Golf – Omega European Masters. Crans-sur-Sierre is one of the most picturesque courses on the tour and also one of the most quirky. Played at altitude the already short course plays even shorter in the rarified air and features up turned saucer like greens that are hard to hold. As with most quirky courses, some players love it others loath it and good course form is a must. The record of past winners also shows that good current form is vital. The tricky greens reward players that are strong on and around the greens. 2 points e/w Niclas Fasth @ 18/1 with VCBet. lost 4 points (mc) Fasth has not played here since 2000 when he finished 4th, including an excellent last round 64. He will need to reacquaint himself with the unique challenges of the course, but his current form is better than the raw figures suggest as this is a step down in class. He is one of the best players around the greens and hopefully after a couple of weeks rest he will come in refreshed for the start of his bid to make the Ryder Cup Squad. 1 point e/w Miguel Angel Jimenez @ 25/1 generally available. lost 2 points (mc) Making the Ryder Cup squad will also be the target for the colourful Spaniard. At 42 years of age he might not find it easy but his record on this course is impressive with 5 top 10 finishes and he was runner up in 2004. His recent form is good, 12th in The Open followed by another top 15 finish in Germany the following week. Like Fasth he has had a rest since the USPGA and on one of his favourite courses he should a decent chance of finally winning the title. 0.5 point e/w Martin Erlandsson @ 50/1 with VCBet, Paddy Power, Stan James. lost 1 point (mc) Nothing wrong his form, with finishes of 12/17/2 in his last 3 events and he was 7th here last year. In 2005 he was heading for a top 10 finish until a final round 79. Take that blip out of the equation and he is 14 under for 7 rounds. There are a few question marks about his ‘bottle’ and it is noticeable that his recent run of good results have come as a result of very hot final rounds when not in contention. Whether he could play like that when the winning post was in sight is an other matter. 8 points Barry Lane to beat Ignacio Garrido @ 1.88 with Unibet. won 7.04 points Neither of these two is likely to picking up the trophy, but Lane looks the more likely to make the cut and have a reasonable tournament. He has not had a good season but when interviewed by SKY TV during last weeks Johnnie Walker Championship, Lane explained that his recent upturn in form was due to a small swing change he has made to accommodate a problem he has had with Tennis Elbow. Since then his form has been transformed. Beforehand he missed 8 cuts in a row, since the change he has been 12th in the Scandinavian Masters and 14th in last weeks Johnnie Walker at Gleneagles. He did miss the cut in Holland in between, so he is not a nailed on top 20 player all of a sudden, but he is back playing good golf and enjoying it again. Garrido’s current form is not good mc/60/mc/43 and neither is his course form, with 5 missed cuts from his last 10 outings at Crans-sur-Sierre. Lane has a more impressive record, making 8 cuts from his last 9 here and is 7-2 up on course form. Lane has finished ahead of Garrido in their last 3 mutual events and looks a very good bet to do so again. |
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