Outright plays (1.5pts):
Tiger Woods to win 11/2 @ Stan James
I very rarely back a single-odds player and I'm sure that I have never backed two in one event, until this week. Unlike last year, the players have a week's rest after the NEC Invitational and so fatigue after playing in two important events will not be a factor this year. Both players are refreshed and fully focussed on winning the Money List and the Player of the Year award. As last year, the field beyond the two leading players is very weak given the amount of prize money on offer and this is also a bomber's course. Woods' game is definitely improving and on this track he has the power to rule out the majority of the field. Won't go lower than 5/1 and struggling to find value lower down the odds list.
Vijay Singh to win 7/1 @ UKBetting and Totalbet
An unsurprisingly tired effort from Singh at the NEC after stumbling to victory in the PGA Championship, but this should be a different matter after a rest. Won't go lower than 6/1.
Charles Howell to win 40/1 e.w. @ UKBetting, BetDirect and Totalbet
Had Allenby pencilled in for a slot this week, but he has now withdrawn so looking for Howell to perform instead. Did not play last year, but he does have the length off the tee to be competitive on this course. His form and game have been steadily improving in the last couple of months as he has consistently ranked highly in both driving distance and greens in regulation in each event and his 9th place finish in the NEC Invitational was borne out of top-20 ranking in driving distance, driving accuracy, greens in regulation and putting average. All parts of his game were in good condition two weeks ago and he will finish much higher up the leaderboard this week against this field if he plays like that again.
Tiger Woods to win 11/2 @ Stan James
I very rarely back a single-odds player and I'm sure that I have never backed two in one event, until this week. Unlike last year, the players have a week's rest after the NEC Invitational and so fatigue after playing in two important events will not be a factor this year. Both players are refreshed and fully focussed on winning the Money List and the Player of the Year award. As last year, the field beyond the two leading players is very weak given the amount of prize money on offer and this is also a bomber's course. Woods' game is definitely improving and on this track he has the power to rule out the majority of the field. Won't go lower than 5/1 and struggling to find value lower down the odds list.
Vijay Singh to win 7/1 @ UKBetting and Totalbet
An unsurprisingly tired effort from Singh at the NEC after stumbling to victory in the PGA Championship, but this should be a different matter after a rest. Won't go lower than 6/1.
Charles Howell to win 40/1 e.w. @ UKBetting, BetDirect and Totalbet
Had Allenby pencilled in for a slot this week, but he has now withdrawn so looking for Howell to perform instead. Did not play last year, but he does have the length off the tee to be competitive on this course. His form and game have been steadily improving in the last couple of months as he has consistently ranked highly in both driving distance and greens in regulation in each event and his 9th place finish in the NEC Invitational was borne out of top-20 ranking in driving distance, driving accuracy, greens in regulation and putting average. All parts of his game were in good condition two weeks ago and he will finish much higher up the leaderboard this week against this field if he plays like that again.
