Wendy's Championship for Children

Formerly called the New Albany Golf Classic, the 3rd staging of this event has a new name, a new format and a new place on the Tour schedule. It moves forward a month and changes from the week after the Safeway LPGA Golf Championship to the week after the newest major, the Women's British Open. The change from a 72-hole to a 54-hole format was therefore necessary to continue to attract the best players on Tour who had played in England the week before. It has been successful. The world's best players are competing this week and the change of month has meant that the wet weather which has afflicted this event in its two stagings has not been a factor so far this week.

The presence of Webb, Sorenstam and Pak ensure some very short odds in the market, but there is sufficient reason to pass over them regardless of the odds. The bonus that the odds are a little inflated for the rest of the field is most welcome though. Webb looked tired last week and has admitted in interview this week that she still admitted is. She also admitted that she is not satisfied with her game. After her poor performance last week, Sorenstam should also be unhappy with her game and her last victory at the Chick-fil-A Charity Classic is a long time ago. Pak should be very happy with her game, but winning a major, flying back over the pond and competing again in a Tour event will be exhausting. They are avoidable this week, particularly with better prices elsewhere.

The three selections are Lorie Kane, Mi Hyun Kim and Laura Diaz. They represent three of the most in-form players on Tour at the moment and two of them were the contestants in the playoff for this title last year. Kane eventually defeated Kim to land her second title and she is expected to put up a valiant defense of her title. She did have a good 1st round last week, but fell away thereafter and it is clear from the interviews that it has not taken too much out of her. She should return to the form that had brought her a run of six top-20 finishes and top-5 finishes in two of her previous three events.

Kim lost in last year's playoff and she has already lost two this year. With a runners-up spot last week, she may be a frustrating player to back in the outrights, but she is extremely consistent. In five of her last six events she has finished in the top-10 and both the stagings of this event she has done the same. Should be a strong contender for a place finish.

Laura Diaz does not have the form that the other two have on this course, but there are none who can match her form at the moment. Four top-5 finishes in her last five events are enough reasons any week to back a player at double-digit odds! Hopefully she can find that elusive maiden Tour win this week and catapult her career in the same way that Kane did last year after the Michelob Light Classic.

Outright plays:

Lorie Kane to win 25/1 e.w. @ Surrey

Mi Hyun Kim to win 16/1 e.w. @ Surrey

Laura Diaz to win 20/1 e.w. @ Surrey

Note: BetInternet and Stan James have yet to release lines and these may be better than those on offer from Surrey, while still offering 5 places.

54-hole play:

Meg Mallon to beat Catriona Matthew -106 @ Five Dimes
Matthew should be one to oppose this week after the way she lost out in the British Open last week. She did everything right all week until the last round when he finally lost the lead. With an indifferent record on this course as well, it is hard to see her motivated this week. For her part, Mallon flew home two days early and can look to recapture her LPGA Tour form which had netted her four top-20, including two top-5, finishes in her last four events. She has also finished 4th and 7th in the two years here.

Adding:

Meg Mallon to beat Catriona Matthew -106 @ Five Dimes [2 units]
Two more units on this very strong play

Rachel Teske to beat Dorothy Delasin -118 @ Five Dimes
Teske was almost an outright selection, but instead gets a double-berth in the matchups. It is easy to discount last week's results as the players return to the US and she should return to the form that has brought her top-20 finishes in her last five events and a win at the Evian Masters. Delasin did successfully defend her Giant Eagle LPGA Classic title, but has done little else and her record on this course (one missed cut) is a poor relation to that of Teske (11th and 7th)

Rachel Teske to beat Nancy Scranton -111 @ Simon Bold
Same story for Scranton. A missed cut and 13th place finish in this event is not special and while her form on the PGA Tour has been reasonable, it is some way short of that of Teske.

Final update: 3-0-0 and +5.00 units

Nice sweep to make up for continued frustration with the outrights on the LPGA Tour. Mallon beat Matthew by two in the 3-unit play of the week, while Teske won both her matches, by five over Delasin and by one over Scranton.

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

But for a poor first round, Kane may have had a chance of a place finish but no more. Instead she finished 12th, which was better than Diaz who fell twenty places overnight to 31st and Kim who had a very poor weekend to finish 59th.