Booz Allen Classic

Final Result: 0 - 6, -10.25pts.  Nothing went right for us this week.

Update after round 3:

Back Zach Johnson 1.5pts e/w @33/1 at William Hill (1/4 1,2,3,4)

Lay Zach Johnson 10pts @2 at Betfair - unmatched

Lay Zach Johnson 20pts @1.5 at Betfair - unmatched

A very packed leaderboard, with a galaxy of star players who could all still win. With so many players near the top it will probably take a fairly low score for someone to shoot themselves clear of the pack, and the key to that will not only be making birdies, but also avoiding any scorecard-wrecking bogeys, double bogeys and worse that lurk on many holes on this course. Johnson hasn't had a bogey since Thursday - and that the includes the final few holes of his weather delayed first round. His two consecutive 66's have been down to a solid all-round game rather than any particular luck with the putter, if he continues in the same vein and maybe even improves his putting then he should put himself in with a real chance. As a proven winner he is certainly capable of getting the job done here, but as Couples proved last week, sometimes a lot of heartbreak can be avoided by looking to hedge some profit at small odds.

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Update:

Back Loren Roberts to finish in the top ten 1pt @12/1 at Stan James

Same story here as many of the other picks - a solid ball striker who regulalry ranks highly in GIR and driving accuracy. Four top 20 finishes already this season and also has some course form on his side, with a 13th place finish round here in '97.

Back Marco Dawson to finish in the top ten 0.5pts @40/1 at Stan James

Bit of a speculative one this, but here we have a player who has only missed one of 7 cuts this season, and made the cut here in '97. This alone isn't a whole lot to get excited about, but equally I don't see why it pushes him out to odds alongside the likes of Len Mattiace. We're not asking him to win it, simply to finish in the top ten, and odds of 40/1 seem very generous for him to achieve that.

Finally, I very much like the chances of Luke Donald this week, Stanley has already tipped him, so I won't double tip him here - most of the 28/1 is gone, but there is still some at BetInternet if you are quick!

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Back Tom Lehman 1.5pts e/w @66/1  generally

Gone off the boil a little since his good performances at Sawgrass and Augusta, but being a US Open style venue this should suit his soild ball striking game. The last time this course was used, for the 97 US Open, Lehman lead going in to the final day, before losing out as Els and Monty fought it out. An excellent e/w proposition at these odds.

Back Greg Owen 1pt e/w @125/1 at Victor Chandler

Running out of things to say about Owen... rallied to 17th at Memorial after a very bad start - perhaps brought on by it being too soon after his unsuccessful trip back to England to the BMW Championships. Another player who's game is based around ball striking - ranking 7th on tour in that category. Backed him for top 10 last week and was looking to again this week, but the odds available aren't so good, with an outright e/w play offering better value here.

Back Olin Browne to finish in the top five 0.75pts @62.5/1 at CentreBet/SuperOdds

Hitting some good form, with 3 top 25 finishes in his last 4 starts. Probably more significantly, he has ranked very highly for driving accuracy and GIR in those events: top 10 in the field in both categories each time, in fact he ranks 6th on tour this season for GIR. That should be important here with keeping the ball in play and grinding out pars looking key to success. His suitablilty to the course was displayed in his 5th place finish in the 97 US Open.