Tipster:
Stanley
BellSouth Classic
Outright plays (1.5pts):
Padraig Harrington to win 16/1 e.w. @
Stan James,
BlueSq
and
BetDirect
Was almost thrust into a playoff when Adam Scott found the water on the
last hole at Sawgrass and though it meant yet another 2nd place finish
for 'Pod' there is good reason to expect another strong performance this
week. He finished in the top-10 here two years ago, as he did in the
American Express Championship which was also held in Georgia last year,
and he is a grinder. He never looked to have a chance of winning last
week's event, particularly after being two-over-par early in his final
round, but he kept trying to the end and it very nearly paid off. Can't
ask much more of a selection.
Stewart Cink to finish in the top-five 7/1 @
SkyBet
The last two selections would probably require the leader to find water
on the last hole for them to win as they have shown themselves to be
rather brittle under pressure. A top-5 place seems the best option in
this respect. No surprises with Cink as a selection - he has a house by
the 14th fairway and will draw strong local support. He has had five
top-10 finishes in the last six years and has been showing solid form
this season. He should struggle to win, but should go much closer to a
top-five finish.
Thomas Bjorn to finish in the top-five 9/1 @
SkyBet
Bjorn can boast a top-5 finish already on the PGA Tour this year and
that was in the much stronger Buick Invitational. He can also boast a
particularly tournament on the one occasion that he has competed here -
in 2002 he was 3rd with just one round to play, but a final round 77
dropped him down the leaderboard; he shot the same final round the
following week to fall out of the top-10 in the Masters. So having
already finished 2nd as a selection this year (Johnnie Walker Classic)
when he only had to avoid water down the stretch to win, he is another
who could certainly feature this week.
Final update: 1-2; -0.75pts
Harrington 4th
Cink 8th
Bjorn mc
Good chances for a decent profit, but Cink
double-bogeyed the 9th hole in the final round when he had been closing
on a top-5 place - he finished two shots too many - and Harrington
failed to exploit a great situation to put pressure on the Tour rookie,
Zach Johnson. Playing in the final group, he opened at 5-over-par after
the first four holes and it took some very good play to get back into
the top-5.
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