FINAL RESULT: 0-3; -3.00pts

Harrington 28th
Casey mc
Bjorn wd

In 7th place and only three shots off the lead at the cut, I would have expected more from Harrington.

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt)

Padraig Harrington to win 18/1 e.w. @ GolfingGods
The winner on this course in 2003, as well as being the runner up in 2004 at St Leon Rot, and even though Harrington played in this event last year, it was the first event back after the death of his father - he had missed the British Open at St Andrews the previous week - and so his 40th place finish can easily be ignored. And so can his missed cut last week. In the month beforehand, he had finished 5th in the U.S. Open, 2nd in the Booz Allen Classic, 2nd in the Open de France and 20th in the European Open, so refreshed from a week's break for the Open and a rest over the weekend, a return to his previous form either before last week or on this course looks in order.

Paul Casey to win 28/1 e.w. @ Boyle Sports
With Tiger showing how best to play Royal Liverpool when the ground is very hard and there is no wind, the failure of the more attack-minded players like Casey is not a cause for concern and particularly not this week as the course is setup to reward big-hitters and attacking play. He was 5th in 2003 and even in the depths of his doldrums last year (he had missed his previous five cuts), he finished 55th and was unlucky that the weather interruptions meant that only the top-54 were allowed to play the remaining 36 holes on the final day. But such problems have not been an issue this year. Since finishing 45th in the season-opening Abu Dhabi Golf Championship in January, he had finished in the top-20 in every strokeplay event (12 starts) until last week's Open. With such form, the 2nd-ranked player on the Order of Merit should not be 28/1 on this course.

Thomas Bjorn to win 33/1 e.w. available generally
Bjorn also ranks highly on the Order of Merit (9th; Harrington is 4th) and only needs to lift himself four places on the European Points List to earn his position on the European Ryder Cup team again. He may have lost his ability to find the fairway in the final round when presented with a very good chance of winning the Scottish Open two weeks ago, but he still finished in the top-5, as he did in the Johnnie Walker Championship in June and as he did when winning the Irish Open in May. That last victory was all the more remarkable for having opened with a 78 to lie 106th after the 1st round. And in terms of course history, his last appearance was in 2003 when he lost in a playoff to Padraig Harrington. There is plenty in his favour this week provided he does not take the lead too early!