Tipster: Stanley

Madeira Island Open

Outright plays (1pt):

Maarten Lafeber to win 12/1 e.w. @ SkyBet and Paddy Power
Available at 14/1 at William Hill (though with poorer place terms), but also joint favourite at 6/1 with Bet365, there is considerable difference of opinion about Lafeber. But considering that he was only three shots off the lead when he had to pull out of the Qatar Masters two weeks ago with a virus, there looks good reason to back him rather than oppose him this week. He won is home Open last year and was 2nd on this course in 2002 (14th on his other visit in 1998), so if he is well again, then his class should prevail against this field.

Steve Webster to win 33/1 e.w. @ William Hill
Although he has yet to win a Tour event - though he failed to win the 2001 Open de Madrid only via a playoff loss to Retief Goosen - among all the missed cuts, he does have some very high finishes. He has made three cuts this year and finished 2nd, 6th and 24th on those occasions. He does have course experience which is important here and has finished in the top-25 on his last two visits. If he makes the cut, he shouldn't be too far from the leaderboard.

Robert-Jan Derksen to win 33/1 e.w. available generally
Derksen has won on Tour - last year's Dubai Desert Classic were he beat Ernie Els into 2nd place - and that puts him in lofty company in this field. He subsequently returned to struggling on this Tour thereafter, but there was an encouraging sign of a return to form with a top-10 finish in Qatar two weeks ago. With plenty of course experience as well, including a top-10 finish last year, Derksen warrants his tag as one of the favourites for this event.

Final update: 0-3; -3.00pts

Lafeber 29th
Webster mc
Derksen 14th

Chaotic event with none of the rounds completed on time. Derksen finished only five shots out of the lead, but none of the selections were really in contention at any stage.