FINAL RESULT: 0-3; -3.00pts

Gonzalez 45th
Lawrie 32nd
Romero mc

Very poor. Did have Fasth ranked #1 in the ratings and having the winner in the shortlist at the start of the week and not picking him has been a problem all year on each Tour. Needs to be addressed.

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt)

Ricardo Gonzalez to win 20/1 e.w. available generally
Had initially hoped for slightly higher odds, but with so many of the field returning back from China, there really should be an advantage to those that didn't make that tiring trip. And Gonzalez's record in Spain is impressive with victories in the 2003 Open de Madrid and the 2004 Open de Sevilla. In his last European Tour start, he really should have won the Algarve Open de Portugal, but he has still finished 5th, 6th, 4th, 4th, 28th, 1st, 4th and 3rd in his last eight starts and that means that 20/1 is a good enough price for a player in such form. And finally, there is very little rough around the New Course at the San Roque Club, which should certainly suit the Argentinean.

Peter Lawrie to finish in the top-five 11/1 @ BetFred and BetDirect
Hoping that momentum rather than fatigue keeps Lawrie going for another week. He was in contention for the Algarve Open de Portugal four weeks ago until a poor final round, but it has been particularly in the last two weeks in China that he has been impressive with top-15 finishes each time. In that form and with a very good record in this event - 2nd in 2003 and 3rd last year - he could certainly reach the top-five places on the leaderboard. He did so three times in 28 European Tour events last year, so there should be value at these odds and particularly in this event.

Andres Romero to finish in the top-ten 9/1 @ SkyBet
Siding with another Argentinean who last played a couple of weeks ago in his home country. He finished 7th in that Tour de Las Americas event even though it was a particularly strong field (Cabrera, Eduardo Romero and Gonzalez were the top-3) and that was a continuation of the impressive form that he showed last month in the Algarve Open de Portugal when he finished 3rd and did come very close to victory. He did win on the Challenge Tour last August and on the Tour de Las Americas in November, so he certainly can play well when in contention, but the top-10 market does represent the safest opportunity with this promising player.