Wendy's Championship for Children

Outright plays (1.5 units):

Lorie Kane to win 16/1 e.w. @ SkyBet
Siding with two in-form players who played well on this course last year. Kane recorded three top-3 finishes in her last seven starts in North America and then finished 9th and 19th in Europe in the last two weeks. It may be a long time since she won three times in the last ten events of 2000 (plus five other top-5 finishes), but she is still a regular contender. Since her last victory in February 2001 (Takefuji Classic), she has finished 2nd seven times, but there is no-one in this field that she cannot beat and should at least repeat her 4th place finish of last year.

Michele Redman to win 20/1 e.w. @ SkyBet
Redman also finished 4th last year and has also struggled to convert her winning chances in the past couple of years. She last won in September 2000 (Betsy King Classic), but has since finished in the top-10 in almost 40% of her starts. She last did so in the Evian Masters two weeks ago and in the Big Apple Classic (as a selection) the week before. This looks a good field against which to break her winless streak. SIA offer 25/1, but the extra place is more attractive with Redman.

Adding (1.5 units):

Donna Andrews to finish in the top-five 13/1 @ Five Dimes
Has not won an event since 1998 when she took the Longs Drugs Challenge title and was a runner-up four consecutive times, so a top-5 play seems the best ploy. She played well in her last two events to finish 12th in the U.S. Women's Open and 7th in the Canadian Women's Open (both times she had been higher placed after three rounds) and should be fresher than most this week as she did not make the trip across the Atlantic. This is a course that requires accuracy off the tee and she currently ranks 2nd on the LPGA Tour in that category as well as 2nd in greens in regulation. Together with a top-10 finish last year, it looks like she should have a good week this week.

Matchup plays (1.5 units unless stated):

Catriona Matthew to beat Brandie Burton -118 @ Expekt [3 units]
A 6-0-0 h2h lead over the past three months and a 15-1-0 h2h lead over the past year is enough to side with the Scot. She didn't play in this event last year, but Burton shot 76-75 to miss the cut anyway.

Lorie Kane to beat Laura Diaz -110 @ SkyBet
Siding with the outright selection over a player who did not play last year when this course was first used. Diaz has been very consistent lately, but is still struggling to be competitive - she has only top-10 finishes from 19 starts this year. Kane can count three, including two top-3 finishes in her last six starts.

Michele Redman to beat Wendy Ward -110 @ SkyBet
Ward had a good two weeks in Europe, but has been struggling in the U.S. where she had failed to finish ahead of Redman in her last four starts. She also finished behind her last year, so siding with the outright selection in this match.
(Also available at Expekt)

Soo-Yun Kang to beat Jenny Rosales +110 @ Five Dimes
Rosales had been playing very well before this event last year, but she still withdrew after opening with a 81. She is also playing in her 10th event in 11 weeks and that involves two trans-Atlantic crossings, so this looks the perfect week for a letdown. Kang has been playing well in the past three months and should not be an underdog in this match.

Candie Kung to beat Jenny Rosales -125 @ Expekt [3 units]
Kung has been playing even better than Kang - five top-12 finishes in her last seven starts - and also finished 7th last year. She should go close again this year and easily defeat Rosales along the way.

Final update:

Matchups: 2-1-0; +2.85 units

Matthew/Burton WON by 7
Kane/Diaz WON by 9
Redman/Ward LOST by 2
Kang/Rosales VOID (Rosales dns)
Kung/Rosales VOID (Rosales dns)

Outrights: 1-1; +1.50 units

Kane 6th
Redman 3rd
Andrews dns

Profitable event, but could have been much more. As with the Nordic Open event this week, a matchup selection finishes 3rd and loses the match and an outright selection finishes one shot out of a place return. Still a profit though.