Golf .
Indonesian Open.
Another co-sanctioned event between the European and Asian tours, and again it should pay to side with ‘local’ players or those used to the hot, humid conditions and the grainy greens. The quality of the field is hardly great but it is worth having a stab on a couple of players who might spring a surprise. No course form.
0.5 point e/w Chinarat Phadungsil @ 80/1 with Sunderlands
Lost 1 point
Phadungsil won an Asian tour event in Thailand in November, on just his 4th pro event, along with two other top 25 finishes. He was 6th in Malaysia two weeks ago. He can clearly play a bit and can handle the conditions. Ladbrokes are taking no chances at 33/1, which is a more realistic price.
0.5 point e/w Andrew Buckle @ 100/1 with Ladbrokes.
Won 12 points
Good form in the Asian Tour at the tail end of 2005 (3/32/51/10/7/6) and played well in the much stronger fields at Qatar and in the Johnnie Walker Classic (both 15th finishes). In this weaker field he could well have another high finish.
6 points Andrew Buckle to beat Terry Pilkadaris @ 10/11 with Bet Direct
Won 5.45
Buckle has won 6 of their last 7 H2H’s and is scoring at around a shot a round lower than Pilkadaris on recent form.
Ford Championship
Last year this event was held in very calm conditions and the big hitters were to the fore, but previously this course has favoured the more accurate players. The weather forecast for this week is for a reasonable breeze getting up late in the morning for the first 2 days at least, with gusts of 16 mph on Thursday and 28 mph on Friday afternoon. The early starters on day 1 have got the best conditions to get off to a strong start. Florida residents have dominated this event and the winner will have shown good form on Bermuda greens.
Sell Bart Bryant finishing position @ 44 for 0.25 point.
lost 7.25
Still a very unfashionable player despite 3 wins in the last 2 seasons, including the top flight Tour Championship and the end of 2005. He fits the profile for a winner of this event, has played well on Bermuda greens (won the Texas Open 2005, was 12th here in 2005 and 8th up the road in the Bay Hill). He is a Florida resident and is over 30 years old (the older players have a good record here). He also has a 7.27am tee off time on Thursday and should get the bulk of his round played before the wind gets up.
6 points Ryan Palmer to beat Jonathon Byrd @ evens with Stan James
won 6 points
Byrd comes here in good form, but he has rarely played well in Florida, in 15 events he has missed 7 cuts and has an average finishing position of 43rd. He was 5th here in 2004 but has missed the cut on his other 2 visits. Palmer has also started this season in good form and is 3-1 up on Byrd on this years H2H. He is much happier in Florida having won the Funai at Disney and has an average finishing position of 29th. Evens looks the wrong price to me.
5 points Jim Furyk to beat Ernie Els @ 2.05 with Hills
lost 5 points
Furyk is a course specialist, a 1/3rd of his events here have seen a top 10 finish and he averages 20th (last 5 events here averages 7.4th). Els won here in 2002 but out side of that he has not been that strong and Furyk is 4-0 up on course form. Not much between them on current form but Furyk is taken to beat Els on his beloved Bermuda greens and on a course he loves.
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