Preview & outright plays:
This week it's the Senior's turn to compete for a Major and they do so at the Jack Nicklaus designed Cochise course at Desert Mountain, Scottsdale, which has staged the event since 1989. Jack has won this event four times and he showed with last year's 9th place finish after hip-replacement surgery that his knowledge of the course could make him a contender this week. He was encouraging at times last week, but this course is a far cry from the wide open fairways of Augusta. This is a typical desert course in which the desert often comes into play alongside fairways and around greens, which are elevated, medium-sized and surrounded by sand bunkers. A stern test for most and while most Majors tend to be dominated by the 'name' players, these selections this week come from the 2nd drawer who the value is to be found this week.
First off, and yet again, is Jose Maria Canizares. The enforced two-week break from competitive strokeplay golf should be a blessing for Canizares who had played the previous eight consecutive weeks. But in that spell he had finished in the top-10 in all but two events, winning the Toshiba Senior Classic. He has not featured in this event in his previous three appearances, but has finished in the top-25 in each and on the basis of his current form should set a career-high finish this week.
Mike McCullough is the second pick and comes into the event off a win two weeks ago at the Emerald Coast Classic, having already won the Mexico Senior Classic a month earlier. With finishes of 17th, 6th, 14th and 9th in his previous four appearances here, he obviously has a liking for this course and like Canizares, is in such good form that he could easily improve on that record this week.
The third pick is Jim Colbert who is another to have won this season, the SBC Senior Classic, and finished just one shot behind McCullough in Mexico. He can also claim another victory on the Senior PGA Tour this year as well as he partnered Andy North to a successful defense of their Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf title two weeks ago. In that form, age doesn't matter too much and he could again feature prominently in this event; he has three top-4 finishes in nine appearances here and is also the course record holder (64, 1995).
Outright plays:
Jose Maria Canizares to win 25/1 e.w. @
Surrey
Mike McCullough to win 33/1 e.w. @
Surrey (50/1 is still available @ Multisports)
Jim Colbert to win 66/1 e.w. @
Surrey