SBC Championship

Outright plays (2 units):

D.A. Weibring to win 20/1 e.w. @ Stan James
Also like the odds for Morgan (20/1 Paddy Power) and Lietzke (28/1 SkyBet), but have narrowed the list down to three and first on the list is the Texas resident, Weibring. He didn't play in last year's debut on this course, but he will have played it before this week and his best finish of his last season on the PGA Tour was in the Texas Open where he record a top-25 finish. He has become one of the leading players on Tour with seven top-10 finishes, including one win, in his last ten starts and doesn't have the pressure of the Charles Schwab Cup race or other season titles that will be decided in these next two weeks.

Larry Nelson to win 22/1 e.w. @ Stan James
Nelson is also outside the running for the season titles, but it would have been different had he converted at least one of his four runners-up positions into wins this year. He has won once though - last month's Constellation Energy Classic - and has continued his excellent form recently with three top-3 finishes in his last four events. His record in this event is also impressive with finishes of 4th, 2nd and then 1st in the last three years that this event was held at The Dominion. He was rusty after a four-week layoff last year with his back, so didn't play well on this course, but that should be corrected this week.

Des Smyth to win 33/1 e.w. @ Stan James, William Hill and SIA
Smyth was not eligible to play last year and he missed his last cut, but that was in the Dunhill Links Championship on the European Tour. On this Tour, he has finished in the top-15 in every start in the last three months, including 4th last time out. With this consistency and a top-10 finish in his previous Texas event (2003 Kinko's Classic of Austin), this looks a decent price even if just for a top-4 finish.

Matchup plays (2 units unless stated):

Bob Gilder to beat Sam Torrance -118 @ Centrebet
Tom Watson to beat Hale Irwin -118 @ Five Dimes [4 units] (-120 @ Centrebet)
Tom Jenkins to beat Don Pooley -130 @ Five Dimes
Gil Morgan to beat Sam Torrance -133 @ Five Dimes [6 units]

1st round plays (4 units unless stated):

Tom Watson to beat Hale Irwin -115 @ Five Dimes [6 units]
Gil Morgan to beat Sam Torrance -123 @ Five Dimes
Eamonn Darcy to beat Fuzzy Zoeller -110 @ Five Dimes

1st round update: 0-3-0; -16.38 units

Watson/Irwin LOST by 3
Morgan/Torrance LOST by 4
Darcy/Zoeller LOST by 4

2nd round plays (2 units):

Mike McCullough to beat Ray Floyd -117 @ Five Dimes
Tom Watson to beat D.A. Weibring -130 @ Five Dimes
Des Smyth to beat Sam Torrance -117 @ Five Dimes

2nd round update: 1-2-0; -2.68 units

McCullough/Floyd LOST by 2
Watson/Weibring WON by 1
Smyth/Torrance LOST by 1

3rd round plays (2 units):

Tom Watson to beat Craig Stadler -115 @ Five Dimes
James Mason to beat Gary McCord -110 @ Five Dimes
Rodger Davis to beat Don Pooley -122 @ Five Dimes

3rd round update: 0-3-0; -6.94 units

Watson/Stadler LOST by 2
Mason/McCord LOST by 5
Davis/Pooley LOST by 4

Final update:

Matchups: 2-1-1; +5.04 units

Gilder/Torrance WON by 10
Watson/Irwin TIED (dead heat)
Jenkins/Pooley LOST by 2
Morgan/Torrance WON by 3

18-holes: 1-8-0; -26.00 units

Outrights: 0-3; -6.00 units

Weibring 34th
Nelson 9th
Smyth 50th

That definitely ends my disastrous return to 18-hole match betting! Friday was painful, but still looked as though it could still be a profitable event after Saturday. All four matchups were leading and Nelson was 6th and Weibring 11th. But the matchups worsened by the hour, Weibring started with a double-bogey and was never seen again and Nelson always followed a move into the top-4 with a bogey to get straight back out of a place finish. He finished one shot too many. Just one more event left to finally bring the outrights on this Tour into the black.