Just beat me to it
Preview & outright plays
After last week's horror closing holes at Pine Needles, it is surprising that anyone has come out for more. Locust Hill is no pushover; it is a tight track with narrow fairways and small greens, but at least more than one person will finish this week under par. Karrie Webb takes a deserved rest after her victory and the week has already seen a number of withdrawals that means only two of this year's winners are competing this week. Amazingly, the two most notable withdrawals - Annika Sorenstam and Se Ri Pak - have not been acknowledged by the layers, so there should be some good value prices out there this week!
The three selections for this event are Dottie Pepper, Rosie Jones and Nancy Scranton. Pepper is now the only player on the top-10 of the money list who is competing this week. While she hasn't won this year, she has done everything but. She has finished in the top-5 in seven of her last nine events without winning. With no Webb, Sorenstam or Pak she will seriously never have a better opportunity to win and having already won this title on this course in 1996, this could finally be Dottie's week.
At 11th on the money list, Jones is the second-highest ranked player this week and she does has the distinction of having won this season. While last week's experience may not have been a happy one for Jones - and for those that backed her - she does have the opportunity to erase those memories with a return to a course on which she has won this title twice (1991 & 1998). She has followed that last victory with 6th and 4th place finishes and looks ideally suited to make it at least another place win here.
Perhaps missing the cut last week was a blessing in disguise for Scranton; that sort of course can do your confidence no good at all. It did bring to an end an excellent run of form that included three top-10 and one top-20 finish in her previous four starts. Her form at Locust Hill has not been that great, though she had three top-25 finishes before her missed cut last year, and like the other two picks, it is her current form (pre-Pine Needles) and her accurate rather than power game that gives her a decent chance this week.
Outright plays:
Dottie Pepper to win 8/1 @
Ladbrokes
Rosie Jones to win 16/1 e.w. @
Surrey
Nancy Scranton to win 50/1 e.w. @
Surrey
