Preview & outright plays:
For the second week running, the emphasis is on keeping the ball in play with Forest Oaks famous for its brutal rough. It may even mean a leaderboard similar to last week as well. The field is certainly familiar and the wilder (off the tee!) and more famous names such as Woods, Singh, Mickelson, Duval and Love are all absent. There is a lack of big name players this week and it means there are rather too many single-figure odds around as well!
Apart from a requirement to hit the fairway, good putting skills are necessary as the greens are only slightly larger than the Tour average, but they are very undulating and frequently tiered and on the greens, decent lag putting is a must, particularly as this week's surfaces are Bentgrass after the Tour's one-week stop on Bermuda.
The outright plays this week are Hal Sutton, Mark Calcavecchia and Scott McCarron. With a shortage of headline players this week, the odds on these three somewhat smaller than usual. Winning back-to-back events is a rare feat on the PGA Tour, but in a weak field and with a renewed Hal Sutton - life definitely did begin again at 40 for Hal - he is 2nd only to Tiger in the mental toughness necessary to carry off such a feat. In the last three years, Sutton has finished 8th, 17th and 1st in this event and currently stands 12th in driving accuracy and 1st in greens in regulation on the PGA Tour stats. He lead from the front last year and showed his strength on Sunday. On a course suited to his game, this title will have to be wrestled from his grasp.
Getting the nod over Jim Furyk because of his frustrating knack of finishing in the top-10, but not getting placed (top-5), Mark Calcavecchia is another pick for whom the adjective "renewed" can be applied. Last year, Calc only played in this event because he wasn't invited to the Masters and was with his 3rd place finish that his decided to stick with his new putting technique. Now he ranks 6th in putting average on the Tour stats and with a high number of greens hit in regulation (ranked 9th), it is clear that his game is certainly renewed. He managed to avoid the difficult conditions of last week and should be a strong contender for Sutton's crown.
To complete a trio of uncomfortably short-priced picks, Scott McCarron completes the bill. He hasn't played since winning the BellSouth Classic four weeks ago, but with a worst place of 44th from ten starts this season, he comes into this event in tremendous form and without the pressure of trying to play too many tournaments. Like Calc, the secret to his form has been his short game - he ranks 12th in greens in regulation and 16th in putting average - while the rest of his game also ranks highly in the stats. With a respectable 21st place finish on his only appearance in this event (2000), he should not be too far from the leaderboard and complete a trio of picks who have already won this year.
Outright plays:
Hal Sutton to win 10/1 @ Carib
Mark Calcavecchia to win 14/1 e.w. @ Surrey
Scott McCarron to win 25/1 e.w. @ Surrey
For the second week running, the emphasis is on keeping the ball in play with Forest Oaks famous for its brutal rough. It may even mean a leaderboard similar to last week as well. The field is certainly familiar and the wilder (off the tee!) and more famous names such as Woods, Singh, Mickelson, Duval and Love are all absent. There is a lack of big name players this week and it means there are rather too many single-figure odds around as well!
Apart from a requirement to hit the fairway, good putting skills are necessary as the greens are only slightly larger than the Tour average, but they are very undulating and frequently tiered and on the greens, decent lag putting is a must, particularly as this week's surfaces are Bentgrass after the Tour's one-week stop on Bermuda.
The outright plays this week are Hal Sutton, Mark Calcavecchia and Scott McCarron. With a shortage of headline players this week, the odds on these three somewhat smaller than usual. Winning back-to-back events is a rare feat on the PGA Tour, but in a weak field and with a renewed Hal Sutton - life definitely did begin again at 40 for Hal - he is 2nd only to Tiger in the mental toughness necessary to carry off such a feat. In the last three years, Sutton has finished 8th, 17th and 1st in this event and currently stands 12th in driving accuracy and 1st in greens in regulation on the PGA Tour stats. He lead from the front last year and showed his strength on Sunday. On a course suited to his game, this title will have to be wrestled from his grasp.
Getting the nod over Jim Furyk because of his frustrating knack of finishing in the top-10, but not getting placed (top-5), Mark Calcavecchia is another pick for whom the adjective "renewed" can be applied. Last year, Calc only played in this event because he wasn't invited to the Masters and was with his 3rd place finish that his decided to stick with his new putting technique. Now he ranks 6th in putting average on the Tour stats and with a high number of greens hit in regulation (ranked 9th), it is clear that his game is certainly renewed. He managed to avoid the difficult conditions of last week and should be a strong contender for Sutton's crown.
To complete a trio of uncomfortably short-priced picks, Scott McCarron completes the bill. He hasn't played since winning the BellSouth Classic four weeks ago, but with a worst place of 44th from ten starts this season, he comes into this event in tremendous form and without the pressure of trying to play too many tournaments. Like Calc, the secret to his form has been his short game - he ranks 12th in greens in regulation and 16th in putting average - while the rest of his game also ranks highly in the stats. With a respectable 21st place finish on his only appearance in this event (2000), he should not be too far from the leaderboard and complete a trio of picks who have already won this year.
Outright plays:
Hal Sutton to win 10/1 @ Carib
Mark Calcavecchia to win 14/1 e.w. @ Surrey
Scott McCarron to win 25/1 e.w. @ Surrey
