AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

FINAL RESULT: 0-4; -6.00pts

Love 9th
Furyk 39th
Donald 11th
McDowell 7th

No return, but at least three of the four selections went close to some payout. But top-11 is not quite good enough.

Further outright play (total stake: 1.5pts):

Graeme McDowell to win 33/1 e.w. (without Mickelson) @ Stan James
Course rotation is very important at this stage of the event and it is rather surprising that it is not Poppy Hills that has played the easiest so far. It has been Pebble Beach by some distance on both days and that is the venue for McDowell's 3rd round. It is also the venue for the 4th round, so there will also be benefit from that continuity as well. There is no concern about him being uncomfortable playing on this Tour as he was a student at the University of Birmingham, Alabama where he was ranked the #1 player in the United States, winning six of NCAA twelve tournaments and breaking the scoring records set by Tiger Woods and then Luke Donald by almost a full stroke, and he has played extremely well from tee-to-green on the two hardest courses so far. He will need that accuracy to find the very small Pebble Beach greens, but they have been giving up a lot of birdies and he should make up a lot of ground on 2nd place, Mike Weir, today. He is only four shots away from leading this category, these look good odds. Also the same price at Victor Chandler but with less favourable place terms.

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1.5pts)

Davis Love to win 25/1 e.w. @ GolfingGods
Hopefully Mickelson will suffer a minor letdown after winning in front of his home crowd last week and with defending champions having a particularly poor record in this event since 1990, this could be a good week to avoid the leading two players. If so, that could certainly open up this event for players such as these selections. Love has cut back his schedule this year, but really enjoys playing in this event, winning it in 2001 and 2003. With five wins at another seaside location, Hilton Head, he is a player who could easily win this week, particularly as he shot 61 in the 3rd round of the Bob Hope two weeks ago. Much too unpredictable for match bets, but rather more profitable for these types of play.

Jim Furyk to win 25/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes, GolfingGods and BetFred
In contrast to Love, who is a links specialist, Furyk can certainly be described as a pro-am specialist as he has won three such events in Las Vegas. With a record of three top-5 finishes in his last six visits, he does fare well in this event as well and after a strong performance in the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic two weeks ago, he looks well set for another strong week at Pebble Beach.

Luke Donald to win 33/1 e.w. @ GolfingGods
Not a concern that he missed the cut last week as he had done so in Scottsdale last year, so thankful that it probably raised his odds this week. Considering that he should have won the Buick Invitational on his previous start when he had been coasting to victory until an errant approach shot on the 14th hole and that he lead this event after 36 holes and was still in 3rd place with one round to play last year, he really shouldn't be 33/1.