Costa Rica Open

FINAL RESULT: 1-2; -0.50pts

Fernandez 2nd
Heath 60th
Monasterio 52nd

A tough one to take. Yet again Fernandez had the lead during the tournament, but this time it looked as though, having surrendered it on Sunday, he was gifted the tournament when Kyle Dobbs double-bogeyed the 17th hole. Fernandez was declared a two-shot champion ... but 30 minutes later the leaderboard was updated with Fernandez in 2nd place. Dobbs had taken a par at the 17th hole and defeated Fernandez in the playoff. That was cruel!

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt)

Sebastian Fernandez to win 16/1 e.w. @ SkyBet
Don't see any big standout prices other than Tim Conley who is 66/1, but there is a question mark over motivation with a 46-year-old golfer, so sticking with rather more predictable plays. Fernandez was a selection for both the events that he played at the end of last year and on both occasions he was the leader after the 1st and 2nd rounds. Only did enough over the weekend to finish 8th then 4th, but that is a sign of improvement and he does return to a course on which he won the 2003 Costa Rica Open. With that history, he should be more optimistic that he can hang on to the lead.

James Heath to win 20/1 e.w. @ SkyBet
A very exciting prospect who set many records when winning the Lytham Trophy last year at 18-under-par around Royal Lytham and St. Annes and is the reigning English Amateur Champion. After making the cut as an amateur in the KLM Open and The Heritage (where he finished 29th), he turned professional and finished 4th in the Mexican Open in his first pro event in November despite suffering from the early stages of flu. That kept him out of competitive action until the New Year so he is expected to be a serious contender this week. His stay on the Challenge Tour is sure to be short-lived.

Cesar Monasterio to win 22/1 e.w. @ SkyBet
The Argentinean was a regular on the main European Tour last year and was a decent performer, particularly in the early rounds of tournaments. That suspect nerve was in evidence two years ago when he held a five-shot lead with nine holes to play on this course, but Fernandez caught him and defeated him in the playoff for this title. But with a top-10 finish in this event last year and a top-10 finish in Panama in December, he has shown his class in these events and should feature on the leaderboard at some stage this week.