David Alcaro: The CHieF

Well, I survived the first round of caddying for Jimin Kang in the Brazil Cup, but it wasn’t so easy.  It rained on and off the entire day and the course was soaked, the sun did poke its head out for a total of two minutes.  It was tricky trying to deal with the caddying tasks, while having to hold an umbrella and trying to keep Jimin, myself and most importantly her clubs dry.  After the round my feet were two large prunes and my light grey sneakers were dark brown.  It was a tough scoring round for Jimin, although she hit the ball really well.  Lots of fairways (which was important with the course so water logged) and greens.  She just couldn’t get a put to drop.  Lots of tap in par putts.  I was very nervous, I didn’t want to screw her up at all and didn’t want to negatively effect her playing partners games as well.  I don’t think there was any issue as both of the other golfers were very nice as were their caddies.  Jimin ended up shooting a 1-over 73 and is 7 shots back of the lead.  I am really surprised how low the scores were as the leader is at -6 and the previous two Brazil Cups were won with a 2 round score of -6.   I hope that tomorrow will go better for Jimin and I won’t hinder her play or anyone elses.  Either way we will have fun tomorrow and hopefully will see some sunshine.

As for the Champions League Final, FC Barcelona proved to be the much better side.  I was hoping that Manchester United’s defense and goalkeeping would keep them in.  Edwin van der Sar didn’t have a great game and the Barcelona’s skillful players were incredible.  It was a tough beat, but an entertaining game.  It was a really fun experience watching the game (in HD) in the player’s lounge.  The game started after all of the players rounds and a lot of players and caddies stayed to watch the game.  There were about 30 or so watching with an incredible mix of nationalities.  There were Brazilians, Argentinians, Australians, Brits, Scots, Norwegians, Koreans, and a few Americans among others.  I don’t know the TV ratings were worldwide, but they had to be massive.

I am going to start with LPGA Brazil Cup as there won’t be a lot of drama with this pick.  In a field with world #2 Suzann Pettersen and #4 Cristie Kerr (coming off a win and 2nd respectively in the Sybase match play tournament) and the two previous Brazil Cup winners (Catriona Matthew and Meaghan Francella) I’m taking Jimin Kang (25-1  on Betfair) to win the LPGA Brazil Cup.  She is the 5th choice of the 30 ladies in the tournament.  In all my analysis I think her edge is in her caddy.   I think I will be able to keep her loose, but still focused and by giving little opinion she will be free to trust her own judgement.  Also, since I am volunteering I will pushing her to go for the win, the money difference between places doesn’t mean anything to me.  Sadly there has only been $31 matched on betfair.com for this tournament.  $20 on Karen Stupples, who is from England and $11 on Meaghan Francella.  Anyone out there with a betfair account get that number up and support Jimin.  I have had some luck picking South Korean golfers to win tournaments recently.

The average American sports fan does not understand how big the UEFA Champions League Final is.  It is the Super Bowl of European soccer and more watched world wide than the Super Bowl.  This year will blow any previous ratings numbers out of the water.  You have two of the world’s most popular clubs in Manchester United and FC Barcelona matching up.  With one team from the UK and one from Spain, those two countries numbers will be off the charts.  Both teams have loads of international stars as well.  There are key contributors from Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, France, South Korea and Mali among others.  As for the selection, I am taking Draw (+260 or 3.6 on Betfair) for the 90 minute result.  I expect to see a tight defensive game that won’t start out so pretty with both teams feeling each other out and afraid to go down a goal.  After a goal less first half, I expect to see each team get a goal (Javier Hernandez first for Man U, then Messi for Barcelona).  That will send us to extra time and then to penalties.  I am taking Manchester United (+180 or 2.8 on Betfair) to hoist the cup, keyed by a couple of stops by Edwin van der Sar who will be the Man of the Match.