Update:

Both Perry and Triplett made the cut and their opponents didn't! Margins of victory: ten shots and thirteen shots respectively. Not very often you get all of your matchups settled in your favor before the weekend Would make it a boring one if there wasn't this other event taking place!

Hopefully get some 18-hole matchups on Sunday.

Update:

Triplett [-5 and 10th place] leads Armour by six shots
Perry [-3 and 24th place] leads Hjertstedt by two shots

Looking good!

Still no sight of an 18-hole matchup though.

Tucson Open

The week's forgotten tournament for the forgotten players! Taking place at the Tucson National Golf Resort in Arizona, the emphasis, like last week, is on precision golf. The greens are Bentgrass and small. It is no accident that pit is layers like Kirk Triplett, Mike Reid, Nolan Henke and Kenny Perry who have done well here before.

This tournament has also been forgotten by the sportsbooks, only two European books are offering 72-hole matchups, but at least they combine to offer a total of 20 matchups for this event. Of these, there are two that I like, in particular the first one: Kenny Perry to beat Gabriel Hjertstedt. Perry is in currently in the top-15 in the currents stats for both total driving and greens in regulation; the ideal game for this course. He does falter on the short stuff, but seldom will he play in a PGA Tour event with such a weak field. Certainly from tee to green, he is a cut above the rest of them and that includes Hjertstedt the defending champion. But last year's victory came out of nowhere. In the previous two years he had been 73rd and missed the cut; last week at a similar type course, he missed the cut. If Tiger can't defend a Tour title, no reason to expect Hjertstedt to do so!

Another favored player for this event is Kirk Triplett. Had he not won last week, I would have made him a clear favorite this week! But he should be able to beat Tommy Armour for the 2nd week running. The big question is will he suffer a Azinger-like letdown effect from winning on Tour after such a long wait. I don't think so. This is a course that he likes and a course that suits his game - he was 3rd here last year. If anything, he should buoyed by having his very fragile nerve stand up to the pressure last week. Let's not forget that in his last five tournaments, he has finished in the top-10 four times. Despite a 5th place finish last week, Armour can't compare to that. Nor can he compare to Triplett in the stats that matter this week. This one's up to Triplett and his state of mind.

Won't presume there'll be any 18-hole matchups. Maybe, just maybe, on Sunday

Staking plan:

Kenny Perry to beat Gabriel Hjertstedt @ -111 with Sportingbet

Kirk Triplett to beat Tommy Armour @ -125 [-134 after 3% 'service charge'] with Stan James