Preview & outright plays:
This is a warm-up event for the second major of the season: next week's US Open. As a result, some of the top golfers have opted to fine-tune their games on the range rather than in competition - in this category fall Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb and Si Re Pak - and that leaves Dottie Pepper as a rather short-priced favorite. With Pine Needles on the players' minds this week (the course, that is!), there should be a surprise or two this week.
The course itself has played host to this event since its inception in 1979 so there is plenty of course form. It is described as a traditional course with narrow tree-lined fairways and small, fast greens. It sounds like a US Open course already! The winning scores of previous years and the stats of previous leaderboards suggest that it may not be that tight off the tee, but a good overall game is required around this course.
The three selections this week are Rosie Jones, Janice Moodie and Heather Bowie. Jones has simply dominated this event for the past ten years. She missed the 1991 event, but in her ten outings since 1990 she has won here twice (1996-97), finished in the top-5 on four other occasions and in the top-10 on a further two more occasions. She is justifiably at a short-price, but given her history and her recent win at the Kathy Ireland Championship, she looks a very strong challenger to win this week.
In contrast, Moodie has only played in this event once: she finished 21st in 1998, but she has excellent all-round stats and is in a rich vein of form. She has followed up her 22nd place at the Nabisco Championships with top-10 finishes at the Office Depot and the Champions Classic last week where she finished 5th after birdying seven of the last eleven holes. If only she can carry that form into this week ...
The 3rd pick, Bowie, did little wrong last week to finish 15th in a rain-shortened event. She was always in contention for a place finish and with 72 holes on offer this week, her great form should come to the fore. She finished a decent 17th last year and has good overall stats that belie her odds in a weakened field.
Outright plays:
Rosie Jones to win 12/1 e.w. @ NetBetSports
Janice Moodie to win 33/1 e.w. @ Surrey
Heather Bowie to win 50/1 e.w. @ Surrey
This is a warm-up event for the second major of the season: next week's US Open. As a result, some of the top golfers have opted to fine-tune their games on the range rather than in competition - in this category fall Annika Sorenstam, Karrie Webb and Si Re Pak - and that leaves Dottie Pepper as a rather short-priced favorite. With Pine Needles on the players' minds this week (the course, that is!), there should be a surprise or two this week.
The course itself has played host to this event since its inception in 1979 so there is plenty of course form. It is described as a traditional course with narrow tree-lined fairways and small, fast greens. It sounds like a US Open course already! The winning scores of previous years and the stats of previous leaderboards suggest that it may not be that tight off the tee, but a good overall game is required around this course.
The three selections this week are Rosie Jones, Janice Moodie and Heather Bowie. Jones has simply dominated this event for the past ten years. She missed the 1991 event, but in her ten outings since 1990 she has won here twice (1996-97), finished in the top-5 on four other occasions and in the top-10 on a further two more occasions. She is justifiably at a short-price, but given her history and her recent win at the Kathy Ireland Championship, she looks a very strong challenger to win this week.
In contrast, Moodie has only played in this event once: she finished 21st in 1998, but she has excellent all-round stats and is in a rich vein of form. She has followed up her 22nd place at the Nabisco Championships with top-10 finishes at the Office Depot and the Champions Classic last week where she finished 5th after birdying seven of the last eleven holes. If only she can carry that form into this week ...
The 3rd pick, Bowie, did little wrong last week to finish 15th in a rain-shortened event. She was always in contention for a place finish and with 72 holes on offer this week, her great form should come to the fore. She finished a decent 17th last year and has good overall stats that belie her odds in a weakened field.
Outright plays:
Rosie Jones to win 12/1 e.w. @ NetBetSports
Janice Moodie to win 33/1 e.w. @ Surrey
Heather Bowie to win 50/1 e.w. @ Surrey
