Outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt)
Ian Poulter to win 20/1 e.w. @ Stan James, Victor Chandler and Ladbrokes
With the fairways being soft at La Moreleja, this should set up well for the more attacking players on the Tour and Poulter is certainly one of them. Add in a desire to prove himself an important absentee from the Ryder Cup team, Poulter should certainly have the motivation to finish ahead of Harrington, Olazabal and Clarke. But unlike Bjorn, he is in great form, finishing 9th in the PGA Championship and 13th in the Bridgestone Invitational before succumbing to the pressure at the BMW International Open. And if that were not enough, he has finished in the top-10 in each of his last three starts in Spain, including one win (2004 Volvo Masters).
Niclas Fasth to win 40/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes
In terms of location form, few can rival Fasth who won the Open de Espana earlier this year and, since 1999, has finished in the top-15 in 13 of his last 20 starts in Iberia. He is also one of the few in this field who played on this course when the Oki Pro-Am was played here in the 1990s (11th in his last appearance in that event in 1996) and when the 1997 Open de Espana was played here (36th). His form may be as inconsistent as ever, but with two top-15 finishes in his last three European Tour starts, he should earn another in the Iberian Peninsula.
Ricardo Gonzalez to win 50/1 e.w. @ BetFred
Gonzalez is another with good form in this region: alongside 4th in this year's Algarve Open de Portugal, he won this event in 2003, won the 2004 Open de Sevilla and finished 2nd in the 2004 Open de Espana. He would have struggled had the fairways been hard, but they are soft and the course is playing long so he should have a sizeable edge over most of the field and in his last two events, he has played better than any time in the previous five months ... in fact, since he was in the Iberian Peninsula.
Ian Poulter to win 20/1 e.w. @ Stan James, Victor Chandler and Ladbrokes
With the fairways being soft at La Moreleja, this should set up well for the more attacking players on the Tour and Poulter is certainly one of them. Add in a desire to prove himself an important absentee from the Ryder Cup team, Poulter should certainly have the motivation to finish ahead of Harrington, Olazabal and Clarke. But unlike Bjorn, he is in great form, finishing 9th in the PGA Championship and 13th in the Bridgestone Invitational before succumbing to the pressure at the BMW International Open. And if that were not enough, he has finished in the top-10 in each of his last three starts in Spain, including one win (2004 Volvo Masters).
Niclas Fasth to win 40/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes
In terms of location form, few can rival Fasth who won the Open de Espana earlier this year and, since 1999, has finished in the top-15 in 13 of his last 20 starts in Iberia. He is also one of the few in this field who played on this course when the Oki Pro-Am was played here in the 1990s (11th in his last appearance in that event in 1996) and when the 1997 Open de Espana was played here (36th). His form may be as inconsistent as ever, but with two top-15 finishes in his last three European Tour starts, he should earn another in the Iberian Peninsula.
Ricardo Gonzalez to win 50/1 e.w. @ BetFred
Gonzalez is another with good form in this region: alongside 4th in this year's Algarve Open de Portugal, he won this event in 2003, won the 2004 Open de Sevilla and finished 2nd in the 2004 Open de Espana. He would have struggled had the fairways been hard, but they are soft and the course is playing long so he should have a sizeable edge over most of the field and in his last two events, he has played better than any time in the previous five months ... in fact, since he was in the Iberian Peninsula.
