Tipster: Stanley

Hong Kong Open

Matchup plays (1.5 units unless stated):

Michael Campbell to beat Thomas Bjorn -102 @ Five Dimes [3 units]
Opposing Bjorn who has made a point of avoiding playing in Asia outside Japan. While he has won twice in three visits to Japan, he has played in the rest of Asia only twice in the last five years, finishing 48th in last year's Hong Kong Open and missing the cut in the 1998 Johnnie Walker Classic. He may have won two weeks ago in Japan, but he obviously has his reasons for avoiding playing in this part of the world and so is opposed with at least two of the outright selections.
(also available at Victor Chandler, SkyBet and Bet365)

K.J. Choi to beat Thomas Bjorn -111 @ Paddy Power
While Campbell has finished in the top-10 in five of his last seven starts on Asian PGA Tour-sanctioned events, Choi has repeated that feat in four of his last five starts in Asian PGA Tour-sanctioned events, winning two of them. He is playying well and is comfortable playing in this climate.
(also available at Stan James)

Padraig Harrington to beat Thomas Bjorn -110 @ BlueSq [3 units]
Harrington is obviously very comfortable in this climate. He has played in eight Asian PGA Tour-sanctioned events since 1998 and finished inside the top-15 on every occasion. He closed the European Tour season in good style and was not too taxed by his performance in the Nedbank Challenge last week. He should at least continue his run of top-15 finishes.
(also available at Expekt)

Padraig Harrington to beat Darren Clarke +110 @ Five Dimes [3 units]
Clarke is in the same camp as Bjorn. He has played only twice in Asian PGA  Tour-sanctioned events since finishing 14th in the Johnnie Walker Classic in January 1996. He missed the cut in the 1999 Malaysian Open and finished 39th against a very weak field in the 1999 Macau Open. On a different continent, he would be a close match for Harrington, but not in South-East Asia.
(also available at BetandWin, Paddy Power and Bet365)

Barry Lane to beat Nobuhito Sato -111 @ BetandWin [3 units]
Similar angle here. Sato is making his debut on the Asian PGA Tour and has not really played very well on the Japan Tour for six months. Lane's form has not been much better, but he has plenty of experience in South-East Asia and on this course. He has made the cut in all five starts on this Tour in the last five years, including twice on this course, and he also finished 12th in this event on this course in 1997.

Barry Lane to beat Gary Emerson -115 @ Five Dimes [3 units]
Lane's record in this region is in stark contrast to Emerson - he has missed his last four cuts in Asian PGA Tour-sanctioned events. He did have two good events in October, but outside that purple patch he has not been a match for Lane and this has been accentuated in this region.

Jamie Spence to beat Gary Emerson -110 @ BlueSq
Spence did tie Emerson for 3rd place in the Turespana Mallorca Classic in October in one of Emerson's good weeks and finished only two shots behind in the other. At other times, Spence has been dominant in this matchup and also has good form on this course: both cuts made in his two previous appearances and an 11th place finish last year.

Jamie Kingston to beat Hennie Otto -118 @ Expekt [3 units]
Big contrast here as well in terms of experience of playing South-East Asia. Otto has played just once, finishing 39th in the 1999 Johnnie Walker Classic, while Kingston has been successful on the Asian PGA Tour for a number of years. His last two starts in Asian PGA Tour events have both resulted in 3rd place finishes and he has played in this event for the last four years, finishing 8th in 2000, so he also has an important edge in course experience.

Jarmo Sandelin to beat Hennie Otto -115 @ Intertops [3 units]
As a winner of the 2001 Asian Open - he also finished in the top-10 on this course that year - Sandelin can also claim an distant edge in terms of experience in the region and on the course. His form was not that good at the end of the European Tour season, but as he has shown in the past two years, he has played very well in this region at the end of the year despite a lacklustre finish in his European campaign.
(also available at BetandWin)

Final update: 3-6-0; -7.47 units

Campbell/Bjorn LOST by 2
Choi/Bjorn LOST by 5
Harrington/Bjorn WON by 4
Harrington/Clarke WON by 4
Lane/Sato LOST by 2
Lane/Emerson WON by 1
Spence/Emerson LOST by 6
Kingston/Otto LOST by 4
Sandelin/Otto LOST by 7

After a promising start when the first seven matchups were winning after the 1st round, it deteriorated rapidly. Bjorn began to play well and Lane and Spence both surrendered 54-hole leads over their opponents on the final day. Had looked a promising event, but turned out to be a heavy loss.