Tipster: Stanley

Hong Kong Open

Outright plays (1.5 units):

K.J. Choi to win 11/1 e.w. @ BetDirect
Looks the pick of the favourites. In his last European Tour start, he won the German Masters; in his last Asian PGA Tour start he won the SK Telecom Open! In a similar fashion to 2002, he has finished 2003 in his best form of the season and it was probably only tiredness (seven events in eight week across two Tours) that caused a slightly faltering end to his PGA Tour season. He is now rested and can take advantage of the fact that he has played here in his lesser well-known days.

Michael Campbell to win 20/1 e.w. @ Stan James
With the prices generally 14-16/1 on Cambo, this is rather a large price. He is not in the top bracket of favourites, but he s just as capable of winning this event. His last 6 finishes on the European Tour read: 1st, 12th, 2nd, 8th, 11th and 7th and he does have a good record in Asian PGA Tour-sanctioned events. He shot all four rounds under 70 last year to finish 13th and will also be at an advantage in that he has not travelled greatly for this event. This is not a tiring end-of-season event for him, but the start of a three-week burst of competitive golf in the Southern Hemisphere.

Prayad Marksaeng to finish in the top-five 14/1 @ SkyBet
Marksaeng should hold no fears in this company either. In the co-sanctioned Singapore Masters earlier this year, he finished 3rd and in the co-sanctioned Malaysian Open last year, he finished 6th. He has also been competitive on the Japan Tour this year with a number of top-10 finishes, including the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament two weeks ago. His last victory was back in 2000, so even though the 100/1 with Coral is very tempting, it would appear more prudent to back the veteran in the top-five market only. He is still capable of a win in that market.

Final update: 0-3; -4.50 units

Choi 25th
Campbell 10th
Marksaeng 7th

Deserved better than a blank. Marksaeng had been the joint leader after 53 holes, but slowly slipped down the leaderboard until he finished one shot out of the place win at 14/1. That would have made a big difference on the weekly record!