Canadian Women's Open

When the Canadian government banned title sports sponsorship by tobacco companies it meant the end of the du Maurier Classic, the beginning of a 'major' label for the Women's British Open and a new event in Canada, the Bank of Montreal Canadian Women's Open. They play at the Angus Glen Golf Club which will host the men's Canadian Open next year and was the setting for the recent Canadian Skins between Vijay Singh, Sergio Garcia, David Duval and Mike Weir. There is no course form, but its predecessor had been staged at different events each year anyway.

With Webb and Sorenstam continuing their winless streak, the value remains with the 2nd division of players whose odds are inflated by the presence of the world's top two female players. Instead, the hope is that at least a place finish will be secured by either Lorie Kane, Meg Mallon or Laura Diaz. Kane would love to win this title and become only the 2nd Canadian to win an LPGA Tour title on home soil. She finished 12th as a selection last week, but for a poor opening round she would have been well-placed to secure a top-5 spot. She did shoot 66-67 over the weekend. It kept a run of good form going and she will be glad of the morning time as she seeks to set the pace this week.

Meg Mallon was considered as a selection last week, but was passed over. Naturally she secured a top-5 finish - her 3rd in six events. With an excellent record in Canada - a win and four top-4 finishes in the last seven years of the du Maurier Classic - she looks good value at Ladbrokes' inflated odds.

Another with unexpectedly large odds at one book is Laura Diaz. No higher than 28/1 elsewhere, she is 40/1 with William Hill. At that price, sacrificing the extra place is worth it! She did disappoint as a selection last week with a poor final round, but her underlying form is better than any in this field - four top-5 finishes in her last six events - and she needs easy weeks if she is to maintain that form for any time of length.

Outright plays:

Lorie Kane to win 20/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes  [5 places option]

Meg Mallon to win 40/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes  [5 places option]

Laura Diaz to win 40/1 e.w. @ William Hill

72-hole plays:

Laura Diaz to beat Emilee Klein -111 @ Simon Bold [2 units]
Klein may have won the 54-hole Michelob Light Classic, but she has had only one other top-10 finish since the Welch's/Circle K Championship five months ago. Diaz is much the better player and in much the better form

Rachel Teske to beat Kelli Kuehne -111 @ Simon Bold [2 units]
Another surprising matchup from Simon Bold. Kuehne had secured top-10 finishes in her last two events, but she has a history of finishing one or twice in the top-10 and then being mid-table for a couple of months and then another couple of hot weeks and so on. Ignoring the Women's British Open, Teske had finished in the top-20 in her last seven events and won once. Much too consistent at this level for Kuehne

Mid-point update:

Both matchup plays survive to the weekend, but one is only just. Diaz has played very poorly and made the cut on the mark. She trails Klein by two shots, but at least Teske has a five-shot lead over Kuehne after 36 holes. In the outrights, Diaz is out of the running, while Mallon is 17th and Kane is best-placed in 5th.

Final update: 0-2-0 and -4.44 units

Very poor weekend as both opponents shoot 9-under-par over the final two rounds to defeat the selections. Diaz lost to Klein by nine shots and Teske lost by seven shots to Kuehne.

Update on outright plays: 1-2 and -0.50 units

Kane did manage to finish 3rd to secure a place win, but was four shots behind the winner, Annika Sorenstam. Mallon couldn't improve on a decent Saturday position and fell back to 17th, while Diaz was a big disappointment, finishing 38th.