Bob Hope Chrysler Classic

FINAL RESULT: 1-3; +0.94pts

Kelly 8th
Haas 23rd
Langer 23rd
Clark 2nd

Good performance from Clark, but Leonard was very impressive in the final round and was a deserved winner. Pity Kelly finished out of the places as he had been in the top-10 for most of the week.

Further outright play (1.5pts):

Tim Clark to win 33/1 e.w. @ BetInternet (same price at Bet365 and Victor Chandler, but only 3 places)
Didn't expect him to contend after winning last week in South Africa, but he has improved with every round and shot 64 around the host course, PGA West, yesterday. He still has the easiest course to play, Bermuda Dunes, so should close the gap considerably on Joe Ogilvie who will play La Quinta today. He has stated his goals quite clearly in interview this week: his win in South Africa has lifted him into the top-50 in the World Rankings and that enables him to compete in all the majors and WGC events if he stays there and he is determined to do that. He looks set to consolidate that position this week.

Outright plays (1.5pts):

Jerry Kelly to win 33/1 e.w. available generally
Kelly has played in this event in each of the last nine years and has yet to miss the cut. He has the jovial nature necessary for playing well in pro-ams, especially this five-day version, and will be looking to repeat his top-five performance of three years ago. The field is much weaker now and he looked to blown the cobwebs off his game last week, so this is a fair price.

Jay Haas to finish in the top-five 11/1 @ BetFred
Difficult to ignore a player at these odds who has finished 3rd and 2nd in the last two years of the event. The short courses are set up for the amateurs which will help the Champions Tour player and he will be looking for a stronger performance having opened his season last week at Torrey Pines. A repeat of his 1988 win looks rather unlikely as he is winless in over 11 years, so place-only seems the best option.

Bernhard Langer to finish in the top-five 17/1 @ Expekt
A top-5 finisher last week and with finishes of 11th, 2nd, 8th and 8th in his last four starts in this event, Langer should not be this much of an outside for a top-5 finish. Okay, admittedly three of those four finishes here were in the 1980s, but he returned last year to finish 8th and he did rank 1st in greens in regulation last week. The strains of being a Ryder Cup captain told on his game last year, but now refreshed and refocused on his game, this could be a rather strong start to 2005 from the German.