Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 12 November 2008 /

After the drama of Shanghai the action moves to Singapore where an ultra-strong field grace the terrific Sentosa Club course. Tareq Quiroz resists the urge for a patriotic punt and says, look out for low scores.

Those determined enough to stay up for the conclusion of the first tournament in the Race to Dubai will agree that it was worth it. And if the rest of the season is going to be anything like the drama in Shanghai then bring it on. We now have a week off from the Dubai race but the field assembled for the Barclays Singapore Open is as good as you could possibly hope for.

The Course

It may not be that well known to the world of golf but this is a terrific course. The Sentosa Golf Club hosts some of the world's best players and the setting is certainly up to the job. Located next to the harbour there is a great feel to this track. At 7,300 yards it has been slightly lengthened in recent years but is still unlikely to cause great trouble to the world's best. Angel Cabrera set the course record of 63 on his way to victory last year and don't be surprised if you get similar scores this week.

The Favourite

Once again it is pretty tight for the market leader spot this week. You could make arguments for Adam Scott and Padraig Harrington but the man who will prevail in this department is Phil Mickelson. Lefty played pretty well last week without quite making the numbers on the back nine that would have had him challenge for the title. If he can just sharpen up his irons a little he will be very difficult to beat this week. At current odds of [8.4] he might just represent a decent option.

Mickelson will have one eye on his main rival, Adam Scott. Scott has won this tournament twice in the last three years and for the first time in a while last week he showed some very good form. Watch out for him at odds of around [9.0].

The Next Best Bets

There are so many tempting options this week and I am doing my best to ignore the urge to back Oliver Wilson. At current odds of [36] he definitely is backable but the nagging fear is that last week's exertions may have left him a little jaded this week. I will reluctantly pass him over in favour of South African Charl Schwartzel.

Many in the golfing world have tipped Schwartzel be a superstar and follow in the footsteps of the great South African players before him. He hasn't quite managed that step up yet but has recently displayed a growing maturity and I think he is ready to take on the world's best now. He played very well last week in Shanghai without ever quite getting into the mix for winning. I expect him to carry that form over to this week and he will carries my support at odds of [38.0].

The Massive Outsider

With most of the lower echelons of the market made up of Asian Tour players it is difficult to see too many big priced contenders this week. That doesn't mean that there aren't any though and we may just have a couple of live ones that merit a small punt.

First up is Swede Daniel Chopra who lived in India for a large chunk of his childhood and developed a good understanding of golf in Asia as he subsequently won several events in that part of the world. A two-time PGA Tour winner he has to merit some consideration at odds of around [120]. One other mention must go to back to back tournament winner Mark Brown. The New Zealander won two events earlier this year and comes here as the current leader of the Asian Order of Merit. This week we will see if he can cope with the step up to the big time and at odds of around [120.0] he is worth a small punt.

Interesting Info

Five of the world's top twenty players are on show in Singapore. Who said the season was over? We are missing Ian Poulter though as he has had to withdraw due to the absence of a driver. Apparently even in this day and age he can't get the driver he needs until Friday evening. Strange but true.

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