Longs Drugs Challenge

Stanley

Registered
Forum Member
Jul 26, 1999
11,801
26
0
Manchester, England
www.tour-tips.com
Outright plays (total stake: 1.5pts)

Cristie Kerr to win 18/1 e.w. @ SkyBet
She was backed at 14/1 last week and is backed again this week at 18/1 against a weaker field (no Paula Creamer or Jeong Jang) and over 72 hole. She did miss the cut last week and withdrew after the 1st round last year, but both can be dismissed. She was not really in contention after the 1st round and with all the weather disruption, a missed cut was the best preparation for this week. And she isn't a player to let such finishes affect her confidence: she missed the cut in the Safeway Classic in August and won the Wendy's Championship for Children the following week. And while she withdrew after an opening 76 last year, she was struggling with an injury and it was the second successive week that she had been forced to withdraw. After a three-week break, she would finish 8th, 5th, 7th and 2nd in her remaining events of 2004. That makes 18/1 better value than last week's 14/1 on offer.

Catriona Matthew to win 33/1 e.w. @ SkyBet and BetInternet
Matthew also struggled last year and finished in 49th place, but having been in poor form - she had finished 62nd the previous week - and having opened with 73, she was never in contention and her remaining rounds can be treated with a little caution. She did, however, shoot 69-70-71 for the rest of the week so there is some suggestion that she can play on this course. If that is the case, she has a good chance this week in her current form. She has four top-10 finishes plus an 18th place finish in her last five starts. Good enough for another top-5 finish.

Soo-Yun Kang to win 33/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes
Didn't play last year as she returned home to South Korea after the Safeway Classic, but it shouldn't be too much of a handicap with only one year's course form. And as that leaves current form, she should be a strong contender for this title. She was a wire-to-wire winner of the Safeway Classic in late August, she followed that with leading the Wendy's Championship for Children for two rounds before finishing 6th and followed that with a 2nd place finish in the Office Depot Championship last week when she was the only player to put any pressure on Hee-Won Han on Monday. In this form, she can beat anyone in this field.
 

Stanley

Registered
Forum Member
Jul 26, 1999
11,801
26
0
Manchester, England
www.tour-tips.com
Matchup plays (1.5pts unless stated):

Beth Daniel to beat Laura Davies -110 @ BetFred
Opposing Davies who has played poorly over the last six weeks. She lost 7&5 to Paula Creamer in the Solheim Cup singles and has finished 35th, 63rd, 32nd and mc over her last four events. She was seventeen shots behind Daniel at the cut last week and that difference in form should be too much to make up this week.

Soo-Yung Kang to beat Maria Hjorth -132 @ NordicBet [3pts]
No problems with form in this match. Both player have been playing well of late, but Hjorth has still to finish ahead of her opponent in any of their last five common events. She did play here last year, but having shot 75-74 to miss the cut by six shots, this can only be considered negative course experience.

Soo-Yung Kang to beat Karine Icher -111 @ Expekt
Another form player pitted against Kang, but again Kang has yet to finish behind her opponent in any of their last five common events. I would also expect Icher to struggle with fatigue at the very least in this four-day event. Over the last three weeks, she has played and been in contention in Oklahoma, then Spain (as a winner) and then in last week's weather-delayed event in California.

Karen Stupples to beat Sophie Gustafson -118 @ Centrebet [3pts]
Rather like Davies, Gustafson's form has suffered over the last two months. She has missed two of her last five cuts, including last week when she shot 76-79, and has a best finish of 25th. She also missed the cut on this course last year despite showing enough form in her next three events to finish 6th, 4th and 3rd. Stupples hasn't been in the best of form recently, but it has been enough to finish ahead of the Swede in each of their last three common events and be eleven shots ahead of her at the cut last week. As with Daniel and Davies, that difference in form should be too much to make up this week.
 

Stanley

Registered
Forum Member
Jul 26, 1999
11,801
26
0
Manchester, England
www.tour-tips.com
Outrights - FINAL RESULT: 1-2; +2.44pts

Kerr 47th
Matthew 3rd
Kang 62nd

Kang four-putt when in the lead last week was bad enough, but this week Kerr shot an opening 62 was cruising to a comfortable lead when she took a NINE and then a double-bogey a couple of holes later. Now entering the weekend in 12th place, there was no way back from that! Just as well Matthew earned some reprieve despite a triple-bogey seven on her card.

Matchups - FINAL RESULT: 3-1; +2.46pts

Daniel/Davies WON by 12
Kang/Hjorth WON by 4
Kang/Icher WON by 4
Stupples/Gustafson LOST (Stupples wd)

A farcical last two weeks. Looked set for a sweep of these matchups at the cut when Stupples led Gustafson by three shots after the first round and there was only going to be one more round played, but she withdrew to make the 3pt play a loser!

LPGA Tour ytd
Outrights: 16-51; +14.02pts
Matchups: 41-21; +53.09pts
 
Bet on MyBookie
Top