Asahi Ryokuken International

An inaugural event and on a brand new course. This would be difficult to cap in normal times. But these are not. Twenty-three players have withdrawn this week, including Se Ri Pak who travelled to be with her sister who was in midtown Manhattan when the twin towers fell. Other withdrawals of particular note are Juli Inkster and Laura Davies. The rest had a trial even getting here. Safeway officials chartered a cross-country flight for about 130 players and caddies from last week's cancelled event. Heather Zakhar rented a car and travelled 2,387 miles from Southern California to make it here. I hope she makes the cut!

The course has been widely lauded in particular for its undulating Bentgrass greens. The other memorable features of this course are just cosmetic: stacked stone bridges and an 1800s vintage clubhouse. It should be a fine test of golf. There is little sense in siding with the Webb and Sorenstam at the available prices though, this should be a week for surprise winners though the 72-hole format should limit it a little. As a result this week's selections feature a local player and two value plays. They are Rosie Jones, Kelly Robbins and Catriona Matthew.

Jones lives in neighbouring Atlanta, Georgia, and being so close to home should be of benefit at this time. She is also in tremendous form having finished in the top-20 in all of her last ten starts and has won twice this season already. Very accurate off the tee and one of the best putters on Tour, she has the game to compete on any course and as one of the most consistent players on Tour, looks a decent proposition this week.

Robbins and Matthew are simply value plays. They are available at 28/1 and 40/1 respectively at Surrey, yet Stan James offer 66/1 on both of them! That cannot be sniffed at. Robbins has played well since returning from the British Open, finishing in the top-15 in her last three events including 2nd to Sorenstam in the Canadian Open. She should not be 66/1 in this form. And nor should Matthew who has finished in the top-10 in four of her last five events. She should have won the British Open, but at least she has maintained her form and should feature this week.

Outright plays:

Rosie Jones to win 20/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes  [5 places option]

Kelly Robbins to win 66/1 e.w. @ Stan James [5 places option]

Catriona Matthew to win 66/1 @ Stan James [5 places option]

72-hole plays:

Meg Mallon to beat Moira Dunn -110 @ Surrey [2 units]
Dunn had a purple patch of form last month. In four events in August she finished in the top-3 three times! Quite an amazing reversal of form as she has shown no similar form in recent years apart the occasional good week. The two-week break and the events of last week should bring her game back to its former state and she is an easy player to oppose with Mallon who would have been an outright selection were it not for Stan James' odds

Kelly Robbins to beat Emilee Klein -110 @ Surrey
Klein has also been playing some improved golf of late and she even won the Michelob Light Classic, her first win in five years. But she played poorly in her last outing two weeks ago and the more experienced Robbins is tipped to feature on the leaderboard and win this matchup

Final update: 1-1-0 and +0.89 units

A weather-disrupted event that was reduced from 72 to 54 holes. Happy to finish ahead on the matchups in this sort of week, but couldn't do so overall. Mallon was leading Dunn by ten shots when the latter missed the cut, but Robbins lost to Klein by seven shots.

Update on outright plays: 0-3 and -3.00 units

Despite the weather disruptions, Robbins and Matthew played like 66/1 shots ... they finished 33rd and 54th respectively. Jones had looked a good prospect for a top-5 finish, but a poor final round saw her fall to 16th overall.