of Tourism and Culture)
4. Mount Edgecombe CC (The Nelson Mandela Championship pres. by ISPS Handa)
5. Durban CC (Volvo Golf Champions)

This is almost a completely different list from the same list in previous seasons. There was little between the top three or four and the Durban area seems to be the place to go for an easy tournament! however, it should be noted that the course was slightly shortened and there was lift and place in operation at the rain shortened Nelson Mandela Championship. Both of this factors together would have helped the scoring considerably. In addition, the Nelson Mandela Championship is on the 2014 European Tour, despite being held in 2013. Discounting this event. the next easiest tournament was the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, a regular on this list. You can get more detailed information by looking at the 'Lowest Average Round vs Par' chart on the 'Other Stats/Tourn. Stats' page in the member section of Golf Predictor.

Click on the "Lists" category opposite to see more such lists.

2013 - Top 5 Easiest Courses/Tournaments on the US PGA Tour

Based on the average score in relation to par in the tournaments hosted on them, these were the 5 easiest courses/tournaments on the US PGA Tour in the 2013 GP Season (calendar year):

1. PGA West and sister courses (Humana Challenge in pship with the Clinton Foundation)
2. TPC Scottsdale (Waste Management Phoenix Open)
3. TPC Boston (Deutsche Bank Championship)
4. Trump International GC (Puerto Rico Open pres. by seepuertorico.com)
5. Annandale GC (Sanderson Farms Championship)

A couple of usual suspects in this list from the same list in previous years! You can get more detailed information by looking at the 'Lowest Average Round vs Par' chart on the 'Other Stats/Tourn. Stats' page in the member section of Golf Predictor.
Click on the "Lists" category opposite to see more such lists.

2013 - Top 5 Hardest Courses/Tournaments on the US PGA Tour

Based on the average score in relation to par in the tournaments hosted on them, these were the toughest courses/tournaments on the US PGA Tour in the 2013 GP Season (calendar year):

1. Merion GC (US Open)
2. Muirfield (Open Championship)
3. Congressional CC (AT&T National)
4. Oak Hill CC (US PGA Championship)
5. Augusta National GC (The Masters)

As usual, this year's list is top heavy with major tournaments, with another difficult major venue, Congressional CC, rounding out the top five. You can get more detailed information by looking at the 'Highest Average Round vs Par' chart on the 'Other Stats/Tourn. Stats' page in the member section of Golf Predictor.

Click on the "Lists" category opposite to see more such lists.

2013 - Top 5 Hardest Courses/Tournaments on the European PGA Tour

Based on the average score in relation to par in the tournaments hosted on them, these were the 5 toughest courses on the European PGA Tour in the 2013 GP Season (calendar year):

1. Merion GC (US Open)
2. Muirfield (Open Championship)
3. Celtic Manor (ISPS Handa Wales Open)
4. Saint Omer GC (Najete Hotels et Golfs Open pres by Neuflize OBC)
5. Le Golf National (Alstom Open de France)

Granted, the weather and relatively weak fields may have played a part in some of these events, but on the other hand, the list is similar to last year's one. You can get more detailed information by looking at the 'Highest Average Round vs Par' chart on the 'Other Stats/Tourn. Stats' page in the member section of Golf Predictor.

Click on the "Lists" category opposite to see more such lists.

2013 GP Season Stats Available

Following the conclusion of the last event of 2013 on both major tours in South Africa yesterday, the statistics for the 2013 GP season are now available on Golf Predictor (Other Stats menu, Season Stats options). The numbers have been crunched for all 529 golfers who played at least five tournaments (excluding non-finishes) on the European/US PGA Tour during the course of the GP season (2013 calendar year).

Somewhat surprisingly, Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson or Adam Scott are in the top four when average finishing position for the season is used as the primary ranking statistic. Despite not winning, Steve Stricker's decision to curtail his season paid off, as he had both the lowest average and was the most consistent among the top performers, albeit from only 13 events. It's no wonder other top golfers are considering following suit! It should be noted though that Adam Scott only played 16 events and Tiger Woods played 18 on both major tours in 2013, so those schedules were not that different from Stricker's.

Tiger had the most wins (5) and Stenson pipped Rose for the most top tens (13) of any golfer in 2013. That corresponds to a leading winning percentage of 27.8% for Woods and a fourth best top ten percentage of 43.3% for Stenson. Because the Swede played 30 tournaments in 2013, Stricker, Woods and Rose all had a higher top ten percentage.

Other somewhat interesting statistics include Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar sharing the best missed cuts statistic. All three played 25 events without missing a single cut and an honourable mention to Jason Day, who played 21 events while always making the weekend. On the other extreme, Niclas Fasth (27 events) and Robert Allenby (30 events) had the unenviable record of most cuts missed (20) in 2013. Finally, Brendon de Jonge was the hardest working golfer in 2013, playing an impressive 35 weeks of the year (with 5 top tens to show for it). See these and many more interesting 2013 GP season statistics on Golf Predictor!


Note: The course for the Nelson Mandela Championship (2013 GP Season, 2014 European Tour) was shortened slightly and clean and place was in operation due to excessive rain. This skewed the round averages and other statistics slightly for all golfers who played that event and the two rounds of 59 scored there do not count as official records.

2013 - Week 49 Winner

Dawie van der Walt (ranked 53rd by Golf Predictor) won The Nelson Mandela Championship pres. by ISPS Handa on the European PGA Tour. The 30 year old South African won his second tour title at the rain shortened event in emotional circumstances in his home country. With the eponymous statesman sadly passing away last week and this event brought forward to avoid clashing with his state funeral, it was fitting that a South African came out on top. Our top ranked player, Branden Grace, finished in tied 6th and we had seven of the top eighteen plus ties (7/22) in the 54 hole event.

Thankfully, that's another GP season done and dusted. I'm looking forward to the off-season, even if it is shorter than normal! Thanks to all members/readers and looking forward to a great 2014 GP season already!

2013 - Week 49 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, The Nelson Mandela Championship pres. by ISPS Handa (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. It's finally the end of the 2013 golf year and I for one am looking forward to a few weeks off before it starts all over again in early January! As usual with late season European events, the field is not particularly strong again this week. The mood is bound to be sombre in Durban where the tournament has been brought forward by a day to avoid clashing with the state funeral of Nelson Mandela himself.

