Canadian Open
The late entry of Tiger Woods will attract the headlines rather the event itself which is the 4th oldest on the Tour or the course which is one of Jack Nicklaus' finest. Tiger may have been exhausted by flu last week and had intended to have a long layoff, but nothing drives him more than surpassing Nicklaus' records. Jack never won more than two national championships in a year and this year Tiger already holds the US and British versions, so where better than on a Nicklaus track.
Glen Abbey is a tough course with a four-year average of 72.52, though with three par-fives in the last six holes it should produce some dramatic finishes if anyone is in sight of a fit Tiger. The Bentgrass greens are small, so the emphasis is on accurate iron play of which Tiger tops the Tour stats, but maybe somewhat more surprising is that Tiger also tops the putting stats. It was only two years ago that he was ranked 147th on the Tour in that department - if fit this is no contest in a unspectacular field. But even at odds of +100 it is quite a risk to take on someone last seen in poor health.
Instead the value should lie more with the likes of Hal Sutton, Jesper Parnevik and Franklin Langham. All three are at their best with their short game and relish tough courses. Sutton can boast finishes of 4th and 1st in the last two years on this course, while Parnevik was 9th last year and looked good for two days last week. Langham for his part has been 7th on his last two outings including the PGA and has been 2nd three times this year already. He is a much-improved player this year. Early indications are that we should be able to get 16/1, 28/1 and 50/1 respectively for these three, though final outright selections will be made once the tee-times are known - this is an event often affected by wind.
Early 72-hole plays:
Scott Verplank to beat Rory Sabbatini -118 @ Sportingbet
The winner of the Reno-Tahoe has had time to come to terms with such a long-overdue win; Sabbatini should suffer a reaction from his first Tour win last week
Hal Sutton to beat Mike Weir -138 @ Sportingbet
Top-tip for this event and defending champion should be a strong contender this week; Weir has a very poor record in his home championship, missing the last four cuts and did little last week to suggest that this trend would be overturned
The late entry of Tiger Woods will attract the headlines rather the event itself which is the 4th oldest on the Tour or the course which is one of Jack Nicklaus' finest. Tiger may have been exhausted by flu last week and had intended to have a long layoff, but nothing drives him more than surpassing Nicklaus' records. Jack never won more than two national championships in a year and this year Tiger already holds the US and British versions, so where better than on a Nicklaus track.
Glen Abbey is a tough course with a four-year average of 72.52, though with three par-fives in the last six holes it should produce some dramatic finishes if anyone is in sight of a fit Tiger. The Bentgrass greens are small, so the emphasis is on accurate iron play of which Tiger tops the Tour stats, but maybe somewhat more surprising is that Tiger also tops the putting stats. It was only two years ago that he was ranked 147th on the Tour in that department - if fit this is no contest in a unspectacular field. But even at odds of +100 it is quite a risk to take on someone last seen in poor health.
Instead the value should lie more with the likes of Hal Sutton, Jesper Parnevik and Franklin Langham. All three are at their best with their short game and relish tough courses. Sutton can boast finishes of 4th and 1st in the last two years on this course, while Parnevik was 9th last year and looked good for two days last week. Langham for his part has been 7th on his last two outings including the PGA and has been 2nd three times this year already. He is a much-improved player this year. Early indications are that we should be able to get 16/1, 28/1 and 50/1 respectively for these three, though final outright selections will be made once the tee-times are known - this is an event often affected by wind.
Early 72-hole plays:
Scott Verplank to beat Rory Sabbatini -118 @ Sportingbet
The winner of the Reno-Tahoe has had time to come to terms with such a long-overdue win; Sabbatini should suffer a reaction from his first Tour win last week
Hal Sutton to beat Mike Weir -138 @ Sportingbet
Top-tip for this event and defending champion should be a strong contender this week; Weir has a very poor record in his home championship, missing the last four cuts and did little last week to suggest that this trend would be overturned
