Hong Kong Open

FINAL RESULT: 0-3; -3.00pts

Olazabal 8th
Jaidee 39th
Liang 19th

Another event that looked promising before the weekend when all three selections were in the top-10 with two rounds to play. But never looked like improving on that over the last two days.

Outright plays (1pt):

Jose Maria Olazabal to win 33/1 e.w. available generally
With five top-15 finishes in the last three months of the 2004 season, Ollie has been quietly improving his form without really challenging for a title. On this very short course were he will gladly not be playing the driver very often, he should be more of a title challenger and he did, in fact, win this title in 2001. A further top-10 finish last year shows that this course suits his game and with so many Europeans at very low odds, there looks to be better value with Olazabal.

Thongchai Jaidee to win 40/1 e.w. @ Coral
But there is little better value than 40/1 on Jaidee in Asia! He has played seven times on this Tour in the past year, winning three times and only once finishing outside the top-10. He rested last week after narrowly failing to reach the final stage of the PGA Tour Q-School and should be fresh for this event as he seeks to wrap up the Asian PGA Tour Money Title. With just one round over-par in twelve around this course, his odds should be much shorter.

Wen-Chong Liang to win 100/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes and Coral
Will also take 100/1 on Liang every time he plays in Asia! He finished strongly to end in 15th position last week, having finished 3rd and 4th in his previous two starts. He ranks inside the top-10 in scoring average on both the Asian PGA and Japan Tours and has played well on this course when a younger, inexperienced player. Now he is the top-ranked Chinese player in the World Rankings and a very good future is predicted for this young player.