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The Presidents Cup is being covered
here
0-4; -4.00pts Outright plays
(total stakes per play: 1pt) Carl Pettersson to win 20/1 e.w.
@
Ladbrokes
and
BetFred
59th
There have been plenty of withdrawals already and there will be surely be more
before Thursday, so the odds on Pettersson and Slocum, in particular, are
expected to be much lower at the start of this event. The Swede has shown that
he does end seasons with a flourish - five top-10 finishes in his last six PGA
Tour events in 2004; 1st and 2nd in his last two PGA Tour starts in 2005 - and
with finishes of 10th and 5th in his last two starts, he looks set to do the
same again this year. With finishes of 10th and 2nd in his last two visits to
Annandale and with some unfinished business after he failed to capitalise on a
good opportunity to win last week, Pettersson should be a strong candidate for
the title this week. Heath Slocum to win 25/1 e.w.
@
Sunderlands [6 places] 13th
Slocum held off Pettersson to win this event in 2005, so his record at
Annandale is also worthy of attention. And his recent form also looks impressive
in this field: top-25 finishes in six of his last seven events. That form was
enough to earn him a spot in the top-30 of the FedEx Cup standings and thus
entry into the 2008 Masters, but like Pettersson, he also has the added
incentive of playing well over the next few weeks as a top-30 position in the
Money List will earn him a place in the 2008 U.S. Open - Slocum currently ranks
35th and Pettersson 38th. With momentum from recent form, good performances on
this course in recent years and strong incentives to play hard this week, these
two players really should fare well in this field of journeymen pros for whom
the stifling pressure of maintaining playing privileges for next year will
dominate. Bo Van Pelt to win 33/1 e.w. @
Sunderlands [6 places] 8th
Maintaining playing privileges will not be a factor for the last two
selections, though they also have Money List objectives similar to Pettersson
and Slocum: the top-70 on the Money List earn entry into the limited field
events in 2008 such as the Memorial Tournament and Arnold Palmer Invitational:
Van Pelt currently ranks 70th; Wi 87th. But beyond extra incentives, both
players have shown some decent form recently and, more importantly, some strong
performances on this course. In Van Pelt's case, that is consecutive top-5
finishes in each of the last two years, so with his form improving considerably
in September, he can be backed to repeat the feat. Charlie Wi to win 50/1 e.w. @
Sunderlands [6 places] mc
In Wi's case, it is a record of one top-5 finish from one previous visit and
he has also looked more competitive in September: he finished 14th in the
Deutsche Bank Championship, ranking 1st in greens in regulation as well as his
usual high ranking in driving accuracy, and he finished 18th last week despite a
third-round 73. He has already earned one runners-up finish during the last two
months so, while I can't see him winning, there is no reason why he can't go
close again on this course. |
STATS: Tour Event In-Running
