Johnnie Walker Championship

Subscribe

Simon Dyson to beat Nicolas Colsaerts - 2.5 points @ 11-10 (Stan James)

A lot will depend on the pressure affecting the Belgian, as he has to finish top-2 in order to make the Ryder Cup team. As it stands, he is much preferred to the out-of-sorts Martin Kaymer but them's the breaks. I don't doubt that Colsaerts can do a job and Eduordo Molinari showed in 2010 that it can be done, but at odds-against in this match, Dyson is much preferred.

Plenty of regular top-10 players at Gleneagles have shown that accuracy over length rules the roost, and, whilst current results are decent I think Colsaerts may be playing from rough far more times than is comfortable. This will be his eigth start since the beginning of July and eventually the travelling (back from a Monday finish in Carolina) will take it's toll. There is too much doubt to be with him against a relatively fresh player.

I have no doubt that Medinah will not have suited Dyson as much as some of the longer players, but in attitude he has it all and he certainly deserves to be a huge consideration in future teams. A shame but equally it means absolutely no pressure on the Yorkshireman who comes here off a decent season. Dyce has fallen just short on a few occassions this year but had a good chance in the Scottish Open recently before a poor final round, whilst five top-20s in his last seven indicate his game is in good shape. Dyce has won in Scotland before  and in the last two years finished top-15 here, far superior form than his market rival. In the end, whilst they differ vastly in style, he has had time off and the relaxed attitude of the selection can tip a match that looks more of an each-of-two affair.

Chris Wood to beat Thorbjorn Olesen - 4 points @ 11-8 (Corals)

This is hugely a price issue. Nobody in the game has any doubt that the Dane will be the 'next Thoams Bjorn', winning plenty and possibly even a Major or two. Olesen has taken his form to another level this season, with a win and plenty of challenging placed efforts. Probably his most memorable round was not any of those that won in Sicily but his third round in The Open, where he demonstrated to his playing partner Tiger Woods that he can really play the game. Tipped by some shrewdies early in his career, no one can argue with some nice form figures. However, despite his rare talent, he has got lost on occassion during  final rounds and has only broken 70 on a Sunday twice in his last twelve. That isn't the be-all-and-end-all and he is one to put in huge capital letters in your notebook. Of course there is an however...

Olesen looked to justify very short odds going into the Sunday of the Austrian event yet fell apart under the pressure of leading. Being young enough, that may well be forgotten and he may well be better coming from just off the pace given his very attacking style. Given all these stats, it simply does not make him a 4-7 shot against a player who has shown equal levels of promise for an even longer time but who now may have just found the key to winning.

To the chagrin of his may long-suffering fans, Chris Wood duly went ahead and won the Thailand Open a couple of weeks ago, virtually under the radar. That debut win had been a long time coming and the list of near-misses was starting to haunt him every time he hit the front on a weekend. There is no real way of knowing how that first win will bring him on, but it can be nothing but positive - you could almost hear his relief in the post-event interview - and he is fancied to go well enough on a course that he finished 15th on last season. His long play has always been good but has improved recently leading to a form run of 36/12/1 and he said on his own blog that, 'I always felt that once I got one win it would give me the confidence to go on and win more, so hopefully I can take this confidence back to the remainder of the tournaments I have got for the season."

'I think I have turned the corner in my putting which has let me down all season. I have been playing as well as I have done this week but without converting chances. It is nice to convert a few. I always knew once I cracked the putting I would be winning and this week proved my point.'

11-8 is wrong