FINAL RESULT: 1-3; +0.63pts

Singh 13th
Goosen 2nd
Ogilvy 24th
Oberholser 58th

All four had good chances to earn a payout, but it was Goosen who was the most impressive after seeming out of the tournament after two rounds. He shot the lowest round on both Saturday and Sunday and held the sole lead with ten holes, but failed to record another birdie despite coming extremely close on a number of occasions.

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt)

Vijay Singh to win 18/1 e.w. @ BetInternet [6 places]
Outstanding offer from BetInternet: 1/4 1-2-3-4-5-6 place terms and a refund of your stake if your player is clear leader after one of the first three rounds, but doesn't win. Together with 18s on Vijay, it's more than enough to tempt me. He is a former winner (2000) and has finished no worse than 8th in any of the last five years here. It may seem that he has not been in too many headlines this year, but he is ranked no.1 on the PGA Tour Money List and FedEx Cup Points List, courtesy of two wins, a feat that only Tiger has matched. And his overall game is clearly improving: when winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational three weeks ago, he ranked 2nd in greens in regulation and he matched that feat the following week in the WGC-CA Championship. This may be Tiger's event to lose, but Vijay should be counted upon to at least guarantee another top-6 finish.

Retief Goosen to win 33/1 e.w. @ BetInternet [6 places]
Twelve months ago Goosen was a best-price 14/1 to win this event and he duly recorded his second consecutive 3rd place finish at Augusta National to add to his 2nd place finish in 2002. He may not have rediscovered his January form in the Middle East which netted him the Qatar Masters title, but there have been signs recently that he is nearing that form again. He was 4th in the Johnnie Walker Classic last month and was very much in contention for the Arnold Palmer Invitational until a final round 75. But this is an event in which course form is very important and if he were to show his earlier season form, it would be this week. And it is not only the Augusta National course that suits Goosen, but Georgia in general. Since 2002, he has won twice in this State and finished in the top-4 in nine of thirteen starts - a ratio of 69% which compares to 19% on the PGA Tour outside Georgia. As with Singh, he really should be a strong contender for another top-6 finish and his relatively indifferent form is more than compensated by the odds available this year.

Geoff Ogilvy to win 33/1 e.w. @ BetInternet [6 places]
Only one player has ever won this event on his debut (1979 - Fuzzy Zoeller) and so neither of the two remaining selections were considered last year, but they both challenged for the lead and deserve attention this time around. In Ogilvy's case, he was 4th after the opening round before finishing 16th, but he would, of course, go even better in his next Major and win the U.S. Open. Because of all the off-course demands of being a new Major champion, it was understandable that his game should dip somewhat until he returned to the Australasian Tour at the end of last year, but there are clear signs that it is moving up a level again over the last month. He finished 2nd in the WGC World Matchplay, 14th in the Arnold Palmer Invitational and 3rd in the WGC-CA Championship. He is clearly a better player than twelve months ago and more capable of winning this event, so 33/1 seems fair odds this week.

Arron Oberholser to finish in the top-ten 10/1 @ SkyBet
A year ago Oberholser finished the first round one shot ahead of Ogilvy in 3rd place and he would finish one shot ahead of him in 14th at the end of the week to earn the Top Debutant title. It had looked as though he would struggle to repeat that feat as he had been forced to withdraw from the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship because of a bulging disc in his back and he would not return until the WGC Matchplay Championship when he lost in the first round to David Toms. But he has played in four events since and has finished in the top-10 on two occasions and on one of the other occasions he was in the top-10 at the cut. Obviously, he is playing against a much stronger field this week, but given his success here last year, he looks overpriced at 10/1.