2013 - Week 48 Winners

Miguel Angel Jimenez (ranked 1st by Golf Predictor) won the Hong Kong Open on the European PGA Tour. The popular 49 year old Spaniard won the event for the fourth time, creating history again by improving his own record as the oldest ever winner on tour. Less than a month away from qualifying for the senior circuit, Jimenez beat Stuart Manley and Prom Meesawat with a birdie on the first extra hole. Including the winner, we had seven of the top eighteen plus ties (7/23) in total.

Thomas Bjorn (ranked 13th by Golf Predictor) won the Nedbank Golf Challenge on the European PGA Tour. The 42 year old Dane fired two eagles on the back nine Sunday to stun his opponents and take home the big prize. Our top ranked golfer, Henrik Stenson, finished in 4th place and we had thirty of the top thirty plus ties (30/30) in total!!

2013 - Week 48 Predictions/Statistics Online

 The predictions and statistics for this week, the Hong Kong Open and the Nedbank Golf Challenge (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. The former big money invitational event in Sun City is now co-sanctioned by the European PGA Tour and has a somewhat expanded field. Still, there will be only thirty players competing for a $6.5 million purse, which is nice work if you can get it! That explains why it has a pretty good (if European biased) field so deep into the silly season! That doesn't leave much for the far more modest Hong Kong Open, where Miguel Angel Jimenez will be defending his title and hoping to raise his own record of oldest winner on the European PGA Tour.

Note that the Nedbank Golf Challenge has been running for years, but because this is the first year that it has been co-sanctioned by the European PGA Tour, there is no course form on Golf Predictor. Keep this in mind when perusing the predictions.

Apologies for the late posting. It was supposed to have been published on Monday.

2013 - Week 47 Winner

Defending champion Charl Schwartzel (ranked 1st by Golf Predictor) won the Alfred Dunhill Championship on the European PGA Tour. The 29 year old South African continued his hot streak at Leopard Creek, taking his third title to go with his four runner up finishes there. Schwartzel finished went the last 64 holes without a bogey to win by "only" four shots this year (it was twelve shots last year!). Despite having the winner, we had only seven of the top sixteen plus ties (7/22) in total.

2013 - Week 47 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Alfred Dunhill Championship (European PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. Local hero Charl Schwartzel is leading a strong South African contingent and as usual there isn't much by way of international competition. In fact, England's Ross Fisher is the only one of the five members of the world's top hundred in the field not from Southern Africa.

2013 - Week 46 Winner

Morten Orum Madsen (ranked 21st by Golf Predictor) won the South African Open on the European PGA Tour. The 25 year old Dane became the second Scandinavian winner of the event in a row, securing his first tour title by two shots over two home golfers, Jbe Krugar and 2011 champion Hennie Otto. Defending champion and 2013 Race to Dubai winner Henrik Stenson had to pull out prior to the event with a wrist injury. Our top ranked golfer, another home favourite Charl Schwartzel, unexpectedly squandered his third round lead and finished in tied 4th place. Overall, we had seven of the top seventeen plus ties (7/21) in total.

New Nine Holes at Carne Golf Club - Part Deux

This is a follow-up to my previous article about my local course in Carne, near Belmullet in Co. Mayo, Ireland. Therefore, this post hasn't anything to do with Golf Predictor either! On another trip home last weekend, I got the opportunity to walk the new nine holes, this time in the correct order and with the greens complete. These new "Kilmore" nine holes have been open for a few months now to generally rave reviews and I jumped at the opportunity to accompany my uncle as he pitted his wits against the imposing layout and the elements. The weather was dry for a change, but it was extremely windy, with a gale blowing mostly from left to right on the early holes.

Overall, the layout is very challenging for the high and low handicapper alike. The former will spend a lot of time searching for (and losing!) golf balls in the thick grass up on huge dunes and down in deep depressions. The latter will have to use all their course management skills to find the right angle into the right section of undulating greens in the usual windy conditions. Compared to the existing eighteen holes, I would say the terrain is broadly similar to the back nine, with slightly higher dunes perhaps and much more undulating greens. Although very new, the greens are in surprisingly good condition, except for two near the end which were a little patchy.

The first new hole is a par five and it will be a challenge to find the putting surface with a wood/long iron/hybrid, protected as it is on almost every side (and especially the front left by a large depression):

Looking towards the first green (I'm a shadow of my current self!)

The par three second looks great from the tee, with the green nestled just to the left of large dune:

Second hole from the tee.

The second sports a large undulating green with a slope from back to front and a huge natural sand dune/bunker to right of the putting surface:

The undulating second green with adjacent large sandbank

The third hole is a lovely looking downhill par four. This time the green is nestled to the right of a large dune:

The third hole with my uncle just after he had lost another ball!

The fourth hole is an imposing par three with an elevated green:

The par three fourth hole with the wild Atlantic in the background.

The par five fifth hole is the one that had the large dune splitting the fairway in my previous post. However, since that time, the area to the right of the mound has been let grow, leaving left as your only option.

The par five fifth hole from the tee

Your second shot will be blind around that large central dune and the hole veers slightly uphill to the green:

Fifth fairway with central dune centre right (& otter droppings in foreground!)

The sixth hole is an uphill straight par four:

Sixth hole from the tee

This is another hole with an undulating green:

The sixth green

The seventh hole is another nice par three, with short being your only safe bale out option:

Seventh hole from the tee. The green is straight ahead and that's my uncle's jacket in bottom right!

The penultimate hole is a challenging par four to a raised undulating green:

The eighth green from the fairway

This eighth green was one of the patchy ones, but this will improve with time. The final hole has you heading back towards the clubhouse with a drive to a very undulating fairway:

Ninth hole from just above the yellow tee with the clubhouse in the back left.

Overall, I was very impressed with the new Kilmore nine holes. They offer a strong physical and mental challenge to golfers of all levels and when they mature in a year or two, the twenty seven holes at Carne will offer as good a test of links golf as you will find anywhere. In addition, the views from some of the elevated tees are impressive, with panoramic views of the wild Atlantic and associated islands in one direction and Blacksod Bay and Achill Island in the other. So, if you're looking for an exhilarating links golf experience, you now have twenty seven great reasons to make the trek up to Carne.

