Preview & plays ...
The LPGA Tour stays in Hawaii before taking a two-week break, the venue being Kapolei, Oahu. The event has been staged on this course since 1996 so there is good course form to work with. The course itself is wide-open, with the trade winds being a major factor. It seems that wind has been a factor in every LPGA event so far this year! So a good record in Hawaii in particular is important for this week's selections.
At very short odds, Karrie Webb and Annika Sorenstam are passed over and in their place are chosen Lorie Kane, Janice Moodie and Kelly Robbins. While many thought that last Sunday would see a shoot-out between Webb and Sorenstam, it was Kane who came through and roundly defeated the both of them to take the Takefuji Classic title. It was her fourth victory in seven months and she has followed the previous three with top-5 finishes the following week. Her course form may not be spectacular, but she has shown she can carry her form from week-to-week and could mount another serious challenge in Hawaii.
Janice Moodie should be able to play in wind, given her home country, and she has proved this with a 3rd place finish at Kona last year and 21st place last week despite having the worst of the draw - a Thursday afternoon tee-time when the winds were strongest during the week. With her other finishes of 6th, 27th and 12th this year, she is clearly in decent form, even though she not yet fully threatened a leaderboard. But with the 3rd best core stats on view this week, behind Kane and Webb, she is definitely capable of adding to the Shoprite LPGA Classic title that she currently owns.
The final pick is Kelly Robbins who may only have one top-10 finish this year, but has a very good record on this course. She didn't play last year, but before that she finished 9th, 25th, 5th and 14th. Obviously for a place finish she will need to match the best of those finishes, but she has shown a liking for this course and an aptitude for Hawaiian conditions. As one who traditionally plays her best at the very start and end of the seasons, she looks a capable candidate for a place finish.
Outright plays:
Lorie Kane 10/1
Janice Moodie 50/1
Kelly Robbins 50/1
All prices are with
Ladbrokes who pay 1/5 odds on the first five places; everyone else just offers the first four places
No-one appears to be pricing up the Verizon Seniors Classic - not even Multisports - so looks like no betting on the Seniors this week
