Stake 4pts Austin to beat Glover +100 @ William Hill Austin has been in cracking form recently and with conditions to suit this week it will be a surprise if he doesn't play a big part this week. After a slow start to the season Austin has reeled of finishes of 34-5-30-17-44. Last weeks 44th place finish was a little disappointing but conditions didn't really suit him and it was reassuring to see him still finish third for GIR last week. Factoring in his two previous starts here both resulting in top-20 finishes and this should be good enough to dispose of Glover who also has two good finishes here but has continually performed well below par this season. Austin beat Glover (mc)
Stake 2pts Cejka to beat Baird -110 @ Bet365 After a slow start to the season Cejka's game has improved considerably recently and on a course that is likely to suit accurate players he has a strong chance this week. He finished 8th on his only previous start here, until last weeks missed cut he had finished in the top-10 for GIR in each of his three previous starts and last year he finished 6th on tour for GIR. Baird has shown glimmers of promise this season but has been disappointingly inconsistent as well. His previous finishes here of a missed cut followed by a 44th place finish hardly inspire confidence either. Cejka beaten by Baird by 10
Stake 3pts Marino to beat Duke -110 @ The Greek, Carib A number of people fancy Duke to perform well this week but I believe taht his chances are being over-estimated here. After an attrocious start to the season where his best finish was 67th from seven starts, including five missed cuts, Duke finished an encouraging 6th place last weekend. In addition, in last years event he finished second here and hence has attracted a lot of attention. But it was a very poor event, one finish doesn't exactly indicate a return to form and his stats were pretty damn poor and it was his short game which helped him to this good finish. He may indeed have found a return to form but I would be more than happy to oppose him with a solid and consistent performer. It's over five months now since Marino missed a cut and that consistency can primarily be attributed to his strong accurate game, both from the tee and the fairway. Although he missed the cut in this event last season he has a game that should undoubtedly be suited to the course. Marino beat Duke by 3
Stake 4pts Senden to beat Pampling -105 @ The Greek Pampling's latest performance in the Arnold Palmer was very poor indeed finishing stone cold last, hitting just over 50% of available fairways and below 40% of GIR. And this continues a very erratic set of recent results where in his last ten starts he has four top-10 finishes and three missed cuts. And I am more than happy to take him on with a player of proven consistency. Senden has made the cut in his last seven starts, he is fantastically accurate off the tee and from the fairway and although like Pampling he has never played the course before, all the evidence suggested that he will be more favoured by the challenge. Senden beat Pampling (mc)