That's my bit done for local tourism!

2013 - Week 46 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the South African Open (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. Although the 2013 European PGA Tour season is over, the 2014 season starts again straight away! As Golf Predictor uses the GP Season (calendar year) to try and maintain some sort of order in the scheduling chaos across both major tours, we're still in the 2013 GP Season!

2013 - Week 45 Winners

Henrik Stenson (ranked 1st by Golf Predictor) won the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai on the European PGA Tour. The 37 year old Swede capped off a remarkable second half of the season with a majestic performance to clinch the Race to Dubai. Stenson gave a golf master class to win by six shots on a record score of -25, helped by a tap-in eagle at the last after a tremendous approach. Stenson became the first winner of the Challenge Tour to win the Race to Dubai and the first golfer to win both it and the FedEx Cup in the same season. His bank manager must be ecstatic! Overall, including the winner, we had eleven of the top fourteen plus ties (11/16). That's an impressive ending to the season by Golf Predictor also!

Harris English (ranked 4th by Golf Predictor) won the OHL Classic at Mayakoba on the US PGA Tour. The 24 year old American won his second tour title with an impressive final day performance in Mexico. Our top ranked player, Ryan Moore, finished in tied 23rd and in an event where many of the bigger names did not perform, we had five of the top sixteen plus ties (5/22).

2013 - Week 45 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions/statistics for this week, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (European PGA Tour) and the OHL Classic at Mayakoba (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. It's the last event of the 2013 season (but not the year!) on the European PGA Tour and the money race has heated up in the past few weeks with Henrik Stenson barely hanging on to the lead. Meanwhile, it's the last event of the year (but not the season!) on the US Tour, but despite its new slot in the schedule, there is still a second string line up for the Mexican tournament. That, coupled with the forecast high winds and rain makes it a difficult event to predict.

2013 - Week 44 Winners

Victor Dubuisson (ranked 22nd by Golf Predictor) won the inaugural Turkish Airlines Open pres. by Ministry of Tourism & Culture on the European PGA Tour. The 23 year old Frenchman sealed an impressive maiden victory with a closing birdie to win by two shots over Jamie Donaldson. Our top ranked player, Tiger Woods, finished strongly for tied 3rd and we had seven of the top fifteen plus ties (7/17).

Chris Kirk (ranked 7th by Golf Predictor) won The McGladrey Classic on the US PGA Tour. The 28 year old American won his second PGA Tour title in a final day tussle with Briny Baird. After Kirk birdied the penultimate hole to draw level, he secured the title with a closing par when his nearest opponent found water from a fairway bunker. I had tipped and backed Kirk at 40/1 each way, so I was happy that he came through for my second such win in successive weeks! Our top ranked player, Matt Kuchar, finished in 7th and we had seven of the top sixteen plus ties (7/19) overall.

2013 - Week 44 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Turkish Airlines Open pres. by Ministry of Tourism & Culture (European PGA Tour) and The McGladrey Classic (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. The European Tour heads to Turkey for the first time for this new big money Final Series event and Tiger Woods has been "persuaded" to take part! Meanwhile, a few more current big names than normal are teeing it up in Georgia, thanks no doubt to its new status and position near the start of the new wraparound season.

Minor Enhancement to SLC Table on Prediction Page

New course yardage/par information on SLC table pop-up

A minor enhancement has been made to the main Prediction page for each golfer on Golf Predictor. As shown in the screenshot above, you can now see the course length and par on the Similar Length Course Results table. This is an obvious way to make this table a little more useful and Golf Predictor a little better!


Note: You may have to refresh a page in your browser, if you recently viewed a Prediction page for a particular golfer.

2013 - Week 43 Winner

Dustin Johnson (ranked 18th by Golf Predictor) won the WGC - HSBC Champions on the European/US PGA Tour. The big hitting American played some great golf (despite the occasional double bogey!) to win with an impressive -24 total in Shanghai. I had tipped and backed Johnson at 40/1 each way, so I was happy that he held on to his three shot cushion after the third round! However, he still needed a strong finish to hold off defending champion Ian Poulter, who had actually led by one with six holes to play. Our top ranked player, Phil Mickelson, showed signs of his swing coming back and finished in 14th place. Overall, we had eleven of the top eighteen plus ties (11/19) in total.

2013 - Week 43 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the WGC - HSBC Champions (European/US PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. Just the one tournament this week and even though some of the bigger stars aren't playing (e.g. Tiger Woods, who couldn't hang around after his Chinese junket with Rory McIlroy!), there is still a strong field for the last WGC of the season in China. While Phil Mickelson has the best overall statistics, it should be noted that he himself has been very candid this past week about the current poor shape of his long game.

2013 - Week 42 Winners

Gonzalo Fdez-Castono (ranked 19th by Golf Predictor) won the BMW Masters pres. by SRE Group on the European PGA Tour. The 33 year old Spaniard won his seventh tour event and the biggest of his career in Shanghai. Despite a nervy final hole which he double bogeyed, Fdez-Castano secured victory courtesy of the three shot cushion he brought to the final hole. That lead in turn was thanks to what turned out to be a vital chip-in for birdie on the penultimate hole. Our top ranked player, Henrik Stenson, was battling an injury and finished in tied 34th. Overall, we had nine of the top seventeen plus ties (9/23) in total. 

Ryan Moore (ranked 11th by Golf Predictor) won the CIMB Classic on the US PGA Tour. The 30 year old American won at the first extra hole of a Monday play-off with Gary Woodland after the pair had finished tied on -14 in the rain delayed Malaysia event. Our top ranked player, Phil Mickelson, battled with his swing all week, but still managed to finish in tied 19th. Overall, we had eight of the top sixteen plus ties (8/18). 

2013 - Week 42 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the BMW Masters pres. by SRE Group (European PGA Tour) and the CIMB Classic (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. Both major tours are in Asia this week, but that isn't where the similarities stop. The CIMB Classic is moving to Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, the home of the Maybank Malaysian Open on the European Tour for the past few years. I'm not sure if this is the first time a course has hosted different events on both tours in the same year, but I don't recall it happening before. This doesn't help predictions however, as most of the field is from the US Tour. There are a handful of lesser lights in the field with course form from the European event, but they are very unlikely to feature at the top end of the leaderboard!

