Open de Espana

FINAL RESULT: 2-1; +1.88pts

Dodd 5th
Forsyth mc
Orr dns
Lawrie 3rd

Two good final rounds by Dodd and Lawrie ensured a profit on the event when both looked to have blown their chances. Particularly impressive final round by Dodd, who unfortunately missed from 4-feet on the penultimate, else he would not have had to share 5th place.

Further outright play (total stake: 1.5pts)

Peter Lawrie to win 14/1 e.w. @ SkyBet, BlueSq and GolfingGods
An unfamiliar look to the top of the leaderboard with the favourites struggling to be in contention at the cut. That leaves a lot of players who have yet to prove their winning credentials, plus Robert Karlsson, in the top-10 and he is certainly not a player to back under pressure. Instead, we’ll turn the clock back two years and hope for a very similar result.

Two years ago, Peter Lawrie was 3^rd at the cut in this event, just as he is now. The leaderboard was similarly packed, but Lawrie shot 69-66 to earn a place in the playoff, losing out to Kenneth Ferrie. It has been the closest that he has come to winning on the main Tour, but the fact that he has been in a similar position in this event should help and with a distinct lack of name players on the leaderboard, he could certainly go one better this time.

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1.5pts)

Stephen Dodd to win 28/1 e.w. @ BetInternet, Bet365 and Victor Chandler
Backed Dodd in Portugal and he finished one shot outside the places despite having a very large handicap from the draw. The form that saw him win in China in November and finish 2nd in Dubai was evident and any repeat should once again see him on the leaderboard. It also helps that as a former journeyman pro, he was a regular visitor to this course in the 1990s, securing his Tour Card with a top-20 finish on his last visit in 2000.

Alastair Forsyth to win 50/1 e.w. @ BetInternet
It had been a difficult start to the season until he played in Portugal two weeks ago. That week, he shot three successive 69s to be 5th with one round to play and even though he had a poor final round, this is enough indication that his game is returning. And this would be a very good week for that to continue.  He has shown very good form in this region recently with finishes of 3rd and 7th in the Volvo Masters and the Mallorca Classic at the end of 2004, but most importantly, this week's course was the scene of his victory in the 1999 European Tour Q-School.

Gary Orr to win 100/1 e.w. @ Sportingbet, Sporting Odds, Victor Chandler and Ladbrokes
The two-time European Tour winner lost his game and his Card last year and ended up at the Q-School on this course in November last year. He was short of confidence and didn't play well, but such a recent visit should aid him this week. But considering that he has played in just two events this year and finished 8th in the Malaysian Open in February and 2nd in the Madeira Island Open last week, there is clearly a return of his confidence and some immediate rewards to the hard work that he has apparently put in over the winter months. Very surprised to find such large odds given these recent finishes.