Dunhill Links Championship

FINAL RESULT: 2-2; +41.00pts

Els 7th
Harrington mc
Howell 5th
Gallacher 1st

Very nice! Three selections in the top-7 and Gallacher playing a brilliant shot on the first playoff hole to secure his first Tour title. More than made up for David Howell missing an 18-inch putt on the penultimate hole which meant a two-way share of 5th place.

Further outright play (1pt):

Stephen Gallacher to win 66/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes, William Hill, Paddy Power and BetDirect
He has hit a very impressive 86% of greens in regulation over the last two days and has a good record when on the fringes of contention heading into the weekend. In each of the last three occasions when he has been between 8^th and 13^th place on the leaderboard heading into the weekend, he has improved his position every time over the next two rounds. An impressive achievement as it is much easier to head down a leaderboard when you are near the top. Add that to the fact he does have the added advantage of playing the easiest course in still conditions tomorrow, whereas the leading pack are all playing Carnoustie, and his odds should drop considerably by tomorrow evening.

Outright plays (1pt):

Ernie Els to win 6/1 @ Ladbrokes
Had expected to win at least one major this year as three of them were being played on links courses and although he contended in all of them, he never quite managed the win. I expect he will finally win a links event in 2004 this week. His record in Scotland is phenomenal: he has finished in the top-3 in eight of his last ten starts in this country, including three wins. He has shown a couple of years ago that he is capable of winning back-to-back events and this one would be easier than normal because of the relaxed atmosphere of the pro-am, particularly as he is teaming up with his dad again. The odds may be short, but there are plenty of reason to expect Els to be on the leaderboard on Sunday afternoon.

Padraig Harrington to win 20/1 e.w. @ Stan James and Victor Chandler
Harrington lost ground on Els on Sunday, but 6th place in a WGC event played in front of an expectant home crowd was certainly a good performance. It carried on the good form that he has shown since winning the German Masters last month and he is another player who should play well around the links courses. He finished 5th in 2001 and won this event in 2002 so he is another who should be challenging for honours in the final round.

David Howell to win 40/1 e.w. available generally
Howell does not strike me as a natural links player, but a record of finishing 3rd in this event in 2001 and 6th in 2003 is certainly impressive. Add in a 3rd place finish at Loch Lomond this summer and his form in Scotland warrants attention. But it has been his form before, during and after the Ryder Cup that earns him the final outright selection berth ahead of Nick O'Hern. If he can continue his form from last week where he finished in the top-3, then he looks set for another very high finish in this event.