2013 - Week 41 Winners

Jin Jeong (ranked 87th by Golf Predictor) won the ISPS HANDA Perth International on the European PGA Tour. The 23 year old Korean overcame a nightmare opening four putt double bogey in the final round to secure his maiden tour title in a play-off with Ross Fisher. Our top ranked player, Dustin Johnson, finished in tied 12th and we had ten of the top eighteen plus ties (10/27) overall. 

Web Simpson (ranked 3rd by Golf Predictor) won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on the US PGA Tour. The 28 year old American won his first tour title since his US Open triumph sixteen months ago. Starting with a four shot cushion on the final day, Simpson got off to a fast start and eased to a six shot victory. Our top ranked player, Zach Johnson, finished in 40th and we had only six of the top fifteen plus ties (6/22) overall.

2013 - Week 41 Predictions/Statistics Updated (US Tour)

The predictions for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (US PGA Tour) have had to be updated on Golf Predictor. This was due to yet another name change for the event, which pre-2008 awkwardly enough used to be called the Frys.com Open, the same name as a different event currently on the US PGA Tour (last week's tournament)! This special case (and pain in the neck!) has to be handled by the system and I forgot it earlier in light of the new name for the event. Since Justin Timberlake's name was removed from the title this year, it wasn't picked up as this special case when I generated the predictions earlier. However, I noticed the mistake with the tournament history statistics immediately while looking at prediction pages for several golfers.

I have now fixed the problem and the tournament history has been recalculated correctly. You may have to reload any pages you might have viewed before the update and I apologise for any inconvenience caused.

2013 - Week 41 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the ISPS HANDA Perth International (European PGA Tour) and the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. Quite a few players are making the long trek from Portugal to Perth to join the other (mostly local) competitors. Along with the journeymen desperate to retain their playing rights for next year, two Americans are also competing in Perth en route to the upcoming events in Asia. Meanwhile, Justin Timberlake's name has been removed from the Las Vegas event, which like the tournament last week, doesn't have a very strong field.

2013 - Week 40 Winners

David Lynn (ranked 13th by Golf Predictor) won the Portugal Masters on the European PGA Tour. The 39 year old Englishman gave himself a fortieth birthday present a week early by securing his first tour title since 2004. Lynn stormed home in 63 (-8) to win his second title by one shot and make me very happy! I had tipped and backed him at 66/1 each way, but wasn't too optimistic after his poor third round! Our top ranked player, Matteo Manassero, missed the cut in disappointing fashion, but we had eleven of the top seventeen plus ties (11/21) in total. 

Jimmy Walker (ranked 9th by Golf Predictor) won the Frys.com Open on the US PGA Tour. The 34 year old American won his first tour title at the 188th attempt as overnight leader Brooks Koepka faded down the stretch. Our top ranked player, Hideki Matsuyana, finished in tied 3th and in a tournament traditionally hard to predict (due to the relatively poor field), we had only three of the top twelve plus ties (3/15).

2013 - Week 40 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Frys.com Open (US PGA Tour) and the Portugal Masters (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. It may be the first event of the new trans-year US PGA Tour season, but none of the big guns will be getting their 2013/14 campaigns off to a flying start. Japan's Hideki Matsuyama (30) is the highest ranked player in the field in California. The field in Portugal is similarly unimpressive, where Ireland's Shane Lowry will try to win again, this time without my on-course support!!

2013 - Week 39 Winner

David Howell (ranked 23rd by Golf Predictor) won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the European PGA Tour. The 38 year old Englishman won his first tour title in seven years with a play-off victory over Peter Uihlein in Scotland. Our top ranked player, Charl Schwartzel, finished in tied 7th and we had five of the top seventeen plus ties (5/19).

There was no event on the US PGA Tour this week as it is the new short close season between the old 2013 calendar season and the new 2013/14 season.

No Predictions Next Week

As this is the new US PGA Tour close season and the only events on next week are team events (Presidents Cup and Seve Trophy), there will no predictions next week on Golf Predictor. The site is designed for individual stroke play events (although I do crank out predictions for the match play and Stableford events on the two major tours) and is of no real use for team events. Therefore, it will be a rare week off for me in the Golf Predictor engine room!

Note that the results for this week (the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the European PGA Tour) will be late in being inputted into the system as I shall be enjoying my week of freedom! I will be back in plenty of time for the following week, which marks the start of the new 2013/14 US PGA Tour season.

2013 - Week 39 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (European PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. There is no event on the US PGA Tour this week as it is the new short close season between the old 2013 calendar based season and the new 2013/14 season. The European PGA Tour rolls on though, but there isn't the usual strong line-up in Scotland. Only eight of the top fifty in the world (and only one of the top twenty) are teeing it up with the celebrities this year on the three links courses used in the event.

2013 - Week 38 Winners

Julien Quesne (ranked 40th by Golf Predictor) won the 70° Italian Open Lindt on the European PGA Tour. The 33 year old Frenchman won his second tour title after storming home in 31 shots and setting a clubhouse target that wasn't caught. Our top ranked player, local favourite Matteo Manassero, finished in tied 42nd and in a difficult to predict tournament, we had five of the top sixteen plus ties in total (5/22). 

Henrik Stenson (ranked 18th by Golf Predictor) won The Tour Championship by Coca-Cola on the US PGA Tour. The 37 year old Swede capped a great few months by leading from start to finish and banking the FedEx Cup jackpot with his fourth US PGA Tour victory. Our top ranked player, Tiger Woods, found it hard going this week and finished in tied 22nd. Overall, we had twelve of the top fourteen plus ties (12/17) in the restricted field event. 

Custom Predictions now on Golf Predictor!

