Your Life Vitamins Championship

The inaugural event of the LPGA season once again starts at the Grand Cypress Resort after a one-year absence and that year was every much a year of Karrie Webb as it was Tiger Woods! But she now has to find a new caddie, so maybe this season could throw a few surprises and this week is a good place to start watching. The field is very strong, though the 2nd-placed players in the last two seasons, Julie Inkster and Annika Sorenstam, are noteworthy absentees. Webb is therefore available almost Tiger-like odds and as this stage of the season with a new caddie is unbackable.

Instead the three picks to win this event are Dottie Pepper, Lorie Kane and Kelly Robbins. Pepper is reportedly raring to go after an injury-plagued season last year when she missed two months of action after withdrawing from the US Open. She only played four more tournaments, but she won the last of those tournaments, the Arch Wireless Championship (Tour Championship) and in her penultimate event she was only beaten on a playoff with Karrie Webb for the AFLAC Champions title. She hasn't played this course recently, but it shows how confident she is that she is here this time.

After a run of nine 2nd place finishes, Lorie Kane won three tournaments at the end of last year. From August last year, she played nine tournaments, winning three and finishing in the top-5 of all but one of the rest. Maybe, like Duval, the accomplishment of winning a Tour event has fully lifted her game to a new level. With finishes of 18th and 9th on her last two visits to this course, she looks another strong challenger to Karrie Webb.

The third pick is Kelly Robbins, who had a poor season last year. She did not win an event, had 2 top-5 finishes and just two further places in the top-10. Her odds are therefore quite long for this event, but that ignores the fact that she has won this event (previously called the HeathSouth Inaugural) on this course in its last two stagings. She started 1998 and 1999 in style and with a return to this scene of former glory, this could be the fillip she needs to get last season firmly out of her mind.

Outright plays:

Dottie Pepper to win e/w 25/1 @ William Hill

Lorie Kane to win e/w 16/1 @ William Hill

Kelly Robbins to win e/w 33/1 @ William Hill  [no longer 50/1 at First Stake ]

Final update: 1-2 and -0.50 units

Poor 2nd rounds had scuppered all Pepper's and Robbin's chances of securing place finishes, though both rallied to finish 17th and 9th respectively. The place win came from Lorrie Kane who had similarly faltered in the 2nd round, but birdied the last two holes to finish 4th and make it a virtually break-even start to the LPGA season.