Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 22 October 2008 /

Tareq Quiroz previews the Frys.com Open - a crunch tournament for plenty on the PGA Tour.

It may be late October but there is no let up in the amount of vital tour events. Players are desperately fighting to get into various categories to secure playing rights for next season. This week is the last on the European Tour for those trying to get into the top 115, the mark which ensures they retain playing privileges for next year. And it will be no less tense Stateside as a whole host of players scramble to avoid having to go to the qualifying school. It all certainly makes for an exciting week ahead for the viewer and for a punter the safest place to have your money this week is the PGA Tour.

The Course
This is just the second running of the Frys.com Open but we can already draw plenty of information from last year's event. The host venue is the Grayhawk Golf Club where they will be using the Raptor Course for this tournament. As seems to be the trend at this time of year this isn't the most difficult of courses and once again birdies will be the order of the day. At 7,125 yards it is of average length for a Par 70 course and those players with a liking for this type of track will be looking for a big payday. Watch out for the converted Par 5s at seven and 18 as the tough holes, both these holes play as par 4s for the tournament and players will be more than happy with a par each time they step off the green.

The Favourite
For the second week running Canadian Mike Weir has the favourite's berth. I thought he was a justified jolly last week and I have no reason to alter my thoughts this week. In fact he is an even firmer favourite this week with what is, in truth, a pretty weak field. Weir is the stand-out player and has the bonus of being the defending champion. He won the inaugural event here with four good rounds and comes here again in pretty reasonable form. At current odds of [12.5] he is the must bet this week.

The Next Best Bets
I think the record clearly shows that I am not a fan of Davis Love III but on this particularly rare occasion I do have to put his name forward as a possible alternative to the market leader. For various reasons he has had a stop-start season, but his troubles appear to be behind him as he has shown excellent form a couple of times in the last few weeks. An improved golf course demeanor also hasn't gone unnoticed and he is worth a punt this week at odds of around [38.0]. Players in form are always hard to ignore and a mention has to go out to last week's brave winner Marc Turnesa. I thought he did very well last week to seal the deal. With his playing card secure and a tour exemption he will be coming here in a buoyant mood. Surely at odds of [95.0] he has to be worth a saver.

The Massive Outsider
We are not exactly crawling with lively outsiders this week, with a lot of players looking like they just want the season to end. I have picked my way through a lot of has-beens and tired rookies to find just one lively outsider this week. That dubious honour goes to the Aussie Steve Allan. After a poor year he has hit form recently with two top-five finishes. Although not the most reliable of players he certainly has better form than most around him and at current odds of [140.0] he is the outside bet of the week.

Interesting Info
The standard of the field is reflected in the fact that Mike Weir is the only player in the field who features in the top 30 on the money list. The always large Australian contingent makes up over 10% of the entire field this week. A warning to all players this week comes from Ernie Els, who when playing here in 2000 in the Williams Challenge accidentally brushed up against a cactus flower and had to have the paramedics remove it. That is not going to help your score.

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