New Custom Predictions page showing sliders with random weights applied to 2013 BMW Championship

GP video tutorial on this new page

I am excited to announce the addition of a useful new 'Custom Prediction Rankings' page to Golf Predictor. As can be glimpsed in the screenshot above, this new page is similar to the existing 'Prediction Rankings' page and is available from the same 'Predictions' menu in the Member section. However, while the 'Prediction Rankings' page shows the tournament field sorted by GP Rank (as calculated by the GP prediction algorithm), this new page contains sliders which allow you to adjust the different parameter weightings and re-rank the field as you see fit. I have had the idea for this page on the back burner for some time and after a member suggested it earlier this year, I finally got around to implementing it. Some notes on this new page:

1. Simply adjust the weighting sliders as desired (subject to point two below) and press the 'Rank' button to re-rank the field.
2. The combined values of all the weighting sliders must add up to 100 or you will not be allowed to proceed. There is a colour coded 'Total' label under the sliders which shows you the running total. This 'Total' label is black when zero, green when 100 and red besides.
3. If you would prefer, you can bypass the sliders and input values directly into the text boxes underneath them. Note that you should only enter numbers between 0-100 into these boxes. There is validation on these boxes to ignore text and correct numbers that are out of this range.
4. The parameters available to adjust are season history, last five events history, course history, tournament history, last 12 similar events history, similar length course history, world ranking similar weather history and season scoring average.
5. You can not reverse engineer the GP algorithm using this page, which just uses the simple averages of the above mentioned statistics (where applicable). While the "top secret" GP algorithm is much more complicated (and therefore accurate), this page should still prove very useful.
6. Because the simple averages are used, you may find golfers who have played only one matching event ranking higher than expected. Use the pop-up text over a golfer's first name to determine whether to discard them from your analysis or not. This pop-up text will tell you how many tournaments the golfer played in each applicable category and is shown above for Tiger Woods.
7. It proved very difficult to find sliders that work on every browser. I have tested this page on the latest versions of FireFox, Chrome, Safari and Opera, I have also tested it on IE7, IE8, IE9 and IE10. I had to try a couple of different sliders before settling on the jQuery ones shown above. These proved to be the most compatible with the different browsers, but they do not look as well on IE7 (in particular) or IE8. They still work, but they are not rendered as well as in the more modern browsers. If you're still using these versions of IE, you should really upgrade to a later (and "less bad"!) version!
8. Your custom rankings are just displayed on this page and not saved. This means that if you were to click on a  link as usual (e.g. to a golfer prediction page) and return to this page via the browser's Back button, your custom rankings will be lost. Because of this, the golfer prediction links on this page open up in a new browser window. If you want to return to this page, I recommend right-clicking on any other link (e.g. the tournament page link) and opening the page in a new tab/window.
9. You can only rank the predictions for tournaments with no results in the system (i.e. the current week's event(s) before the results are inputted). This is because this new functionality is relatively computationally intensive and not to be "wasted" on old tournaments! The 'Rank' button will therefore be disabled for completed tournaments.

Just another way to make Golf Predictor even better! This new page is a terrific addition to the site and should greatly assist you in analysing the field for an event. You will no longer limited to Golf Predictor's (albeit more accurate) rankings - you can create your own using your own judgement. The screenshot above shows custom predictions for the 2013 BMW Championship (US PGA Tour FedEx Cup series) with some random weightings applied.

As this is a premium feature (and computationally intensive) which will expose golfers outside those ranked 11-25 by the GP algorithm, only subscribers can re-rank the field. Non-subscribers can access the page, but the 'Rank' button will be disabled. So, sign up today and reap the full benefits of Golf Predictor, the premium professional golf statistics site.

2013 - Week 38 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions for this week, The Tour Championship by Coca-Cola (US PGA Tour) and the 70° Italian Open Lindt (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. Only the top thirty in the FedEx Cup rankings are playing in the US season finale this week, but what a field that is! While most of the world's top thirty will be playing for big money in Atlanta, European journeymen will be teeing it up in Italy. Two home golfers have the highest world ranking in the event, which has moved to a new course in Turin.

2013 - Week 37 Winners

Joost Luiten (ranked 5th by Golf Predictor) won the the KLM Open on the European PGA Tour. There were jubilant scenes as the home favourite secured the title in difficult conditions. Luiten defeated veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez at the second extra hole after the duo finished locked on -12 after 72 holes. Our top ranked player, Matteo Manassero, finished in tied 26th and we had six of the top sixteen plus ties (6/21)*.

On the US Tour, Zach Johnson (ranked 12th by Golf Predictor) won the third event of the FedEx Cup play-offs, the rain delayed BMW Championship. The 37 year old American finished impressively with two birdies in his last three holes to win by two from Nick Watney. Despite shooting just the sixth ever 59 in US PGA Tour history in difficult conditions on Friday, Jim Furyk failed to convert a third round lead into a victory for the sixth time in a row and had to settle for third place. It was an exciting event with the thirty to qualify for the Tour Championship changing many times during the final day. Our top ranked player, Tiger Woods, finished in tied 11th and we had ten of the top eighteen plus ties (10/22).


*Due to non-starters/non-finishers, De La Riva gets promoted to the top 21 in the GP rankings.

2013 - Week 38 Predictions/Statistics Delay

Due to the weather delay at the BMW Championship, which is now not finishing until today (Monday), the predictions for this week will not be available until tomorrow. The Tour Championship by Coca-Cola and 70° Open D'Italia Lindt statistics can not be generated until the final result of the third FedEx Cup event is known and the latest world rankings are available.

I will of course update Golf Predictor and generate the predictions/statistics as soon as possible.

2013 - Week 37 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions/stats for this week, the BMW Championship (US PGA Tour) and the KLM Open (European PGA Tour) are now available on Golf Predictor. It's the third leg of the FedEx Cup play-offs in the US this week and after the week off, the pressure will be on to qualify for the lucrative Tour Championship next week. Not many big names at the KLM Open this year, where only two of the top fifty* in the world are teeing it up in the event.


*To be fair, the world number 51 is also playing!

2013 - Week 36 Winner

Thomas Bjorn (ranked 17th by Golf Predictor) won the Omega European Masters on the European PGA Tour. The 42 year old Dane won his fourteenth tour title with a play-off victory over Craig Lee in the scenic (but foggy!) Swiss mountains. The Scot can consider himself somewhat unlucky, having shaved the hole at the last in regulation for what would have been a winning birdie. He also only had one bogey in his final 54 holes, but that counted for nothing when Bjorn stroked in the winning birdie putt at the first extra hole. Our top ranked player, Jamie Donaldson, missed the cut, but we had seven of the top fifteen plus ties (7/19) in total. There was no event on the US PGA Tour this week.

