English Open

Outright plays (1.5 units):

Phillip Price to win 25/1 e.w. @ UKBetting
Siding with the two players who lost out of last week's battle for the British Masters. Price did little wrong last Sunday, apart from a poorly played 13th hole, he was just beaten by some outstanding golf. Hopefully, he can take the positive from the way he played last week and if he can again hit over 80% of greens in regulation, he will feature in this event. Forest of Arden is similar to the Marquess course at Woburn and requires good shot-making skills. The Welshman finished 6th in the 1997 British Masters on this course and could easily improve on that performance.

Ian Poulter to win 33/1 e.w. @ UKBetting
Surprised to find Poulter as high as 33/1 after his performance last week. He had eight birdies in the final round and but for a three-putt on the 16th hole or the missed 7-foot putt on the last green, he would have tied Rose. If only he would have curbed some of that ultra-attacking golf! Finished in the top-10 last year and like Price, should start the week hungry for atonement.

Steve Webster to win 40/1 e.w. @ Bet365, Sportingbet, UKBetting or Paddy Power
Had been looking for Owen as a selection this week, but couldn't get 22/1 so siding with the local player from Atherstone. Webster did little wrong last week and finished just 5 shots behind 6th place. That would have been in line with other good performances in the past month - top-10 in the Algarve Portuguese Open and the Benson & Hedges International and top-25 in the Deutsche Bank - SAP Open. His early form on the course can be ignored - his breakthrough on the European Tour came in the 1999 British Masters - which leaves some impressive finishes in the last two years. He had been in the top-10 all week until a poor final round saw him fall to 23rd in 2000 and he finished 5th last year. In a field lacking of players who win regularly on the European Tour, bar Clarke, these three look the best of the nearly men!

Final update:1-2; +0.94 units

Price 3rd
Poulter 16th
Webster 10th

Small profit on the event as Price proved once again the importance of course management. How Poulter and Webster would have gained from such an approach! Poulter was attacking as ever and was always on the fringes on contention, but Webster should really have finished very highly. Joint leader early on in the final round, he found water three times in six holes around the turn and dropped seven shots over those holes. He would finish only three shots outside the top-5.