Honda Classic

FINAL RESULT: 0-3; -4.50pts

Furyk 9th
Clark 22nd
Ogilvy 6th

What a sickener! Joint-leader entering the final round, Ogilvy started poorly, but recovered to lead with just 8 holes to play. Two successive bogeys took him back out of the lead, but he always looked like he would at least make the playoff, but then he missed from inside ten feet on the easy 17th hole. Ah well, place money at least and maybe he'll birdie the last to get that playoff place, but a perfect drive ends up in a divot on the fairway. That sums it up nicely ... he proceeds to get a double-bogey from there and doesn't even get the top-5 payout. The sort of finish that takes all the fun out of watching golf.

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1.5pts)

Jim Furyk to win 20/1 e.w. available generally
Furyk played on a course last week on which he had a good history and finished 8th for the second time this season and while he did not play on this course last year because of injury, he did finish 5th on the Sunset course at Mirasol course in 2003 and does have a good record in Florida. In his last full season of fitness (2003), he had three top-5 finishes and a 12th place finish in four events in this State. Add in one top-10 from one event this year and a win in this State in 2000 (Ford Championship) and he should certainly improve on last week's finishing position against a much weaker field.

Tim Clark to win 33/1 e.w. @ BetInternet, William Hill, Victor Chandler, Ladbrokes and BetDirect
Sticking with Clark again. His odds are lower than last week, but this is a reflection of the much weaker field. Like Furyk, he did not play on the debut on this course last year, but he does have a good record in Florida with finishes of 6th, 11th and 16th since October and last week's finish was only the 2nd time that he has finished outside the top-11 in his last nine strokeplay events. A consistent player who should again feature on the leaderboards.

Geoff Ogilvy to win 50/1 e.w. @ Bet365 and BetInternet
I've been reluctant to back Ogilvy for some time as he has never looked he would convert his chances of victory, but he finally did so in Tucson and even though the world's best players were at La Costa that week, it is still a significant breakthrough. That makes 50/1 rather surprising and particularly considering that in the past 18 months, Ogilvy has played in Florida seven times and finished in the top-20 on six occasions. He can clearly cope with Bermuda greens and is playing well enough to beat his 13th place finish on this course last year. He also finished 14th on the Sunrise course in 2003 and 2nd at the previous course, Heron Bay, in 2001. So 50/1 is certainly value.