Mallorca Classic. A very short course at just 6676 yards, but also a very difficult course (just 20 players beat par last year). It rewards accuracy and course form is very useful. Every year the course is modified by Jose Maria Olazabal and his course knowledge has proven useful as his results of 2/10/1 testify. Indeed the three winners of this event have all been Spanish (Olazabal, Garcia and Jimenez) and none bigger than 12/1. There is good reason to fancy the chances of Garcia and Olazabal again but they are priced accordingly (6/1 and 14/1 respectively). Lara is another home player who could be fancied but his recent form is not that great. I prefer to take a chance on the Spanish monopoly being broken and go with 3 Brits. 1 point e/w Bradley Dredge @ 20/1 generally available. non Runner Clearly a man in excellent form (18/1/2 last 3 events) and likes playing short, fiddly courses. His first ever win was in Madeira on another course very much like this one and he finished 5th here last year on his debut. The Spanish climate obviously suits him as he has 9 top 25 finishes from 14 starts (4 top 5’s). Coming here in the best form of his life and he looks very likely to in with a good chance. 1 point e/w Paul Broadhurst @ 33/1 with Ladbrokes and BetFred. lost 2 points Another course expert with form figures of 5/7/2 and his 8th in the Dunhill Links Championship shows that his game is in good shape. No spring chicken, he enjoys a bit of sun to warm up the old bones and he remains one of the finest putters on tour. 0.5 points e/w Graeme Storm @ 125/1 with Corals. lost 1 point Storm has had a solid if largely uneventful 2nd season on tour. He was 11th here last year and the course will suit his short but accurate style. His current form is only reasonable, but he is a player that seems to reproduce his best golf on courses on which he has played well on before. In 2005 he had his best ever finish in the European Open, and he followed that up with a 4th place this year. Qatar Masters 2005 - 12th and 2006 - 8th, and he was looking like following up his 2005 5th the Deutsche Bank with a high finish until a 3rd round 75 ruined his event, he finished 37th in the end. If he has a good week with the putter he could make the frame. 5 points Anthony Wall to beat Richard Green @ 4/5 with SpotingOdds. lost 5 points I had considered Wall as an outright selection but he appears to be suspect when in with a chance of winning. He is in good form with 6 top 20’s from his last 9 events including two runners up places. He was 19th on his course debut last season and looks a good bet for another top 20, maybe top 10 finish. Green is another player whose game is based on accuracy but he has not played the course before and his current form is very volatile. In his last 9 events he has 3 top 7 finishes, but also 4 missed cuts. Hopefully this will be another off week for the Aussie lefty. |
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