OUTRIGHTS:
"Those South African boys are rather serious about guarding their titles down here." ~ Golf Channel commentator during last year's Joburg Open.
Darren Clarke(16/1) e.w.
- - I'm all in for a good while I suspect. I finally got a few crumbs, but less than I invested, when my ruminations took me to a similar commitment to playing Justin Rose to start the 2006 season, playing Rose every time a spot or a price or a glimpse of form or an angle from a prior appearance suggested a play (and it was definitely the wagers suggested by "prior course/event form" that came out the farthest from the mark) . . . Everything tells me Darren is keen to go, and he just needs to not want it so badly that he gets in his own way, and he'll tap into his class in really short order. A candidate to soar - I mean soar - in 2008 IF his balky putter then gets uncommonly friendly, and that would not surprise me in the least.
Hennie Otto(28/1) e.w.
- - Plays regularly at the club and was my big play here last year when he finished 3rd; some spotty touch from off the greens over the weekend killed his chances, and his resulting tempermant was at least a few degrees from ideal . . . Still, price not a reason that has me choosing not to invest in the encore performance off his current form.
Robert Rock(66/1) e.w.
- - I like it. With one sole exception I kept my powder dry last year while waiting many moons to get ballsy with this bloke; I know he's disappointed he hasn't done more, including win, and I think his team (instructor/psychologist/trainer/new wife/whomever) are behind the push. Right away when I heard his name suggested I pictured a course that suits and nodded my head. I like it. The kickstart timing is not without appeal, and whatever presence his career has had has been built on being streaky.
Martin Maritz(125/1) e.w.
- - There's a blast from the past I can live with as a shot in the dark to round out my card. FWIW, noting the birth of his first child in 2007.
MATCHUPS:
Rock(-15) over Canete (Tournament)
Clarke(-105) over Schwartzl (Tournament)
GL
