Golf Events / Editor / 27 May 2007 / Leave a Comment

Ross Fisher and Paul Broadhurst will be aiming to clinch the biggest victory of their careers when they tee off today in the final round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

The English duo both birdied the final three holes of their third rounds on the West Course yesterday, to move to ten-under-par and take a narrow advantage over their nearest pursuers.

South African Richard Sterne and Australian Marcus Fraser lie just one shot back and will also be dreaming of lifting the trophy while Justin Rose - the leader over the first two days - is still well placed on seven-under.

But the likes of Miguel Angel Jimenez, Markus Brier, Nick Dougherty, 2002 champion Anders Hansen, Paul Casey and Angel Cabrera are all close enough to have a say in the final outcome and it promises to be a fascinating final round, especially with heavy rain and high winds forecast to make conditions even more testing.

Local favourite Fisher is expected to start as the slight favourite and is currently trading at 4.7 to claim the first trophy of his career, less than half a point shorter than Broadhurst.
Sterne's round of 66 on Saturday was the best of the day and he can be backed at 6.2 to win, ahead of Rose (6.6), Fraser (8.6) and Jimenez (19).

Further down the market, Casey and 2005 champion Cabrera - who stand on four-under-par - are available at around 55 while Dougherty can be backed at 60 to win his first tournament for two years.

Nobody in contention knows this week's venue as well as Fisher, who is based at Wentworth, and if the 26-year-old can play the final three holes like he has done on the first three days, there is every chance his name will be inscribed on the trophy this afternoon.

While many of the bigger names in the field have struggled over the tough closing finish, Fisher is a combined nine-under-par for the three holes - including finishing birdie-eagle-birdie on Friday.

Five birdies in his final seven holes propelled him to the top of the leader board yesterday and a similar sort of finish on Sunday would make him very difficult to pass.

Although he has missed his last five cuts, playing with Tiger Woods in the final round of this year's Dubai Desert Classic on his way to coming fifth will have given him the confidence to believe he can prevail this time around.

Fisher is 1.51 to claim his third top five finish of the season, while he is priced at 2 along with Broadhurst to be the top UK and Ireland player of the week behind Rose (1.25), with Casey available at 3.1 and Dougherty an attractive-looking 5.1.

Broadhurst's game is based on a brilliant touch around the greens and, if he can give himself enough birdie chances, he is a leading fancy to clinch the seventh victory of his career.

Like Vijay Singh before him, the 42-year-old has discovered the habit of winning in his 40s. He needed just 21 putts in his first round and Broadhurst, who is 1.42 to place in the top five, could be the one celebrating tonight.

Sterne, who is available at a shade longer than Broadhurst to come in the first five, has managed three top-ten finishes so far in 2007 and will go into the final round full of confidence, after carding six birdies and no dropped shots in his round on Saturday.

Fraser, whose best finish to date this season was seventh at the Italian Open, has also shown consistent form this week shooting under par each round and could cause a surprise, and he looks well priced at 2.52 to beat Sterne (1.82) in their two-ball pairing.

Rose may be suffering the effects of a lack of competitive action in recent weeks, after his challenge stalled yesterday. But the Englishman, 1.79 to place in the top five, is nothing if not determined and the pressure of not leading going into the final round could suit him, as he has blown three leads in America when in a similar situation over the last 18 months.

Jimenez has seen his world ranking slip from 23 to 72 in the last two years and he has not won since claiming the Celtic Manor Wales Open in 2005.

But the Spaniard, who is four shots off the lead and 2.26 to come in the first five, has managed four top-ten finishes in 2007 and has a good record in the PGA Championship, finishing third last year. He is 1.04 to come top of the Rest of Europe this week with Brier trading at 1.2.

Casey and Cabrera both have the firepower to force their way into contention, but will know they need to make fast starts to their rounds if they are to do so.

But Casey carded a final round 65 on his way to winning in Abu Dhabi at the start of the year and could do the same thing again. The pair appear attractively priced at 3.8 and 4.7 respectively to finish in the top five.

Dougherty, on five-under-par with Brier and Hansen, has twice gone close winning this season only to lose his way in the closing holes.

But Brier (70 to win) does have winning form after clinching the Volvo China Open title and may be a good bet, while a repeat of his round of 67 on Saturday would put Hansen in with a good chance of winning the trophy again.

On three-under-par, European number one Padraig Harrington (110 to win) still clings on to hopes of claiming his €1million bonus after winning the Irish Open last week and he is one player who can defy bad weather to shoot a low score - as he showed in Ireland.

Richard Green (280), Lee Westwood (150) and the in-form Fredrik Andersson Hed (320) are also on the same mark together, with Jeev Milkha Singh (360) hitting back well with rounds of 69 and 67 after opening with a 77 on Thursday.