Click here to receive alerts when this page is updated
1-3; +3.67pts
Further outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt)
Ian Poulter to finish in the top-ten +667 @
The Greek
9th
I can't see Poulter winning in the United States, but if he is to come close, it
would be on this course. It is a "more English style parkland course" in his
owns words and the bentgrass fairways, poa annua greens and recent wet weather
have added to the European course feel to this venue. It can help explain why he
finished 9th last year when he had just one top-10 finish in his previous eight
PGA Tour starts that season. His form is good enough to give himself a decent
shot at another top-10 finish so I'll bite at these odds.
Lucas Glover to finish in the top-ten 7/1 @
Paddy Power
and
William Hill
mc
And at these odds as well. I thought the "wild card factor" (he has been
nominated as one of the wild cards on the Monday before last week's event and
for evidence of this factor, see Stewart Cink's performance in the 2004 NEC
Invitational) would have propelled Glover to victory last week and after he
finished the first round in 2nd place, it was looking good, but he did no more
than finish in the top-20. But it was his fifth top-20 finish in his last six
starts in the U.S. so maybe the place market is the best option for backing
Glover at the moment. He has played well on this course over the last two years
(apart from the weekend last year), so the "wild card factor" may still give him
the confidence and adrenalin to maintain his form for this week.
Hunter Mahan to be the first round leader 50/1 e.w. @ Stan James
and
William Hill
47th
Very attractive odds for a player who has held the first round lead in three of
his last six events, is in a very rich vein of form at the moment and was 11th
after the 1st round on this course last year. He is a player who has needed
little justification for backing over the last three months.
Outright play (total stake: 1pt)
Jim Furyk to win 20/1 e.w. @
Coral
25th
Taking a bit of a risk with Furyk's health, but he did say before the
Bridgestone Invitational that his back was fit enough to compete that week, but
that it was his game that was a concern as he had not been able to practice for
a week and had only played 9 holes at Firestone. He played poorly in the first
round of the PGA Championship, but he was back to being competitive in the 2nd
round with a 71. With almost two weeks of practising since that last competitive
round, I see no reason why he shouldn't be close to his best form this week.
After all, he had just won the Canadian Open and finished in the top-5 in five
of his last seven events and now he returns to a course on which he has three
top-3 finishes in his last eight attempts, including a 2nd place finish in 2005
when he had led from start to finish but was overtaken following an outrageous
eagle by Padraig Harrington on the last hole. Three weeks ago, he would have
been half these odds, so any concerns over the lingering effects of his back
injury are more than compensated by these odds.