Digital Ally Open

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Formally known as the Midwest Classic, the Digital Ally Open is still played on the  Nicklaus GC at LionsGate in Overland Park, Kansas.The course is a Par 71, plays to just over 7,200 yards and typically yields a large number of birdies as proved by the winning scores of the five previous tournaments that read - -19, -18, -17, -26 and -20. Looking at these scores, it is evident that Birdie and Scoring Average will be the stats to focus on most this week. I will also be looking over past tournaments played to Par 71s such as the Brasil Champions, Chile Classic and Albertson Boise that have yielded low final scores and selecting players who have performed well in these events. Strangely, despite being played across three courses, the BMW Charity Pro-Am has also shown some correlations with this tournament with last year's winner Sucher finishing 6th there and BMW runner up Jonathan Randolph finishing 4th. Finally, it is imperative to follow course form here at Lionsgate and find someone who has consistent or at very least, progressive form.

My picks are as follows:

Jamie Lovemark - 1pt e/w @ 16/1 - As unimaginative as it is, I have to go for the second favourite this week as the case to back him is just too compelling and he is one of the form plaers at the moment. Lovemark has played here twice before, recording an 11th and a win in 2012 and 2013 respectively so certainly ticks the box for course form. He can boast a 7th in the Chile Classic with 16 under and a 23rd in the Boise, a result that shadows the fact he shot 2nd and 4th rounds of 65 and 64. He is 3rd in Birdie Average and 2nd in Total Birdies while his Scoring Average is a very healthy 69.55. I expect the Californian to be there or there abouts this week.

Peter Malnati - 0.5pts e/w @ 33/1 -  I really struggled to decide between Malnati and another favourite of mine who I am sure will win this year, Trey Mullinax. I have gone for Malnati simply due to his experience and the fact that his results on Par 71 courses are marginally better - he won the Brasil Open, was 7th at the Boise Open and 5th at the Rust-Oleum. He is 6th in Birdie Average and Total Birdies and has a Scoring Average of 69.75.

Kelly Kraft - 0.25pts e/w @ 70/1 - A great young player who has had a good year so far, his best result being a win in Louisiana, closely followed by a 2nd in the BMW Pro-Am which seems to share a strange link in form to here as well. He has made the cut in the Rust-Oleum and Boise Open and finished 11th in Chile so can obviously go low as proved by the fact he is 12th in Birdie Average and 28th in Scoring Average. He has played at Lionsgate twice before but missed the cut on both attempts, I am not so worried by this as I feel as though he has progressed as a player since and is ready to challenge.  

Scott Harrington - 0.25pts e/w @  100/1 - One man who has some very good course form and comes here on the back of a 3rd place is Harrington. He has played the course four times and made the cut every year, finishing a best of 6th in 2013. He should have momentum coming into this after his 3rd place last week in Utah and has some nice stats to back him up, sitting 9th in Scoring Average and 26th in Birdie Average.

Aaron Watkins - 0.25pts e/w @ 200/1 - Despite being in some pretty poor form coming into this tournament, Watkins does tick quite a few boxes in terms of a player who should fit the mould for this course. He has course form having played here three times, in 2011, 2012 and 2014, most recently finishing 2nd. He was a respectable 24th in the Brasil Champions and a sterling 10th at the BMW before losing form but a visit back to his home state of Kansas will hopefully revitalise him.    

Total Staked - 4.5pts