Open de France

Summary : 4 Wins 1 Loss - Profit +4.50 Points

Round 3 Update
The three pre-tournament lays look winners barring a miracle round from one of them. That would mean a profit of 4.50 points.

Back Eduardo Romero 3 Points @ 5.2 ---> Matched
Closing out the lay on Romero despite nine players being within 3 shots, he still ties for the lead and it makes sense in the circumstances. If he manages to win the profit rises to 5.40 points for the tournament.

Round 2 Update
The bad news is that all lays will probably make the cut but the good news is that the best placed player as I type this is Paul McGinley who is 9 shots off the pace.

Lay Eduardo Romero to win 3 Points @ 4.9 ---> Matched
This could be risky strategy laying the halfway leader but his last win was way back in the 2002 Scottish Open and there are still 36 holes to go. He has 5 missed cuts from just 6 starts this year, and may well suffer a reaction to his superb 62 in the 2nd round. Just 21 putts and a 100% scrambling success rate contributed to that score.

Round 1 Update
Monty finished on 2 under, 5 strokes behind the leader Jean Van De Velde. The opening was curtailed by bad weather with both Thomas Levet and Paul McGinley still playing their front none holes and at level par. No further lays recommended.

Pre-Tournament
Lay Colin Montgomerie to win 1.5 Points @ 22.0 ---> Matched
The strategy is to lay those near the head of the market that played all 4 rounds at Pinehurst last week. Monty can be classed as a rare winner now on Tour, his last win on Mainland Europe dates back to the 2002 Volvo Masters. He started the year in great form but since the end of April his form has tailed off with no Top 10s to his name.

Lay Paul McGinley to win 1.5 Points @ 26.0 ---> Matched
McGinley's last European Tour win was way back in the 2001 Wales Open, and he can be classed as a very consistent golfer who rarely converts being in contention into wins. Finished in 42nd position last week at Pinehurst.

Lay Thomas Levet to win 1.5 Points @ 29.0 ---> Matched
Levet will be fancied by many back on home turf but not by me. Since switching his main focus to the PGA Tour his results have been poor with 7 missed cuts from 13 starts. He did win the Scottish Open in 2004 but you have to look back to 1999 for his last win prior to that.