KLM Open @ Betfair

Summary:
Not a sniff .. again. Loss = 3 pts (Evans NR)


Pre-tournament update:
Poulter now plays despite many books having removed him from their lists, plus Evans has withdrawn due to the old shoulder injury.


Pre-tournament picks:

Back Gary Evans 2 pts @ 34 at Betfair
Looks to me that many of the past contenders at Hilversumche hit a very good number of greens in regulation and I've used that as the base for my selections.
Evans was 5th on tour for GIR in 2003, and his 2004 position of 27th is very good too, considering the troubles he's had this year. A tied-19th in the rain-shortened Italian Open was his only top twenty in his first 13 events, but he's returned to some very decent form over the last couple of months. He has secured 5 top-25s in his last 6 events, including 11th a fortnight ago in Ireland and 20th the week before in The Open, and another links-type course here should suit. Indeed his last two visits have seen him secure 6th and 10th place finishes and 33/1 looks good, especially as it seems likely favourite Ian Poulter is an absentee.

Back Alistair Forsyth 1.5 pts @ 38 at Betfair
Forsyth hit an amazing 61 greens in regulation here last year, and that helped him secure a second successive tied-6th at this course. On both occasions he entered the event in poor form so the lack of any real spark recently from him is not a worry, and anyway it was only two months ago in Wales he secured his third top ten in five outings. This course and the lack of decent opposition gives him an ideal chance to bounce back and near-40/1 is very fair.

Back Greg Owen 1.5 pts @ 70 at Betfair
Despite it probably flattering him just a little, Owen currently sits top of the European GIR list and there are few more accurate iron players around. He has had a very difficult season with severe back problems but presumably that is all behind him now and indeed the signs are very good. After a pipe-opener in Ireland a fortnight ago he managed an un-staggering 24th place in Sweden, but what caught my eye was the accuracy of his game; 58 greens hit was 1 more than the winner Luke Donald, 8 and 9 more than the two runners-up, and 4 more than 4th-placed Monty. That surely proves his fitness and hopefully, now in his third successive tournament back, he is tournament-sharp too. A good season had been expected of him (3 top-10s in his first 5 events was very promising too) and I think the timing of this event, the demands of the course, and the strength of the opposition give him a first-rate chance to get his year back on track.