Preview & outright plays:
After the manufactured splendor of Augusta, it is time for a true seaside links. This is one of many changes from last week's venue and while week-to-week changes would appear to not be very enticing, the players are unanimous in their praise of the set-up at Harbour Town and barring any late withdrawals after the stresses of Augusta, this is a high quality field again. The fact that in only four years since 1981 has the winner not been a Major champion is testimony to the field that the WorldCom (formerly MCI) Classic attracts and to the testing nature of the course. On 1 May last year, Harbour Town Golf Club was closed for nine months for a major facelift from Pete Dye, but it hasn't changed any of the characteristics of the holes, only the shape of the bunkers and the wooden panels that have made the course famous.
With much narrower fairways than last week and the smallest greens the pros experience all season represent, this represents quite a change from the Masters. With an emphasis on accuracy, particularly in hitting the tiny greens, this is no course for the big hitters. The fact that there are only three par-5s adds to the downplaying of length and the collectively the four par-3s are the toughest on Tour; this is where much of the title race will be decided. In another change from last week, we are back on Bermuda greens and one particular feature of previous leaderboards has been that they have been dominated by good putters who can scramble well around these tiny greens.
One notable player with a local connection is Davis Love who is a four-time winner here and has been playing the course since the age of thirteen. He is not selected this week because of poor odds and a lingering suspicion that he still will not enough tournaments when in contention. Instead, the three outright plays this week are Vijay Singh, Tom Lehman and Jeff Sluman. Singh did not feature too prominently in the Masters last week, but the champion has successfully defended his title just twice in Masters history, so that is no great surprise. That his 3rd round 73 was his only round over-par this year is indicative of the great run of form he is enjoying. He finished 3rd last year and with a ranking of 2nd in the putting average stats, he should finish very high on the leaderboard this week.
Tom Lehman gets the 2nd spot ahead of Mark Calcavecchia because of the latter's reluctance to play here and poor record when he has. Lehman may be 100th in this year's putting average stats and 109th in driving accuracy, but he has a tremendous record around this course. He has played here every year since 1991 and his worst finish has been 36th. Last year he played the weekend in 10-under-par to almost catch Stewart Cink; he finally finished 2nd. With the credentials of a Major winner and a specialist on tough courses, he could very easily defy his Tour stats and again be a real contender this week.
Finally, Jeff Sluman is the value play. Like Lehman, he is a tough course specialist and like both picks, is a Major winner already. He ranks 9th in this year's putting average stats and has a decent record on this course, finishing 2nd two years ago only on a playoff with Glen Day and Payne Stewart. He did not play last week and comes into the event fresh and focused.
Outright plays:
Vijay Singh to win 12/1 e.w. @ Easybets
Tom Lehman to win 25/1 e.w. @ Easybets
Jeff Sluman to win 50/1 e.w. @ DAS
After the manufactured splendor of Augusta, it is time for a true seaside links. This is one of many changes from last week's venue and while week-to-week changes would appear to not be very enticing, the players are unanimous in their praise of the set-up at Harbour Town and barring any late withdrawals after the stresses of Augusta, this is a high quality field again. The fact that in only four years since 1981 has the winner not been a Major champion is testimony to the field that the WorldCom (formerly MCI) Classic attracts and to the testing nature of the course. On 1 May last year, Harbour Town Golf Club was closed for nine months for a major facelift from Pete Dye, but it hasn't changed any of the characteristics of the holes, only the shape of the bunkers and the wooden panels that have made the course famous.
With much narrower fairways than last week and the smallest greens the pros experience all season represent, this represents quite a change from the Masters. With an emphasis on accuracy, particularly in hitting the tiny greens, this is no course for the big hitters. The fact that there are only three par-5s adds to the downplaying of length and the collectively the four par-3s are the toughest on Tour; this is where much of the title race will be decided. In another change from last week, we are back on Bermuda greens and one particular feature of previous leaderboards has been that they have been dominated by good putters who can scramble well around these tiny greens.
One notable player with a local connection is Davis Love who is a four-time winner here and has been playing the course since the age of thirteen. He is not selected this week because of poor odds and a lingering suspicion that he still will not enough tournaments when in contention. Instead, the three outright plays this week are Vijay Singh, Tom Lehman and Jeff Sluman. Singh did not feature too prominently in the Masters last week, but the champion has successfully defended his title just twice in Masters history, so that is no great surprise. That his 3rd round 73 was his only round over-par this year is indicative of the great run of form he is enjoying. He finished 3rd last year and with a ranking of 2nd in the putting average stats, he should finish very high on the leaderboard this week.
Tom Lehman gets the 2nd spot ahead of Mark Calcavecchia because of the latter's reluctance to play here and poor record when he has. Lehman may be 100th in this year's putting average stats and 109th in driving accuracy, but he has a tremendous record around this course. He has played here every year since 1991 and his worst finish has been 36th. Last year he played the weekend in 10-under-par to almost catch Stewart Cink; he finally finished 2nd. With the credentials of a Major winner and a specialist on tough courses, he could very easily defy his Tour stats and again be a real contender this week.
Finally, Jeff Sluman is the value play. Like Lehman, he is a tough course specialist and like both picks, is a Major winner already. He ranks 9th in this year's putting average stats and has a decent record on this course, finishing 2nd two years ago only on a playoff with Glen Day and Payne Stewart. He did not play last week and comes into the event fresh and focused.
Outright plays:
Vijay Singh to win 12/1 e.w. @ Easybets
Tom Lehman to win 25/1 e.w. @ Easybets
Jeff Sluman to win 50/1 e.w. @ DAS
