8th January 2024 (5pm)
Woke up in great spirits today after our 40/1 bet on Chris Kirk came in late last night. Kirk showed brilliant bottle, especially that 5 iron on the 17th to a few feet which gave him breathing room. It's public knowledge that Kirk struggled with his addiction to alcohol and subsequent depression and always great to see someone turn their life around like he has.
Over to the snooker and Ronnie O'Sullivan is another who's had his struggles but I decided to back him for the tournament at 4/1 before his opening match against Ding today and it was fairly plain sailing. For anyone that hasn't watched his documentary on Amazon Prime, it's well worth a watch and gives good insight into the mental battles he has daily. The fact he continuously deals with these 'demons' and is still an absolute genius on the table never fails to amaze me.
9th January 2024 (6pm)
The world of sports betting seems quite insignificant as I write this. As I arrived into reception of my day job this morning, paramedics were fighting to save someone's life. Once I got to my office, I learnt it was a colleague in my department and we waited patiently for further news. It was bad news and sadly he passed away, a stark reminder how short life is and you never know which day is your last, try enjoy every day folks.
10th January 2024 (6pm)
Still not really in the mood to be writing about betting, these things tend to knock me back a bit.
11th January 2024 (5pm)
The DP World Tour got underway this morning and Rory McIlroy has posted an incredible 62 to take control of the tournament. It's possible I would have said the same last year when he opened with a win in Dubai but I really think this is the year he will get another major, not that there's any betting value for him to do so. He is now free of his duties to the PGA Tour and he will be more focused and determined than ever. He also returns to Troon for the Open Championship where he last won a major in 2014!
12th January 2024 (5pm)
Well that was a horrible way to wake up. We backed Taylor Montgomery first round leader yesterday, with the morning starters seemingly having the calmer conditions to play in. He led the morning wave as I went to bed (no way could stay up until 3am - bloody Hawaii)! I then woke up today to Cameron Davis beating him by two shots, birdieing five of his last six holes! The worst bit about that was he badly let us down last week when backing him, golf eh.
13th January 2024 (1pm)
Woke up to another Hawaii robbery! This time our bet on Ben Griffin to shoot the lowest second round score at 80/1 looked nailed on. Kurt Kitayama then decides to drain a 40ft eagle putt to tie and half the winnings. Suppose a wins a win, but bloody hell!
Ronnie O'Sullivan is about to get underway in his semi final against Shaun Murphy. I'm on both of them from the start and planning on letting it ride whoever gets to the final, as I fancy either to beat Ali Carter or Mark Allen.
14th January 2024 (3pm)
What a finish to the Dubai Invitational, with Rory finding the water on 18 with a one shot lead and Fleetwood finishing birdie-birdie to sneak the win. Tommy traded around 30/1 on the 17th green and had a few quid on it optimistically and saved what was otherwise an underwhelming betting event dominated by the big boys. Tong Li finished strongly to grab us some Top 20 winnings and has to be on the radar at big prices given how he played. It was good to see Francesco Molinari back to his near best too, whilst it was impressive how the South African pair Thriston Lawrence and Zander Lombard kept pace today.
Over in the snooker, Ronnie is through to the final with a convincing display against Murphy. It's amazing how he can just click into gear, he was terrible against Barry Hawkins but no one was beating him yesterday! One more win Ronnie!
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