Golf Events / Paul Krishnamurty / 11 November 2008 /

Dismayed at the culmination of the the European and USA tour schedules?
Fear not, says Paul Krishnamurty, for golf punters and enthusiasts alike, the pristine courses of Asia have much to offer.

There was a time, not so long ago, when this autumn period of the golfing year was regularly described in derogatory terms such as the 'silly season'. Once the European and PGA Tour schedules finished, it was assumed that the remaining events were second-rate, missing loads of top US players disinterested in travelling overseas.

However as the new 'Race to Dubai' confirms, such a Western dominated outlook looks badly outdated. The field in Singapore this week is vastly superior to anything the PGA Tour has offered since the end of the Fedex Cup series. And while most Americans remain just as reluctant to travel, besides a handful of big names (who do actually bother), nobody's really going to miss them.

Speaking as a golf punter first and foremost, I absolutely love this time of year. For two specific reasons, I've always felt these events are easier to solve than the regular weekly puzzles. Firstly, there is the question of strength in depth. Though there are plenty of top-class Asians, Australians and South Africans, the average on these minor tours is well below the standard of the main tours. There are always a dozen or so contenders, but below that we're generally dealing with players who aren't good enough to qualify for the higher level. Compare that to Europe, where there are usually at least 40 previous Tour winners in each week's line-up, or the States where we've seen five [100.0]+ winners in seven weeks.

In fairness, this point is becoming less relevant. This week's field in Singapore is by far the strongest we've seen for that event, with well over 20 competitors boasting a previous win at the top level. That won't necessarily be the case in the weeks ahead though, especially when it comes to the events in Australia and South Africa.

The second main reason why these events favour the formbook, and therefore punters, is the nature of the courses. Because these are the elite handful of championship events on the minor tours, they tend to be played on the very best championship courses those countries have to offer, ensuring a stern test of every aspect of the game. Such tests usually accentuate the gap in class, and are dominated by the small number of world-class competitors. In Australia for example, there's The Masters at Huntingdale, and the Australian Open. Every winner of both events in the last five years were among a select band of proven worldwide winners.

This week's Barclays Singapore Open proves the point as well as any. Even though Singapore remains a golfing outpost, this is now the fifth most lucrative national Open around the world. The venue, Sentosa, is widely acclaimed as one of the best Asian courses, and certainly one of the toughest. Consequently, all three previous renewals have been dominated by the few world-class representatives, and the fields have been well strung out. Adam Scott won by seven shots from Lee Westwood in 2005, and retained his title in a play-off against Ernie Els with the pair three shots clear of the rest. Scott finished 3rd again last year in a slightly stronger field, this time dominated by the then US Open champion Angel Cabrera and Vijay Singh.

It won't be quite as easy to call this year because there are more top-class competitors than usual, but I'm still inclined to think the winner will come from the first four in the betting. As he showed by far his best form in ages at the weekend, it's easy to make a case for course specialist Scott at [10.0]. He certainly makes more of an appeal than the ever unreliable Phil Mickelson, who was beaten a long way on this less than ideal layout last year. Padraig Harrington will be feared as this tough venue should suit him down to the ground, though as always with Pod outside the Majors, any bet involves taking a chance that his mind is truly on the job.

Els could be worth a look though at [14.0], after he won the King Hassan Trophy in Morrocco last week on his first start for a while. There have been few, if any, better golfing ambassadors in recent years than Ernie. He can always be relied upon to play several different continents over the year, and has won just about everywhere. Ernie will be hungry to restore his reputation over these winter months after a disappointing year. As his tremendous record in the Majors shows, Ernie comes to life on championship courses like this, and he's certainly talking a good game on his website.

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