2013 - Week 36 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the Omega European Masters (European PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. The FedEx Cup series takes a break this week, so there is no event on the US PGA Tour. As all the big names are competing in the season finale in America, it leaves the usual relatively weak field in Switzerland. While none of the top thirty in the world are competing, Matteo Manassero is the next best thing, at 31 in the rankings!

2013 - Week 35 Winners

Gregory Bourdy (ranked 41st by Golf Predictor) won the ISPS Handa Wales Open on the European PGA Tour. The 31 year old Frenchman won his fourth European PGA Tour event with a brilliant finish. After bogeying thirteen and fourteen in the challenging conditions, Bourdy birdied the three final holes to deny Peter Uihlein and get his Ryder Cup qualification bid off to a great start. Our top ranked player, Francesco Molinari, missed the cut, but we had nine of the top eighteen plus ties in total (9/25)*.

Henrik Stenson (ranked 17th by Golf Predictor) won the Deutsche Bank Championship on the US PGA Tour. The 37 year old Swede capped his consistent season by finally securing the win he deserved. Stenson won by two shots to overtake Tiger Woods at the top of the FedEx rankings. Woods was our top ranked player, but he never really featured and  finished in tied 65th. Overall, we had eight of the top sixteen plus ties (8/19).


*Non finishes promote de la Riva into the top 25 in the GP rankings.

2013 - Week 36 Predictions/Statistics Delay

As usual for the Labor Day holiday in the US, the Deutsche Bank Championship is not finishing until today (Monday). Because of this, the predictions/stats for the Omega European Masters this week will not be available until tomorrow, when the final result of the second FedEx Cup event is known and the latest world rankings are available.

I will of course update Golf Predictor and generate the predictions/statistics as soon as possible.

2013 - Week 35 Predictions/Statistics Online

The predictions and statistics for this week, the ISPS Handa Wales Open (European PGA Tour) and the Deutsche Bank Championship (US PGA Tour), are now available on Golf Predictor. The top twenty seven in the world are playing in Boston this week which is impressive, even if Tiger Woods has to pull out. Consequently, the field in Wales is not very strong, as is usually the case. However, as it marks the beginning of the 2014 European Ryder Cup qualification process. a lot of the lesser lights will be looking to take advantage and jump start their bid for a place on the team.

2013 - Week 34 Winners

Tommy Fleetwood  (ranked 39th by Golf Predictor) won the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles on the European PGA Tour. The 22 year old Englishman built on his recent promise by landing his maiden title in a play-off. Fleetwood prevailed at the first extra hole after finishing tied with Ricardo Gonzales and Stephan Gallacher, who both had calamities in their final round. Our top ranked player, Francesco Molinari, finished in tied 42nd and we had nine of the top seventeen plus ties (9/22) in total. 

Adam Scott (ranked 3rd by Golf Predictor) won The Barclays on the US PGA Tour. The 33 year old Australian's season just got even better with victory in the first FedEx Cup play-off event. Mind you, Scott got a lot of help from the field which seemed to go out of its way to drop shots after he posted his winning score. Our top ranked player, Tiger Woods, finished in tied second and did battle back from a bad back spasm to come within an inch of forcing a play-off. Overall, we had nine of the top nineteen plus ties (9/24).

Why I got rid of my New Bookmaker (William Hill)

Recently, I waxed lyrical about my new my new bookmaker (William Hill). Unfortunately, the love affair hasn't lasted very long! As I wrote a post promoting William Hill, I couldn't in good conscience fail to update you all with my less than satisfactory experience with them this past week or so.

Things went swimmingly well in the first week, when I lost my bet! However, that changed when I won a dead heat place last Sunday with the free matched bet that I received for signing up. I had €10 each way on Zach Johnson at 16/1 for the Wyndham Championship and I was happy to see that he ended up in a three way tie for 5th (the last of the places that my former new bookie was paying out on). However, my happiness was dispelled pretty quickly when I checked my account the following day and found it credited with a paltry €6.67. Even if this was won with a free bet, which doesn't return the original stake (somewhat tight, but fair enough as they say it up front), it was half of the approximately €13.34 that I was expecting.

Now, I've won on dead heats with my other bookie and they calculate the return by dividing the initial stake by the number of dead heat finishers and applying the full odds to that. In this case it would be:

((10/3)*4/1)+ 10/3 = €16.67

where 4/1 is a quarter of the odds for the place and the second 10/3 is my initial (dead heat adjusted) stake returned. This of course reduces their payouts by reducing the amount of your original stake that they have to return. This seems to be the industry standard and is in the dead heat betting rules for William Hill also. I've checked this on a popular golf betting forum, where knowledgeable contributors backed up my understanding. So far so good.

However, despite their own dead heat betting rules which clearly state they do the same, William Hill has calculated the win as:

 ((10* 4/1)+10)/3 = €16.67

which is the same as before, but it retains the original stake of €10. As this was won with a free bet, they deduct the entire €10 stake from the winnings to leave €6.67. Using the dead heat rule as I understand it and the first calculation above, I should have lost €3.33 from the €16.67, leaving €13.34. As I could not see anything which altered the dead heat rule for free bets, I was perplexed by this payout. This led me to contact them for an explanation, which was an extremely frustrating experience, to say the least.

First I live chatted with a couple of customer service agents and then I had an increasingly frustrating and almost comical lengthy email exchange (see below for transcript) with the various agents manning the support email line, where they consistently avoided my questions/points and stuck religiously to a stock answer (that was obviously at odds with their own rules). It was clear to me that they were ignorant of the dead heat rule and the correct calculation and steadfastly opposed to countenancing a possible error in their system or admitting to a deliberate miscalculation.

Clearly, this isn't about the small amount money, but the principle! Anyone can make a mistake and if they investigated it properly, said there was an error in their systems and apologised, all would have been perfectly fine. Ditto if they gave me a valid reason for retaining the entire €10 stake from the winnings. Instead, the customer service seemed clueless and operate with a set series of useless replies that were obviously designed merely to clear support calls (see transcript below). Instead of finding out if could there be an error, they repeatedly provided useless information, such as the rules for horse racing betting. They even give me a bet calculator link that I had already used (and quoted in a previous mail) to prove my own point. In all my years, I have never seen such useless customer service.

