FINAL RESULT: 2-1: +1.56pts

Wie 3rd
Pressel 11th
Gulbis 4th

What a disappointing return from three such strong challenges for this title. Wie and Gulbis were even joint leaders at one stage during the back nine, but Wie missed an 8-foot-putt on the last that would have meant a place in a playoff and Gulbis missed a number of short putts in the closing holes before throwing away the full return on the place money by hitting her approach shot to the last hole in the water. Almost as cringe-worthy as watching Morgan Pressel cry in her post-round interview!

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt)

Michelle Wie to win 14/1 e.w. @ BetInternet and Victor Chandler
As a Hawaiian, Wie will have very strong local support, but her home field advantage will never be stronger than in this particular event. In short, this event takes place on the course on which she practices almost every day. And to make her advantage even stronger, this will be the inaugural Fields Open in Hawaii, so very few of her competitors will have spent any time on this course before this week. As well as being her area of practice, this is the club where she helps out with the junior program; this is the club which displays her Women’s Amateur Public Links Champions trophy; and this is the club which made 300 red-lettered “Go Michelle” buttons which were given to children free when she first contested the Sony Open on the PGA Tour. This is an event that she really should win.

Morgan Pressel to win 33/1 e.w. @ BetFred
In terms of young prodigies, Wie may have gathered most of the headlines, but Pressel is not too far behind. She was the youngest-ever player to qualify for the U.S. Women's Open at the age of 12 in 2001, she finished 2nd in the 2005 U.S. Women's Open and earned an age exemption from the then-LPGA Tour Commissioner Ty Votaw to apply for LPGA Tour membership at the age of 17, which she duly earned when finishing 6th in the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament. And to dispel any notion that it was mostly hype, she finished 5th in last week's SBS Open in Hawaii. That's a very impressive resumé and eve without Annika Sorenstam this week, this is an excellent fore-taster to what will be an eagerly-anticipated LPGA Tour season.

Natalie Gulbis to win 33/1 e.w. @ BetInternet, Centrebet, Sportingbet and Sporting Odds
Gulbis has made rather different headlines, particularly since she posed for FHM magazine and published her own swimsuit calendar. But having finished 6th in the 2005 LPGA Money List with twelve top-10 finishes, she has proved that she can  play as well. She finished alongside Pressel in 5th place last week, ranking 3rd in greens in regulation on the week, and has a good record in Hawaii overall. She may not be teen prodigies like the other selections, she has shown that she can certainly be backed at these odds in a field without Annika.