Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 22 August 2007 / Leave a Comment

Betfair golf guru Tareq Quiroz thinks Spaniard can finally banish Carnoustie memories

Westchester Country Club, New York, is the setting for the start of the inaugural FedEx play-off series. For four straight weeks a galaxy of the greatest golfing stars will battle it out over some of the best courses in the US, to produce the ultimate champion. The bounty for topping the standings at the conclusion of the Tour Championships is a cool $10 million.

Although pessimists may whisper that Tiger has elected to miss the first of the events, and that the $10 million bonus is in fact paid in the form of an annuity placed in the player's retirement fund, as opposed to an immediate pay out, the FedEx series promises to be a veritable feast for both players and viewer.

Tiger skips this one to recharge his batteries for an assault on the final three events in the FedEx play-offs. The current world number one can obviously afford to miss the points, and has perhaps elected to skip this one as he has only had mediocre finishes in his three previous visits here.

The rest will be doing battle at one of the finest courses on the PGA Tour calendar. At just over 6,800 yards, Westchester is an old style test of the players' accurate iron play. The high quality of the field and the difficult nature of the course means our betting strategy for The Barclays is straightforward. Firstly draw a line through any player's name that is trading at three figures - they will not win. The last three winners of this event are all top class, and with the extra emphasis on the FedEx points, expect the winner to come from the top ten in the betting.

This event is set-up for the pre-tournament punter, so it's a week for backing your judgement. Of the leading players, Harrington, Els, Singh and Garcia stand out. Ruthless in our approach, we are going to dismiss Harrington - I think his Open hangover might last for a few more weeks yet. Next to get the cut is the Big Easy. In great form and nearing his best, this is an axing I may regret, but his price is prohibitive and our two remaining protagonists represent much better value.

Vijay is a three-time course winner and I fully expect him to put his recent average form behind him and feature heavily. Garcia hasn't fired since his heartbreaking loss at the Open, but the sight of a course where he has won twice should get his mind back on the job, and good memories here will boost his confidence. Westchester is a shot-makers track and there is no finer exponent in the art than Garcia. He thrives on this course in very much the same way as mercurial countryman Seve Ballesteros did in the 80s, and I'm positive he will be up at the top of the leaderboard come Sunday afternoon.

If you are still unsure about trying to find the winner, then I suggest laying both Choi and Mickelson. Neither will feature this week - it's a course that won't bring out the best in Choi and a time of year when Leftie invariably goes missing. One person I do expect a big show from is Ian Poulter and you will do well to follow him in the threeballs and top-five finish markets. He tied for ninth here last year and I expect him to go even better this time round.

Tournament match bets are often a source of good value, and this week we have a real treat. Not only do we have a great selection, we also get to oppose one of golf's controversial characters. The pick has to be for Immelman to beat Sabbatini. Immelman has had a consistent season and he is just about ready for a big finish in a top event, whilst Sabbatini is still regretting his prediction that he'd beat Tiger down the stretch of the WGC Invitational.

There will be some first class performances at the tough Westchester layout but don't expect the players to post too many low scores. One thing is for sure though ... the first week of the FedEx play-offs is guaranteed to deliver the goods.

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