SBC Championship

FINAL RESULT: 1-2; +1.25pts

Morgan 6th
Quigley 4th
Hatalsky 11th

Very poor return. Quigley started the day in the lead and was still in that position after 12 holes on Sunday. But then he three-putted from 19ft and completed the rest of his round by missing from 9ft, 9ft, 15ft, 7ft and 10ft. And he hit a drive of 79 yards to the walk strip on the penultimate hole as well! With Morgan managing to finish one shot out of the payout places, this was another event this week that failed to live up to its early Sunday expectations.

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1.5pts)

Gil Morgan to win 14/1 e.w. @ SkyBet
Morgan has never won in Texas on this Tour even though he has a 50% rate in top-5 finishes and he could well break his duck this week. With three top-3 finishes in his last five starts, he is back to some of his best form and most importantly in terms of greens in regulation. The winner has also been ranked 1st in greens in regulation that week in each of the three years that Oak Hills has staged this event; Morgan ranked 1st in greens in regulation last week. So with a top-5 finish on this course in 2002 and a 2nd-round 62 around this course last year, he is worthy of support.

Dana Quigley to win 25/1 e.w. @ SkyBet
And so is Quigley even though he is much more erratic at the end of the season than at the beginning, which is surely down to fatigue. He now has two events in which to hold off Hale Irwin for the Money Leaders and Charles Schwab Cup Points race and should do well this week, at least. He won the first year that this event was played on this course (2002) and was in 2nd place heading into the final round last year. He eventually finished 7th, but given that he had not had a top-10 finish for over three months (11 events), it was still an indication of how much this course suits his game. And he is not struggling with form this time around having finished 2nd in the Greater Hickory Classic two weeks ago.

Morris Hatalsky to win 28/1 e.w. @ Stan James and BetInternet
Having seen Hatalsky implode when holding the lead with 19 holes to play last week, I didn't expect to be backing him again this week, but this is surely an over-reaction from Stan James and BetInternet, who sadly only pay four places this week. He was 16/1 last week and given his recent form and history in Texas and on this course, SkyBet's odds of 18/1 are a closer reflection of his real chances. In his two starts in September, he had entered the final round in 3rd and 2nd place and finished 2nd on both occasions, so he is not a common bottler. Last week was the exception or at least that is the hope! Last week ended his run of finishing in the top-10 in each Champions Tour start in Texas since the start of 2003 and that includes this event last year when, like many times recently, he ended the final round in 2nd place. This is a course on which he has played well and so long as his confidence is not too dented, he should be competitive once again.