Tipster: Stanley

Ford Championship at Doral

Matchup plays (1.5pts):

Stephen Ames to beat Steve Elkington -118 @ Expekt [3pts]

Elkington may have won this title on two occasions in the 1990s, but he has only finished ahead of Ames twice in the five times they have both played this event and he is not in particularly good form. He has a best finished of 32nd this year, which does not measure well against four top-25 finishes in five starts for Ames this year, who also leads the h2h standings 7-0-1 over the past year.

Briny Baird to beat Ricky Barnes -137 @ Sportingbet and Sporting Odds

With no course experience and not even having played in Florida in a Tour event until this week, Barnes could struggle on around the Blue Monster. With plenty of course experience and two top-10s to his name this season, Baird is far more likely to be playing at the weekend.

Jay Haas to beat Heath Slocum -118 @ Expekt

Simple ploy of opposing last week's winner when it was a career-changing event. The fact that Haas has made the last eight cuts here, while Slocum has made only three of his last ten cuts in Florida is just a bonus.

Scott Verplank to beat Jesper Parnevik -111 @ Ladbrokes

Dependable versus anything but! Verplank has finished in the top-10 in four of his last five strokeplay events and while Parnevik has showed a very welcome return to form this season, he can still self-destruct very easily. He followed two rounds of 69 in his last tournament (Nissan Open) with a third round 83! The Swede has a good record on this course, but another top-20 performance from Verplank should be enough.

Adding (1.5pts unless stated):

Jay Haas to beat Paul Azinger +100 @ NordicBet [4.5pts]

This really is quite a mismatch. Azinger did show some form in his first two starts of the year, but has shown very little consistency on this course, missing five of his last nine cuts at Doral. But the main statistic on this matchup is the 10-0-1 h2h lead that Haas holds over Azinger in the past 12 months.

Jeff Sluman to beat Steve Elkington +100 @ Five Dimes [3pts]

Oppose Elkington with Ames and with similar reasons will oppose him with Sluman. He has made the cut in nine of his last ten visits to Doral and has finished ahead of Elkington in four of the last five times. He is also far more consistent and holds a healthy 6-1-0 h2h lead over the past 12 months on the PGA Tour.

Bob Tway to beat Heath Slocum -130 @ WWTS
Straightforward selection. Opposed Slocum with dependable Haas as I am expecting a big letdown from Slocum after his maiden Tour win last week so all the more reason to oppose him with one of the outright selections.

Final update: 5-2-0; +9.78pts

Ames/Elkington WON by 11

Baird/Barnes WON by 5

Haas/Slocum LOST by 4

Verplank/Parnevik WON by 9

Haas/Azinger WON by 2

Sluman/Elkington WON by 9

Tway/Slocum LOST by 4

Good return to ensure a profitable event and some semblance of last year's form with these types of plays.

Tipster: Shaker

Ford Championship at Doral

Matchup plays (1.5pts):

Jerry Kelly to beat Chris DiMarco +105 @ Carib or +100 @ Paddy Power

Retief Goosen to beat Chris DiMarco -111 @ BetandWin

Taking on DiMarco who has a very poor record in Florida and a frankly abysmal one here. His last 14 rounds here have yielded just 2 better than 69 whilst 6 of them have been over 74 and there are simply no half-decent finishes to speak of from a good number of attempts. Opposing with Kelly, who looked to be in good form last week, has some course form, and had a super record on Bermuda grass last season, and Goosen, who would be a heavy, heavy favourite with any other firm.

Rod Pampling to beat Per-Ulrik Johansson -120 @ Sportingbet/Sporting Odds

The Swede was 5th in the weak Tucson event last week but, if past years are anything to go by, that could well be his only top ten of the season. Pampling did well after shooting 64 to lead on day one here last year and is quite consistent. Johansson has no form here, and this looks a mismatch on the vast majority of PGA form.

Justin Leonard to beat David Toms +115 @ Five Dimes

Was looking to oppose Toms if he was a strong favourite against a likely-looking contender and this is perfect. Leonard looks booked for a good week back on these Bermuda greens in Florida and an expected step-up on his already decent 2003 performances will see him challenge. Toms is a class act but I cannot see that he's performing even close to his best after the recent wrist surgery, which he admits has hampered his practice badly. He missed the cut here last season when fully fit and the course, which could well be a tough test this week, may be too much for him at this early stage of his comeback.

Adding (1.5pts):

Billy Mayfair to beat Hal Sutton -105 @ WWTS

Happy to get Mayfair, a player with some recent form, improving long game stats this season, and lots of decent finishes here, at this price against Sutton who understandably has the Ryder Cup on his mind this year. His game looks to be in poor shape and he only has one decent finish here in recent years, at a time when he was a far better player.

Fred Funk to beat Harrison Frazar +110 @ Five Dimes

Frazar is popping up with several high finishes these days but he often follows one with a missed cut and his record here is woeful. I can't see the probable toughness of the course suiting him and I expect a typically steady display from Funk, one which would have every chance of collecting.