Outright plays (total stake per play: 1.5pts)
Bradley Dredge to win 25/1 e.w. @ Victor Chandler
No PGA Tour regulars or big-hitting home favourites to contend with this week, so maybe Dredge will finally win an event after holding the 3rd round lead in each of the last two weeks. OK, probably not, but he is a player who does have bursts of very good form and this is certainly one of them. It is also encouraging that he played attacking golf when in the lead last week rather buckle under pressure as Barry Lane did and but for a bit of luck on the greens in the final round, it might have been a different result. But his putting all week had been very good - 2nd in putting average and 3rd in putts per round for the event - and that is very important around Gleneagles. He returned for the first time in three years last year and missed the cut, but having missed the previous three cuts it was no surprise. He is playing much better this time and on form alone, is one of the players to beat this week.
Stephen Gallacher to win 33/1 e.w. available generally
No problems with Gallacher's form either. He finished 3rd against a very strong field in the Deutsche Bank event two weeks ago and this is such a weak field as Europe's elite prepares for next week's PGA Championship. But unlike Dredge, his course form is excellent: three top-10 finishes in the last four years when not the player that he is now. Since last year's event, he has earned his first European Tour title and, importantly, that was also in Scotland: the Dunhill Links Championship. Good odds for a home player that is in-form and with a good record here.
Alastair Forsyth to win 40/1 e.w. available generally
Siding with another home player who has shown good form in his home country. He was in the thick of the action for the Scottish Open last month and he also has two top-10 finishes in this event, including a runners-up finish two years ago. Another player who wins rarely, but at least they have all won on Tour and are in extremely good form. When Monty is a 6/1 favourite, it must be a very weak field and this represents a good chance for them to notch up another Tour win.
