McDonald's LPGA Championship
Outright plays (1.5 units):
Lorena Ochoa to win 25/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes
Continuing to side with Ochoa until she wins or the odds
become prohibitive. She has finished in the top-3 in three of her last six
starts and that includes the first major of the year. She has no course
experience, but there should be no shortage of preparation for this event. She
will win soon, just hoping to be on board when she does!
Juli Inkster to win 28/1 e.w. @ Five
Dimes
After a slow start to the year, there has been an impressive
turn-around in Inkster's form. She has finished in the top-10 in her last three
events and surged past Catriona Matthew with a final day 62 to win the LPGA
Corning Classic two weeks ago. With her recent course history being so
impressive - wins in 1999 and 2000, plus 4th last year - there is every reason
to have expected much shorter odds this week.
Catriona Matthew to finish in the top-five 9/1 @
Five
Dimes
Matthew can't claim to have the course form of Inkster or the
superstar status of Ochoa, but she has become a very consistent player over the
past year and is in the top-10 of most of the LPGA Tour important stat
categories. She has finished in the top-6 in four of her last eight events and
looked set to appear on the leaderboard again this week. She did finish in the
top-10 last year and is certainly playing well enough to match that. The
top-five option is again employed with Matthew as she is unlikely to convert her
chances in this company.
Matchup plays (1.5 units):
Beth Daniel to beat Christina Kim -118 @
Expekt
When one player has a year 8-0-0 h2h against another, there
really is little else to say! But could also add that Daniel was 2nd last year
and Kim will be making her debut this week.
Hee-Won Han to beat Laura Davies -118 @
Expekt
Davies has a good record on this course, but she did miss the
cut last year and her form has certainly dipped in the last couple of months.
Not so for Han who has four top-10 finishes in her last fiver starts and should
record her best finish at DuPont this week.
Michele Redman to beat Pat Hurst -118 @
Expekt
Repeat of last week's matchup play that ended in defeat when
Redman shot six on the last hole. But Redman's form is still superior and her
course form is particularly so this week. Hurst has failed to finish ahead of
Redman in any of the last five years and her best finish in seven previous
visits has been just 17th. Should get back last week's loss.
Catriona Matthew to beat Grace Park -118 @
Expekt
(-130 @ Five Dimes)
Park did win the Michelob Light Open last month, but has finished behind Matthew
in her two starts since and missed the cut last week. She cannot even claim to
have finished ahead of Matthew any of her previous three visits, so there is
good reason to expect a Scottish victory in this matchup.
1st round plays (1.5 units):
Hee-Won Han to beat Patricia Meunier-Lebouc -115 @ Five
Dimes
Danielle Ammaccapane to beat Sophie Gustafson -112 @ Five
Dimes
Adding, matchup plays (1.5 units):
Danielle Ammaccapane to beat Dottie Pepper -111 @
BetandWin [3 units]
A repeat of last week's matchups and a repeat of the result
would be very welcome. They have played in eight events together this year since
Pepper returned from injury and she has yet to finish ahead of Ammaccapane so
will gladly take these odds and note that Ammaccapane course form has been
improving in each of the last four years.
Cristie Kerr to beat Pat Hurst -111 @
BetandWin
This matchup lost last week, but Kerr has still finished
ahead in seven of their last ten common events and can boast a top-5 finish at
DuPont (1999), whereas Hurst has always struggled here.
1st round update: 2-0-0; +3.00 units
Han/Meunier-Lebouc WON by 8
Ammaccapane/Gustafson WON by 1
2nd round plays (1.5 units unless stated):
Rachel Teske to beat Wendy Ward -118 @ Five
Dimes
Cristie Kerr to beat Laura Diaz -115 @ Five
Dimes [3 units]
Meg Mallon to beat Michele Redman -130 @ Five
Dimes
2nd round update: 2-1-0; +2.73 units
Teske/Ward LOST by 1
Kerr/Diaz WON by 1
Mallon/Redman WON by 1
Mid-point update:
Daniel/Kim WON by 7
Han/Davies WON by 13
Redman/Hurst Leads by 2
Matthew/Park Trails by 4
Ammaccapane/Pepper Leads by 1
Kerr/Hurst Leads by 3
Ochoa 24th
Inkster 16th
Matthew 30th
Very good position at the cut with the matchups and while
winning the event looks out of range for the outright selections, they still
have a chance of getting into the top-5 before the end of the tournament.
3rd round plays (1.5 units):
Hee-Won Han to beat Grace Park -130 @ Five
Dimes
Natalie Gulbis to beat Dorothy Delasin -125 @ Five
Dimes
Juli Inkster to beat Rosie Jones -108 @ Five
Dimes
3rd round update: 2-1-0; +1.05 units
Han/Park LOST by 4
Gulbis/Delasin WON by 1
Inkster/Jones WON by 1
Final update:
Matchups: 5-1-0; +7.23 units
Redman/Hurst WON by 7
Matthew/Park LOST by 13
Ammaccapane/Pepper WON by 16
Kerr/Hurst WON by 3
18-holes: 6-2-0; +6.78 units
Outrights: 0-3; -4.50 units
Ochoa 20th
Inkster 37th
Matthew 37th
Very profitable event with the matchups and the 18-hole
plays. Struggled with the outrights, though Ochoa had been 5th at the end of
play on Saturday, but otherwise never in the hunt. Still a welcome return to the
black on this Tour. |