State Farm Senior Classic

An event that is only four years old, a new course and a less-than-stellar field make this a difficult event to cap. Most books seem to be covering the Senior British Open rather than this event, so only two have it priced up at the moment. Hopefully a couple more will offer lines in the next few hours. Until then, the selections are only provisional.

The event is headlined by Bruce Fleisher, Tom Kite and Allen Doyle. There is no Irwin, Morgan or Watson. The players move to the Hayfields Country Club which is listed as one of the first 100 golf clubs in the US. An undulating course with both narrow and wide open fairways is the description for what use it is. Decent all-round stats and an in-form game appear to be primary keys this week.

The three provisional selections are Allen Doyle, Dana Quigley and Ed Dougherty. Doyle had an easy week last week which was understandable after the manner in which he won the Ford Senior Players Championship. He still finished 13th, which in turn is one of his worst finishes of the year, such are the high standards of his game. I expect him to raise his game again this week and be a serious title contender. The short odds negate a each-way play, but he can certainly win in this company.

It is not often that I expect player to win back-to-back events, but Quigley should at least go close. When he won the TD Waterhouse Championship last year, he finished 4th the following week at the Boone Valley Classic against a stronger field than that assembled this week - he finished behind Nelson, Watson and Graham. Definitely a player who rides the waves of confidence, he can at least secure a place finish this week.

The final pick, Ed Dougherty, is also a form horse. He has finished in the top-4 in both of the last two Tour events and already has one Tour title to his credit this season: the TD Waterhouse Championship. He did not have a good record at Hobbit's Glen, so the move to a new club will be welcome. If he can maintain his form against this weak field, a place finish should be on the cards.

Outright plays:

Allen Doyle to win 8/1 @ Surrey

Dana Quigley to win 16/1 e.w. @ Surrey

Ed Dougherty to win 20/1 e.w. @ Surrey

No further lines so the above outright plays are final. Seems like a forgettable event so far! Just one 54-hole matchup play of interest:

Allen Doyle to beat Bruce Lietzke -125 @ Five Dimes
Many people are expecting Lietzke to take the Senior Tour by storm, I don't. For the man who never practices to suddenly become competitive against players who play nearly every tournament is too big a jump. He will have hot weeks, but he is too laid back to be a force on this Tour just yet. Last week's scores of 74-66-74 exemplify the point. The Doyles, the Quigleys, the Tewells are the Tour grinders who are successful at this level despite what they did before turning 50. Can't see any week where I would favor Lietzke in this matchup

Final update: 1-0-0 and +1.00 units

Profitable week with Allen Doyle (again!) as he beats Lietzke by six shots to win the sole matchup play of the week on the Senior PGA Tour

Update on outright plays: 1-2 and +6.00 units

After opening with a 73, Doyle showed the importance of being a grinder and finally caught and overtook the leaders at the turn on Sunday. He would need three holes of a playoff to secure victory over Bruce Fleisher and seal a sweet victory. Quigley finished 10th, five shots short of a place win, while Dougherty was 22nd. Decent return on a difficult event to cap.