Western Open

Update:

Back Bob Estes 0.5pts @130 at Betfair

Back Bob Estes 0.5pts e/w @100/1 at ToteSport

8th, 21st and 11th in his last three starts, he is clearly in good form. Those three performances have all included good GIR, scrambling and putting stats. His record in this event over the years is a little up and down, but he does have a 10th place and a 15th place from the not too distant past.

Back Brandt Jobe 0.4pts e/w @200/1 at Ladbrokes

This isn't really a pick based on any particular perceived strength in Jobe's game - in fact he ranks well down the field in almost all stats categories. So while I don't really know how he does it, he does seem to be able to get it around the course in good scores: he made a play-off at the BellSouth, finished 6th at Colonial and hasn't missed a cut since the middle of February. Just to prove that he has a habit of popping up on courses where you might not expect it, he finished 3rd in this event in 2002. Sometimes a price is just too good to turn down and this is one of those cases.

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Update:

Back Loren Roberts to finish in the top five 1pt @31.25/1 at IASbet

Ranked 13th for putting, 6th for scrambling, he is also usually a good iron player although he has been a bit inconsistent this season on that front. But 4th in the field for GIR at the Barclays, where he finished 17th hopefully means his irons and all round game are currently in good shape. 11th place here last year including an opening round 64.

Back Ben Crane 0.75pts @180 at Betfair

Number 1 for putting on tour, and 2nd place last time out at the Booz Allen (where he ranked 2nd for putting average and 1st for scrambling) makes him a standout here. Was holding out for a good price, but on the most part the bookies have taken evasive action - with quotes as low as 66/1 and even 50/1. The stand-alone top price of 125/1 is at a book with a limiting policy that makes it not even worth bothering about, but fortunately it's Betfair to the rescue with a big price. Would probably have preferred not having to bet win only, but he is a former winner on this tour, so there's no reason he can't do it again here, and we can always look to trade out for a profit if he is in contention.

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This is an event where good iron play, scrambling and - most important of all - putting tend to be far more important than driving (accuracy or distance).

Back Shigeki Maruyama 1pt @70 at Betfair

Back Shigeki Maruyama to finish in the top five 1pt @15/1 at Centrebet

Ranked 15th in the field for putting and 9th for scrambling, he has been playing reasonably well all season and was in contention on Sunday in a couple of events. A proven winner on this tour, he also has course form to boot - a 3rd place 4 years ago and 11th last year.

Back Scott Verplank 1.5pts e/w @40/1 at Stan James and BetInternet

Ranked 5th in the field for putting and an excellent iron player. Before his missed cut at Pinehurst he was in rich vein of form, with 6 top 20s in his last 7 events. He also hasn't finished outside the top 20 in this event in each of the last 4 years.

Back Jason Bohn to finish in the top five 0.5pts @82.5/1 at Centrebet

Bohn is a promising Q-school qualifier who I expected fairly big things of this season. He seemed to bed himself in well, missing only 1 cut up until April and making a few appearances in the top 30 or so.  Then it all went off the rails as he missed 5 cuts in a row through April and May. Recent performances suggest he has recaptured some of his form - 33rd and 29th in the St Jude and Booz Allen respectively. He is a a multiple winner on the Nationwide and Canadian tours and a talented enough player to make these odds look rather insulting.