Assuming I am correct, either there is an error in their systems and their customer service is woefully incompetent or they wilfully adjusted the formula to minimise the payout. I can not in good faith recommend William Hill in either case (especially the latter) and I would urge you to take your on-line business elsewhere. 

Even if I turn out to be completely wrong, I can not be a customer of a company that supports paying customers so poorly. I'm sticking with my original bookmaker for the time being. Their prices may not as good sometimes, but their customer service is excellent and they have never pulled a stroke like this in the two years I have been with them.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Slightly edited (mainly for typos) transcript of most of my electronic correspondence with what passes for Customer Support in William Hill. Their contributions are in red and my increasingly frustrated replies are in green:

(Please read from the bottom up. I gave up after this final mail (which I asked them not to send!), which once again missed the point completely, confused the issue further and referred me yet again to horse racing betting rules).

Hi Aidan,

Thank you for your e-mail and we apologize for the delay.

Upon checking your account, we have checked your transaction details as requested and note that it has been settled correctly with returns of £6.67 credited to your account.

Your selection Zach Johnson was involved in a dead heat with Matt Every for the Wyndham Championship. In the event of a dead heat your stake is divided by the number of selections involved in this case your stake is £20.00, so your wager becomes £20 with the odds of 16/1 unfortunately your tied with Matt
Every and you used a free bet of £20 (free bets are not paid out in the total winnings) thus returning you a total of £6.67.

For a better review of our free bets and horse racing rules kindly click on the links below:
https://williamhill-lang.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/5652/session/L3RpbWUvMTM3NzIyNDA3OC9zaWQvV3FBQTZzeWw%3D/#4
https://williamhill-lang.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8339/kw/horse%20racing%20rules

We hope this answers your query. If we can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us.

With regards,

Al

Customer Services
William Hill Online

Thank you one again for outdoing your usual useless response.

Once again you have completely ignored my point with a stock answer that
appears to be blatantly wrong. Thank you for adding further confusion to
the mix though by finally acknowledging the "unit stake" of 3.33. By your
comment, this is applied to the bet apparently, but not to the original
stake returned which is magically back up to the original stake (10).
Conveniently for you, you don't have to return this as it's the free bet
component.

Please do not reply to this email as you are just infuriating me.

--
Rgds,

Aidan

On 21 August 2013 18:10, support@willhill.com wrote:

Hi Aidan,

Thank you for your email.

We apologise for any inconvenience that this may have caused you. Please be informed that the Dead Heat rules was applied to your bet, and this was settled correctly. This was already explained to you on the previous email that you have received.

Here is the guide on how to calculate your bet:
Please select single each way. Please note that your unit stake should be
10 only as it is divided into 2 for place part and win part.
Please enter placed as the status of the bet at 16/1 odds to 1/4 place.
After you enter calculate, the returns total returns is £50.00
£50.00 divided by the number of winning selections for placed 5th which is
3 = £16.67
£16.67 minus the stake = £6.67

Your unit stake will only be 3.33 since only 1/3 of the unit stake will be calculated due to the Dead Heat on Place 5. You may use the below free bet calculator to calculate your returns:

http://www.free-bet-calculator.co.uk/

We hope this answers your query. Should you have further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us via e-mail at support@willhill.com or via our Live Chat facility. We are here to assist you 24/7.

Kind regards,

A

Customer Services
William Hill Online
Thank you for yet another useless response.

I realise I am wasting my time, but here goes:

I agreed to the terms and conditions. It is you who are breaking them (by
not applying your dead heat rules as YOU STATE IN YOUR DEAD HEAT BETTING
RULE at
https://williamhill-lang.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/135/kw/DEAD%20HEAT/related/1).
That link you supplied relates to horse racing and is not pertinent to
golf. I already studied the golf betting rules (
https://williamhill-lang.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/7460/kw/DEAD%20HEAT)
and it referred to the dead heat rule (link above) which clearly divides
the stake by the number of players in the dead heat.

I apologise for a link that I supplied in a previous mail (
http://www.willhill-sportsbetting.com/golf), that on closer inspection
isn't a William Hill site at all (but obviously designed to fool people
that it is) ***NOTE - I now think this is a WH site!***. The fact that you did not spot this honest mistake tells me
you haven't investigated this matter properly and are content to fob me off
continuously. In any event, your real dead heat page says exactly the same
thing and this and my previous correspondence clearly shows you are
calculating the bet in a manner inconsistent with this (and every other
bookmaker I am aware of). However, you still steadfastly refuse to admit it.

I shall be taking my modest business elsewhere. It might be a small amount
of money, but it's a matter of principle. I would have thought WH to be an
honourable company, but apparently I was wrong. I have no interest to do
any business with a company that treats its customers in such a shoddy
manner.

Please do not respond for the sake of responding, especially if you totally
ignore my questions/concerns.

--
Rgds,

Aidan

On 21 August 2013 13:18, support@willhill.com wrote:


Hi Aidan,

Thank you for your email.

With regards to your concern about the Terms and Conditions, please be advised that this is the same Terms that you have agreed to when you have signed up for the account. In which concludes that you have agreed to the process of the settlement and the process that is done. You may read and take not of the rules on the help section of the website as provided on this link.

: https://williamhill-lang.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/9095

Should you have further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us via e-mail at support@willhill.com or via our Live Chat facility. We are here to assist you 24/7.

Best Regards,

P

Customer Service
William Hill Online

Hi,

Thank you for the reply which ignored my point completely and reiterated
your previous point about how you calculated the final amount.

My point was that this calculation that you applied is not the same as the
one in your terms and conditions or that used by other bookmakers. You
purposely divided by the dead heat number (3) at the very end (to the 50
due had the bet not been a dead heat) so as to maximise the free bet
component (10) in the final result, thereby reducing the amount due to me.
The dead heat number (3) should have been applied to the stake/free bet
component (10) first, giving 3.33. This is what I should have lost out of
the 16.67 (3.33 * 4/1 + dead heat original stake).

This is not my first dead heat bet and I know how they work. I shall not be
using WH any more and I will be updating my thousands of readers/followers
with new information after my previous positive blog article and social
media posts last week.

--
Rgds,

Aidan

On 21 August 2013 02:03, support@willhill.com wrote:


Hi Aidan,

Thank you for your e-mail.

We apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused you and for any delays in our response. In relation to your query, please be informed that you have placed your bet using free bet bonus. Free bet stakes are not returned as part of the settlement of successful free bets, as per terms.

Here is the guide on how to calculate your bet:
Please select single eachway. Please note that your unit stake should be
10 only as it is divided into 2 for place part and win part.
Please enter placed as the status of the bet at 16/1 odds to 1/4 place.
After you enter calculate, the returns total returns is £50.00
£50.00 divided by the number of winning selections for placed 5th which is
3 = £16.67
£16.67 minus the stake = £6.67

We hope this answers your query. Should you have further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us via e-mail at support@willhill.com or via our Live Chat facility. We are here to assist you 24/7.

With regards,

J

Customer Services
William Hill Online

Hi,

Thanks very much for the detailed reply. I now understand how you arrived at
that amount, which is exactly what I wanted to know.

My only issue now is that your method of calculation is at variance with
your own dead heat rules on http://www.willhill-sportsbetting.com/golf ,
which I referred to previously:

- For Place/Show/Top 4/Top 10 betting - when there is a dead heat where
the number of tied participants exceeds the places available for that
particular bet, the stake money/amount wagered is multiplied by the number
of places on offer but divided by the number of tied participants.
- The full odds are then paid to the divided stake, with the remainder
of the stake money being lost.
- Example - a 3 way tie for third on a top four bet would result in the
stake money /amount wagered being multiplied by 2 but divided by 3.

This clearly states that my stake money (10) should be multiplied by the
number of places (1) and divided by the number of dead heats (3) and the
full odds (1/4 of 16/1 = 4/1) applied to this. This gives the value I
quoted in my previous mail:

(€10*1)/3 =€3.33 = stake money
Full odds = 1/4 of 16/1 = 4/1

return = €3.33*4 = €13.32 (excluding original stake of €3.33, which was a
free bet).

I verified this amount with a couple of online bet calculators (e.g
http://www.free-bet-calculator.co.uk/) and tried to do the same on your
calculator. This seemed to be always the amount without a dead heat (50)
regardless of what dead heat options are selected and isn't very intuitive
to use unfortunately.

It appears to me that you have changed the calculation rules in order to
maximise the initial stake (free bet) in the final amount and reduce the
payout in this case. That is very disappointing. I had blogged and tweeted
recently to my many readers/followers very positively about WH, but I now
may have to overrule my first impressions.

--
Rgds,

Aidan


On 20 August 2013 10:02, support@willhill.com wrote:

>
> * Subject: William Hill Online* Hi Aidan,
>
> Good day!
>
> Firstly, we do apologise for the inconvenience this matter caused. We are
> writing with regard to your bet **Bet No.***. We have checked your
> transaction details as requested and note that it has been settled
> correctly with returns of £6.67 credited to your account.
>
> Your selection Zach Johnson was involved in a dead heat with Matt Every
> and Matt Jones for the Wyndham Championship - Tournament Winner. In the
> event of a dead heat your stake is divided by the number of selections
> involved.
>
> Here is the guide on how to calculate your bet:
> Please select single eachway. Please note that your unit stake should be
> 10 only as it is divided into 2 for place part and win part.
> Please enter placed as the status of the bet at 16/1 odds to 1/4 place.
> After you enter calculate, the returns total returns is £50.00
> £50.00 divided by the number of winning selections for placed 5th which is
> 3 = £16.67
> £16.67 minus the stake = £6.67 We can see that you have placed a free bet.
> Please note that Free Bet stake is not included in any winnings. The
> Estimated Return on the Bet Slip and the Bet Receipt indicate returns with
> stake.
>
> We can confirm that your bet has been settled correctly. You may click the
> link provided to work out on your bet:
> http://form.williamhill.com/betcalc/EN/calc.html . 
>
> We hope this answers your query. If we can be of any further assistance
> please do not hesitate to contact us.
>
> With regards,
>
> C
>
> Customer Services
> William Hill Online Hi Mae,
>
> Thanks for the email. Unfortunately, it doesn't address my issue. I asked
> for an explanation of how my bet (*** bet No ***) returned €6.67, no
> a
> blanket yes/no it is wrong or right. Since I have now asked both you and a
> colleague this question, I'm started to believe you do not know how to
> calculate dead heat bets either.
>
> From http://www.willhill-sportsbetting.com/golf
>
> - For Place/Show/Top 4/Top 10 betting - when there is a dead heat where
> the number of tied participants exceeds the places available for that
> particular bet, the stake money/amount wagered is multiplied by the number
> of places on offer but divided by the number of tied participants.
> - The full odds are then paid to the divided stake, with the remainder
> of the stake money being lost.
> - Example - a 3 way tie for third on a top four bet would result in the
> stake money /amount wagered being multiplied by 2 but divided by 3.
>
> I had €10 e/w (5 places) on Zach Johnson at 16/1. He finished T5th with 2
> other golfers. From your definition above,
>
> (€10*1)/3 =€3.33 = stake money
> Full odds = 1/4 of 16/1 = 4/1
>
> return = €3.33*4 = €13.32 (excluding original stake of €3.33, which was a
> free bet).
>
> Can you please point out where this calculation is wrong? I seem to be
> only
> getting 2/1 on the Zach Johnson bet as per the infoin my WH account:
>
> Patrick Reed (9/2) Y Jordan Spieth (4/1) (Place 2) John Huh (9/2)
> (Place 3) Brian Harman (20/1) (Place 3) Zach Johnson (2/1) (Place 5) Matt
> Jones (-) (Place 5) Matt Every (16/1) (Place 5) Scott Stallings (void)
>
> Why is Johnson at 2/1, not 4/1 and what is wrong with my calculation?
>
> Please respond to these specific questions.
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
>
> Aidan
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On 19 August 2013 10:00, support@willhill.com
> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Aidan,
>
> Good day!
>
> We have checked bet **Bet No.*** as requested and confirmed that it
> was settled correctly as you have placed the bet using £20 free bet. Please
> be advised that Free Bet stake is not included in any returns. The
> Estimated Return on the Bet Slip and the Bet Receipt indicate returns with
> stake.
>
> If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to email us.
> Alternatively, you may contact us through our Live Chat facility and we
> would be more than happy to discuss any issues or concerns that you have
> with our products and services.
>
> With regards,
>
> M
>