United Leasing Championship

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The Nationwide Tour travels to Indiana this week for the inaugural United Leasing Championship at Victoria National Golf Club. This is the first time this course has been used for a PGA event having only previously hosted the 2006 USGA Senior Amateur Championship and a senior LPGA golf tournament.

Victoria National Golf Club, east of Evansville, Ind., is a Par 72 course, playing 7239 yards and was designed by Tom Fazio and opened in 1998. The venue has the feel of a links course due to its large mounds and contoured fairways, and was built around an existing surface coal mine. As a result, water-filled lakes serve as hazards on 15 of the 18 holes. For this reason I shall be putting a premium on accuracy this week while also focusing heavily on good scramblers as the roughs are 'a blend of four bluegrass varieties' that are 'maintained in their natural states', meaning that the rough will feel softer or faster than most players are used to should it be found. It is also worth noting that sand features heavily on nearly every hole on this course, often with bunkers protecting the greens, so we will need to find a player who is adept to playing out of the sand should they be unfortunate enough to find themselves in it.

This weeks picks are as follows.

Richard Scott - A mixed bag of results scatter Scott's profile so far this year, with four MCs in eight appearances, a 4th and most recently a 9th. That 9th actually came as recently as last time out at the Wichita Open where he ranked 8th in DA and 18th in GIR, both key attributes I have identified for playing Victoria National. This can be backed up by his season performances in these stats, 5th GIR and 22nd DA, combined with his 3rd ranking in Scrambling. Quite simply Scott is a highly accurate player and a terrific ball striker (4th in that stat too). Throw into the mix his 53% sand save percentage and we have an ideal player at a triple figured price. 1pt e/w @ 110/1 Bet365

Brent Delahoussaye - His results so far this year are distinctly average with four MCs and a 12th and 16th but it is Delahoussaye's stats that stand out to me. Ok, so he only has 16 completed rounds of stats to go on but I'm willing to take a chance as he ranks 5th in DA, 8th in GIR and most importantly 1st in Scrambling. This could be his break out tournament on a difficult track. 0.5pts e/w @ 250/1 Paddy Power

Woody Austin - Woody comes into this tournament on the back of a missed cut and I think that has been refelceted in his price. Had he challenged in the Wichita Open then I can see him at half the price he is now. The fact is that Austin has finished of 3rd, 5th and 7th on the Nationwide this year and can also boast a respectable 19th at the St Jude Classic on the PGA Tour. His accuracy stats appeal, ranking 26th in DA, 40th in GIR and 10th in scrambling and he has a 50% sand save percentage. However, two things appeal to me most, the first being the fact that he sits 3rd in Scoring Average with 69.65 which I feel will be essential on an exceptionally tricky par 72 course where the winning score should be close to par. Secondly, and running with the tricky course theme, quite simply Austin is a vetran, a wily player who will be able to plot and negotiate his way around a potential future championship course. 1pt e/w @ 50/1 Various

Brian Stuard - Stuard has been a model of conosistancy so far this year having missed only three cuts in eleven appearances, has three top 10 finishes, six top 25s and has finished no worse than 29th (Wichita Open). In terms of stats he ticks all the boxes being 44th in DA, 11th in GIR, 36th in Scrambling and most notably, 1st in scoring average. He is a fantastically accurate player who should excel here and I can't see why he is almost twice the price of Jim Herman who I rank on par with him. 1pt e/w @ 45/1 Bet365

Scott Parel - Another wily old fox who should be able to plot his way around this tough course in a mature manner is Parel, a Nationwide and PGA Tour veteran who came so close to winning the Rex Hospital Open this year (losing in a playoff to James Hann). Other than his 2nd place, Parel hasn't really featured this year, trundling along making cuts without really challenging but yet again, his stats fit the bill. Highly accurate, being 2nd in DA and 16th in GIR, you can add a ranking of 16th in Scrambling and a highly respectable 26th in SA. Adding this player helps diversify our portfolio of young golfer mixed with those more experienced.  1pt e/w @ 80/1 Various

Total Staked - 9pts