2011 Valero Texas Open PGA Tour Preview

Golf (gctsports.blogspot.com) - Kuala Lumpur, 4 April 2011 – The 50th edition of the Malaysian Open will witness the most impressive field of champions that will compete from the 14-17 April at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. This year’s edition has received numerous entries from world renowned golfers and due to the overwhelming response, audiences are in for a treat as they watch the top players from both the European and Asian Tours battle it out for a cool USD2.5 million prize purse.

Entries for the Maybank Malaysian Open closed on the 31st of March 2011 and the tournament has received confirmation from four Major Champions; these are World No. 1 Martin Kaymer, 2004 Open Championship winner Todd Hamilton, 2010 Open Championship winner Louis Oosthuizen and 2005 US Open Championship winner Michael Campbell. Other names that have confirmed their participation this year include Matteo Manassero, John Parry, Andrew Dodt, Soren Kjeldsen, Pablo Martin, Rhys Davies, Thongchai Jaidee, Noh Seung-yul, and Marcus Fraser to name a few.

In addition to these, Maybank also announced the inclusion of four wildcard picks - Joakim Haeggman, Matthew Nixon and Alexandre Kaleka from The European Tour; and Asian Tour’s Boonchu Ruangkit – who will join the battle on the greens of the 50th Edition of the Malaysian Open.

“Golf has grown at a phenomenal rate in Malaysia over the past half century – and indeed since the historic 1999 Malaysian Open which was the first co-sanctioned tournament between The European Tour and the Asian Tour – so it is always with great pleasure that our Members return to this enchanting country to help further this development while testing their own games. The strength of the field which will assemble at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country in two weeks time is testament to the stature of the tournament and the eventual winner will join an illustrious Roll of Honour,” said George O’Grady CBE, Chief Executive of The European Tour.

There is a reason the PGA chose this tournament to follow the greatest golf event of the year, The Masters. The event does everything big and the fans come out in droves for this tournament. The event will be well attended and the fans will bring a different flavor to this distinctly unique PGA event.

Zach Johnson won the two previous Valero Texas Opens before Adam Scott took home the trophy in 2010. Johnson may not be the biggest the banger off the tee but Johnson is one of the most accurate PGA golfers off the tee. Another critical category in which Johnson excels is his ability to scramble after a poor shot.

One golfer that has fallen on hard times but has performed well in this event is Justin Leonard. He will have a chip on his shoulder since he did not qualify for The Masters and he will be a fun long shot to watch if he makes the cut. In online betting sports picks, look for the golf betting odds for this tournament.