ODDS and ENDS:
(A) I can't recall a week when the golf observer site has had more good articles packed with nuggets (i.e., INFORMATION and ANGLES) to absorb and weigh:
http://golfobserver.com/golfnotebook.php?c=221#1
(B) I looked at the remaining players to determine how many holes they have lost in their prior matches on this "homogeneous looking" course:
C.Howell - 2 (Appleby, Garcia)
O'Hern - 2 (Glover, Sabbatini)
Woods - 3 (Henry, Clark)
Toms - 3 (Oberholser, Crane)
Immelman - 4 (Bjorn, DiMarco)
Poulter - 4 (Bryant, Dredge)
Ames - 4 (Karlsson, V.Singh)
Baddeley - 5 (Katayama, Donald)
Rose - 5 (M.Campbell, Mickelson)
Stenson - 6 (Johnson, Choi)
Micheel - 6 (Scott, Pampling)
Ogilvy - 6 (Stricker, Olazabal)
Casey - 7 (Weir, Montgomerie)
Cink - 7 (J.M.Singh, Harrington)
C.Campbell - 8 (Cabrera, Furyk)
Fasth - 9 (Durant, Goosen)
I hope my tabulations are error free.
(C)
Day 3 Matchups:
I'll pass on the Woods match. I still have Howell, Baddeley and Casey carrying my cash as outrights, and I went ahead and put a garden variety hedge on Stenson vs. Baddeley. I give Immelman a slight edge, but Poulter as a dog looks just as supportable. It's the remaining 3 matches (Toms, Ogilvy, Ames) in which I've seen/heard/read "stuff" that generated my strongest likes for Day 3, and in each of them, the above stats "support" the play. Finally, with a big change of weather in the forecast, and with so few matches to choose from because of pending outright plays, I'm in no mood to stick my neck way out today after a 4-0 rally on Day 2 completely turned around the 1-3 rout from Day 1.
Toms(-150) over C.Campbell
- - Toms showing a far sharper short game on this lush desert layout and making opportunities for pressure time and again from being in position with his shining white rock vs. a good match play man in Campbell on a course that sets up well for his game.
Ogilvy(-155) over Fasth
- - I could not resist adding this play . . . Ogilvy made 14 birdies and no bogeys in his first 32 holes of the tournament, and he still had to gun in birdies on 16 and 17 to overcome Jose Maria Olazabal 2 and 1.
GL
