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Volvo Masters of Asia
Outright Plays (1 unit):
Wook-Soon Kang to win 25/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes
Did fancy Randhawa's chances this week, but single figure odds are too short for
someone saddled with the pressure of holding onto top-spot on the Asian PGA Tour
Order of Merit. Siding with three players that are very capable of securing a
place finish. Two solid performances in the co-sanctioned events with his 26th
place finish last week being the first time that Kang has finished outside the
top-15 in his last seven Asian PGA Tour events. He can also count three good
rounds on his previous visit to Kota Permai - his final round 78 saw him tumble
off the leaderboard - so a solid performance is expected this week.
Rick Gibson to win 25/1 e.w. @
Stan James
A similar story with Gibson. He had three good rounds on his previous visit to
Kota Permai, only to fade with a final round 75. But his performances in the
co-sanctioned events were much better: he finished 7th in the Asian Open and
11th in the Hong Kong Open. Having already secured one wire-to-wire victory on
this Tour earlier in the year (Philippine Open), the Canadian could yet secure a
top-3 finish on the 2002 Order of Merit.
Kevin Na to win 40/1 e.w. @ Paddy Power and SkyBet
This 19-year-old is one of Korea's best prospects. Coached by Butch Harmon, he
was ranked the #1 junior in the U.S. last year and has made an impressive start
to his professional career. He has played seven Asian PGA Tour events, finishing
in the top-10 in the first and then 49th and 26th in the last two co-sanctioned
events. No course form, but he is a future winner of the Asian PGA Order of Merit
if he does not move onto bigger events beforehand.
Matchup plays (1 unit):
Charlie Wi to beat Arjun Atwal -153 @ Five
Dimes
Both have travelled a great deal this year and their form has dipped after early
season wins. But this has been more dramatic for Atwal. Apart from his 11th
place finish in the Asian Open, his best finish on this Tour since he won in
February has been 42nd and he has missed four of seven cuts. Big price, but Wi
is easily the better player.
Kevin Na to beat Des Terblanche -130 @ Five
Dimes
Also siding with Na in the matchups as his run of top-10 finishes on this Tour
makes him dependable for these types of wagers. Terblanche has struggled outside
of Southern Africa this year and he has shown little sign of improvement
recently. In the last three weeks, he has broken par only twice in ten rounds.
Arjun Singh to beat Ted Oh -147 @ Five
Dimes
Oh has struggled to make cuts all year (10 from 19 starts) and while he has
secured two top-20 finishes in the last three weeks, but previous best finish
had been 37th back in February. Singh has been playing well recently only to
fade in the last round. He was in 6th position after two rounds of the
co-sanctioned Asian Open and 4th position after three rounds of the
co-sanctioned Hong Kong Open. He should be able to build on this performances
against much stronger fields and finish the year in style.
Mid-point update:
Wi/Atwal Trails by 9
Na/Terblanche Leads by 5
Singh/Oh Leads by 2
Kang 20th
Gibson 30th
Na 2nd
Decent start to the event with Wi's performance the only
disappointment. Na lies just one shot behind the leader who dropped two shots in
the last three holes, while Kang and Gibson are only four and five shots
respectively further back.
Final update:
Matchups: 2-0-1; +2.00 units
Wi/Atwal Tied (Push)
Na/Terblanche WON by 9
Singh/Oh WON by 3
Outrights: 1-2; +23.00 units
Kang 13th
Gibson 41st
Na 1st
A great end to the Asian PGA Tour season! Atwal obliged in the
matchups with an extremely poor 3rd round and Wi managed to stay with him in the
4th for a push, while Na proved that he is one of Korea's best prospects. Won't
find this price on the teenager again, so glad to take advantage this week.
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