Find Me A 100 Winner: Mark Foster

Find Me A 100 Winner / Paul Krishnamurty / 18 November 2008 / Leave a Comment

It's Strictly Come Golfing this week as the weekly search for a three-figure winner continues.

This week's selection is [170.0] chance Mark Foster, a proven winner who often finds his best form over the winter period. The 33-year-old Englishman, previously a successful amateur and member of the 1995 Walker Cup winning side, only started to fulfil his potential in the professional ranks this century after his career was set back by injury.

Though he's never likely to hit any particularly great heights, he's become a fairly consistent performer who generally throws in two or three very good tournaments per year. This year's best to date was third place in June's BMW International Open, and his recent form is solid having made six of his last seven cuts. Three consecutive top-20s in decent late-summer events promised much for the winter period when he's often thrived in the past.

His sole victory on the main Tour came in January 2003, in a South African event where he'd finished runner-up the year before. Foster has also performed well on the 'Far-East Swing' before, finishing fourth at this week's Hong Kong venue seven years ago when way further down the rankings and also making the frame in Malaysia.

Foster showed plenty of bottle when winning that Dunhill Championship in a four-way play-off, and clearly knows how to win as he'd earlier bagged a couple of Challenge Tour titles.

At these type of odds, a player like Foster would have to win once every five years to return an overall profit to loyal backers. He looks the sort of middle-ranking European player who could manage that win ratio, and after nearly six years without one, he could be a due another winning turn.