A difficult inauguration for the newest tournament on the PGA Tour, it has to contend with much greater interest in the Presidents Cup which will take away its essential TV airtime. That said, the field is better than would expected for a new event under such circumstances. Fred Couples, Scott Hoch, Steve Flesch, Chris & Kenny Perry, Justin Leonard and Nick Faldo are more than just journeymen pros. If were not that there will probably be very few betting opportunities on this event, it would be the better (and safer) betting proposition than the Presidents Cup.
This is the first time that the Copperhead course at the Westin Innisbrook resort has been used for a PGA Tour event though it did host the JC Penney Classic last year. It is difficult to glean much information from a mixed doubles event, even though John Daly and Laura Davies won the event, as it was in the longer playing conditions of December. Importantly though the course has recently been lengthened to 7,280 yards while at the same time maintaining its extremely narrow fairways bordered by very tall pine trees. It is an undulating and testing course that will require good shot-making capabilities - as opposed to the courses used last week - and with Bermuda greens in use this week, Southern state players will tend to hold the advantage in that department.
The top two-ranked players this week are Scott Hoch and Justin Leonard. Both played in the JC Penney Classic and finished mid-table though for both it was one bad round that cost them a challenge for the title. Nevertheless, experience on the course will be useful. Hoch has been his usual ultra-consistent challenging but not winning self. His three starts in the last month have all yielded top-10 finishes in stronger fields than this week. Similarly Justin Leonard has been in good form for some time, including winning the Texas Open last month, though as with any swing change he has been struggling for consistency. Both players are not long off the tee, but both have good overall games outside of length. In an event difficult to cap, I think this will be more important than length.
The long-shot would probably be Kenny Perry, currently offered @ 66/1 by Sportingbet. He hasn't played since the PGA Championship in August so I do need an injury update, but if fit he is a match for any player in this field and certainly so until the greens. He is long and has very good greens in regulation stats. He should certainly be worth an e/w punt at those odds.
As ever, I will wait until the tee-times/injury problems are known before committing the final outright plays, but one 72-hole play does look good at this stage:
Scott Hoch to beat Lee Janzen -118 @ Centrebet [2 units]
Janzen is not the player he was and has only one top-10 finish this year compared to Hoch's three from the last three tournaments and seven this year in total
Any news on Kenny, DTB? It was his back that was hurting wasn't it?
This is the first time that the Copperhead course at the Westin Innisbrook resort has been used for a PGA Tour event though it did host the JC Penney Classic last year. It is difficult to glean much information from a mixed doubles event, even though John Daly and Laura Davies won the event, as it was in the longer playing conditions of December. Importantly though the course has recently been lengthened to 7,280 yards while at the same time maintaining its extremely narrow fairways bordered by very tall pine trees. It is an undulating and testing course that will require good shot-making capabilities - as opposed to the courses used last week - and with Bermuda greens in use this week, Southern state players will tend to hold the advantage in that department.
The top two-ranked players this week are Scott Hoch and Justin Leonard. Both played in the JC Penney Classic and finished mid-table though for both it was one bad round that cost them a challenge for the title. Nevertheless, experience on the course will be useful. Hoch has been his usual ultra-consistent challenging but not winning self. His three starts in the last month have all yielded top-10 finishes in stronger fields than this week. Similarly Justin Leonard has been in good form for some time, including winning the Texas Open last month, though as with any swing change he has been struggling for consistency. Both players are not long off the tee, but both have good overall games outside of length. In an event difficult to cap, I think this will be more important than length.
The long-shot would probably be Kenny Perry, currently offered @ 66/1 by Sportingbet. He hasn't played since the PGA Championship in August so I do need an injury update, but if fit he is a match for any player in this field and certainly so until the greens. He is long and has very good greens in regulation stats. He should certainly be worth an e/w punt at those odds.
As ever, I will wait until the tee-times/injury problems are known before committing the final outright plays, but one 72-hole play does look good at this stage:
Scott Hoch to beat Lee Janzen -118 @ Centrebet [2 units]
Janzen is not the player he was and has only one top-10 finish this year compared to Hoch's three from the last three tournaments and seven this year in total
Any news on Kenny, DTB? It was his back that was hurting wasn't it?
