The Players Championship

[steved]

Early going report...

Also in the locker room is a memo from the PGA Tour warning players that course conditions next week at the Players Championship could be less than ideal. The Jacksonville area has received more than 13 inches of rain in the last five weeks and the course is soggy. The memo assured players that Tour officials will do everything humanly possible to speed up the greens and fairways, but it figures to be a tough task.

"It's a disaster," said Duval of his home course.

from this article on Bay Hill

http://www.golfdigest.com/newsandtour/insider/index.ssf?/newsandtour/insider/20030320ropes.html

 

[steved]

If it ain't broke...
Placed in this category last week (just) so same again please..

1 ew Leaney 50/1 (Sky) Top ROW player 1/4 1234

Still on bubble to qualify for Masters in 49th place (World Golf Ranking). 25th last week could have been much better for both of us except for double bogey on 17th...
Like I said last week, more confident player hitting it further(V1x), with accuracy he has always had.

This week having small saver in same ROW category on Weir..1 win at 9/1 (VC)..

 

[Clive]

Given the rumoured departure of Mickelson, it's time to play in Hills Stars and Stripes Market, as they still have him as 9/2 fav...

Will go with Scott Hoch (18/1) who always does well here and has an infamous victory under his belt already this year...poor last week, but he was probably beyond caring..he's that type of guy!

 

[kjls04202]

Retief Goosen looks a big price @ 50/1 with the Tote. Unfortunately first five a 1/5 for each way. Still that is equal to the same each way for 40/1 at a quarter.

 

[bettingmad]

Seedy,
When did you place your bet on the stars and stripes???

They have a nasty little message....

( All Bets Taken Prior To 9-30am Tuesday Are Subsect To A 15p In The Pound Deduction)

What's the world coming to????

 

[Stanley]

Els out as well

 

[steved]

1 ew Huston 40/1 (Stan James)in Top US without Woods market..

in process of playing well last week, when it rained..Huston said afterwards that he absolutely hated it, so given another chance to continue good(ish) form this year. Came 9th here last year after playing well at Bay Hill..

 

[Clive]

I've asked Hills for my money back! Having looked at the market, it may be a limited field event, so I guess R4 is justified.

They don't appear to have done the same with their ROW market after the withdrawal of Els.

 

[Stanley]

Outright plays (1 unit):

Vijay Singh to win 25/1 e.w. @ Victor Chandler
Good return to form last week after an opening 75 left him struggling to make the cut. He finished in the top-20 and will be greatly encouraged by his performance. He should have won this event two years ago until a triple-bogey on the 14th hole in the final round handed the title to Woods, but the final margin was still only one shot. That was the only time that Tiger has won here and he was lucky. This year Singh is returning from injury, but he has already won one event (Phoenix Open) and he is a member at Sawgrass so this is where he will have been preparing for last week's return from injury.

Jim Furyk to win 33/1 e.w. @ BetInternet
Not such a good course record, but in excellent form at the moment. He has finished in the top-5 in three of his last four strokeplay events and really should have won the Ford Championship when tipped! He has won in Florida (2000 Genuity Championship) and looks set for his best finish in this event.

Nick Price to finish in the top-five 10/1 @ SkyBet [12.5/1 @ Centrebet for 4 places]
He may have won the MasterCard Colonial last year, but I would nearly always for place-only with Price. He has a great record in this event, winning the title 10 years ago and finishing in the top-10 in each of the last five years, including two top-3s. He has finished in the top-5 in two of four strokeplay events this year and is similarly consistent in the two Florida events that he plays every year. At Sawgrass and Doral he has finished in the top-10 in nine of his last ten starts. Very consistent and likely to be close to that top-5 finish this week.

 

[Stanley]

Matchup plays (1 unit):

Jim Furyk to beat Brad Faxon -125 @ Easybets
Faxon does not have a particularly good record on this course and if he is as accurate this week as he was on Sunday then he will miss the cut. Putting cannot save your card around Sawgrass as too much damage will be done beforehand. Siding with the player who is 5-0-0 h2h this season and 4-0-1 h2h the last five seasons in this event.

Scott Verplank to beat Colin Montgomerie -115 @ Intertops
Opposing Monty who in his five starts this season has missed the cut three times, gone out in the 1st round of the WGC Match Play and finished 31st. No surprise, therefore, that he has yet to finish ahead of Verplank in any of their four joint events this season. Verplank has a similarly dominant h2h record against Monty on this Tour over the past few years and so will side with the player who makes more cuts than virtually anyone .... bar Tiger.

 

[Myron]

Does anyone think Tiger at 38-43 (wsex interactives) is a bit high for someone who hasn't teed off yet? He is playing a course that doesn't set up that great for him, is playing on a very slow course due to rain so his long drives won't carry and who is coming off a sickness?

He may win but with 143 of the best golfers teeing off against him (even minus Mickelson and Els), I really believe 3/5 odds are pretty good for him not to win. Chances are he won't be leading after day one and you'll be able to buy back the interactives at a good price.

Certainly worth a shot anyways.

 

[DOGS THAT BARK]

Outrights @ Skybet to place 1 unit each(5 places)

Price 10/1
Sluman 20/1

 

[Trampled Underfoot]

Allenby 80-1 1/4 12345

 

[Stanley]

Adding (1 unit):

Davis Love to win 'Top U.S. Player Without Woods' 14/1 e.w. available generally
Did look at Love for the outright market, but will take him here as he is not one who can duel with Woods in the final round. That said, he has been in excellent form this season with one win (Pebble Beach Pro-Am) already and a runners-up spot in his last outing (Honda Classic). He has a good record of securing top-10 finishes here, including a win in 1992, and is playing without injury at the moment which is something he has been unable to do for a number of years.

Stephen Ames to win 'Top Rest of the World Player' 40/1 e.w. @ BetInternet
Thirty-three players in this category, so along with the 13 Europeans, this shows how international this event has become and the 'Rest of the World' players have a good record in this event. Not only did Perks win this event last year, but they won it four times in the 1990s. These are large odds for a player who finished 2nd last year - he was only denied by an amazing final three holes by Perks - and who, in six starts this year has recorded five top-30 finishes including two top-10s.

Darren Clarke to win 'Top European Player' 7/1 available generally
Clarke's form at Sawgrass is typical Clarke - good event, bad event, good event, etc. But there is plenty of evidence that his hard work over the winter with Butch Harmon is reaping its reward. He has finished no worse than 11th in seven of his last nine events and had been 12th at the cut in the Buick Invitational when he was disqualified over the weekend for signing an incorrect card. Only 13 players in this category and with the Europeans' generally poor record on this course, I'll take the win-only here.

No 1st round plays with thunderstorms predicted for the afternoon.

 

[souzathelooza]

Stanley,

Excellent anaylsis.
Where do you get your information?

 

[hoss]

Souza - Click on Stan's 'WWW' page - he doesn't get the information - it gets him!

hoss

 

[milpalm]

Weir (40/1), Furyk (50/1) and Kelly (59/1) for me this week.

 

[Clive]

Only bet for me here is Ames 40/1 ROW market...all my money going on LPGA!!!

 

[Stanley]

:lol:

 

[Trampled Underfoot]

I have to get a UK residence!!