Royal Caribbean Golf Classic

Matchup plays (2 units unless stated):

Tom Jenkins to beat Rodger Davis -125 @ Five Dimes
Jenkins finished six shots ahead of Davis in the first event of the season and does have good form on this course - two top-5 finishes in four years. Very consistent player who is prime candidate for matchups each week.

Jim Thorpe to beat Mark James -115 @ Five Dimes [6 units]
Don't understand this line at all. Thorpe may have played poorly on this course in the last few years, but he ended the 2003 season by winning the final event and was a top-10 finisher in the first event of 2004. James did well to come through Q-School, but he is no Mark McNulty and is predicted to be more like Seiji Ebihara on this Tour. He should struggle on new courses and a new continent in his rookie year.

Doug Tewell to beat Sam Torrance -107 @ Five Dimes [4 units]
Torrance does have the benefit of playing in two Champions Tour events last year and even secured a top-5 finish in one of them. But, unlike James, he was still capable of being competitive on the European Tour as he closed on 50 - he finished 3rd in the Scottish PGA Championship in August 2002. He should do much better than James, but he is still far short of Tewell on this Tour, particularly in his first full season. Tewell has finished in the top-25 in each of four previous visits and finished 3rd in the season-opening event in Hawaii two weeks ago.

Adding (2 units unless stated):

Allen Doyle to beat Sam Torrance -125 @ BetandWin
Just as much reason to back Doyle as much Tewell against Torrance, with the only drawback being inferior odds. This is Torrance's first start of the year and on a course he has never played. He should struggle to be competitive this week, particularly against players who have plenty of course experience - Doyle has three top-10 finishes here in the last five years - and who started their 2004 two weeks ago - Doyle shot 69-67-66 to finish 7th.

1st round plays (6 units):

Doug Tewell to beat Sam Torrance -113 @ Five Dimes
Allen Doyle to beat Des Smyth -119 @ Five Dimes
Jim Thorpe to beat Mark James -115 @ Five Dimes

1st round update: 2-1-0; +5.22 units

Tewell/Torrance LOST by 2
Doyle/Smyth WON by 1
Thorpe/James WON by 1

2nd round plays (4 units):

Gil Morgan to beat Larry Nelson -118 @ Five Dimes
Des Smyth to beat Rodger Davis -127 @ Five Dimes
Wayne Levi to beat Mark McCumber -130 @ Five Dimes

2nd round update: 1-2-0; -5.80 units

Morgan/Nelson LOST by 1
Smyth/Davis LOST by 5
Levi/McCumber WON by 3

3rd round play (6 units):

Fuzzy Zoeller to beat Mark James -126 @ Five Dimes

3rd round update: 0-1-0; -7.56 units

Zoeller/James LOST by 3

Final update: 6-4-1; +1.16 units

Jenkins/Davis WON by 4
Thorpe/James WON by 3
Tewell/Torrance TIED (Push)
Doyle/Torrance WON by 4

Nice profit on the 54-hole matchups, even though James played much better than expected. Makes up for the disappointing return from the matchups at the first event of the year and for the deteriorating 18-hole plays this week.