Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 12 September 2007 /

Steaming hot summer has wreaked havoc on the East Lake greens so get with a golfer who won't lose it, says Betfair golf expert TQ

The FedEx juggernaut has pulled into Atlanta, Georgia, for what is the final stage of the inaugural play-off series. East Lake GC is the setting for what promises to be an eventful week, at the end of which we will have a Tour Champion and a first FedEx winner, with more than a distinct possibility that this will be one and the same person.

As the bell rings on Thursday morning for the final round of this epic encounter, there are just five contenders for the FedEx crown. Messrs Woods, Mickelson, Stricker, Sabbatini and Choi will be fighting it out down the baked fairways for the $10 million annuity that goes to the winner.

The scoring formula, as always, is convoluted but essentially all you need to know is that if Woods, Stricker or Mickelson win the tournament, then they would be extremely unfortunate not to land what has been dubbed 'the dash for the cash'.

Whilst all the focus will be on the fight for the FedEx, I suggest you centre your betting strategy on some of the bigger priced contenders. All the talk in the build-up to the event is the state of the East Lake course, where a dry summer has put the greens in poor condition. So much so, the traditional Wednesday pro-am has been cancelled in a bid to get the putting surfaces in a playable state, and three of the greens won't even be open for the players to practice on before the opening round. This has to be seen as a great leveller, and Tiger has already admitted that all the players are going to have to be prepared to miss a lot of putts.

With this in mind, your selection should be a greens in regulation specialist, who has the all important asset of patience. It will be a frustrating week for many, and if your guy can remain cool when some of the tours hotheads are letting the bumpy greens get to them, then you will be in good stead come Sunday afternoon.

There's a common belief that to be patient you also need to be an older, more experienced player. While I appreciate this is sometimes the case, I wouldn't dismiss some of the younger guys on tour, and the main player who fits into our categories this week is Zach Johnson. A Major winner this year, he has all the class you need to succeed on this course that favours accuracy over power. A return to Georgia will bring back great memories for the man who held-off Tiger down the stretch to win the Masters back in April. It's worth noting that one of Johnson's other wins was also in Georgia, at the Bellsouth Classic. At 110 he's a price that can't be refused.

The European Tour event is also a top-class affair, with a limited field taking part in the Mercedes-Benz Championship. At first glance it appears you can't get away from the top players, but one man certainly catches my eye as I scroll down the list just a little. Richard Green has had a very good season and having had a few weeks off, I expect him to come back fresh and firing. Currently trading at 34 he's fantastic value in a field full of players hopelessly out of form.

Not to be outdone, the top women golfers are in action in Sweden, as Europe and USA compete for the Solheim Cup. There's only one strategy here, and that's to back USA in what appears to me to be an excellent price of 1.7. In contrast to the men's game, virtually all the top young female golfers are American, and they've a perfect blend of old and new in what should be a formidable team that cannot be opposed.

It is a great week for the golf enthusiast, at the end of which the talking will end and the trophies awarded. Expect to see the girls from USA parading the Solheim Cup around in Sweden and witness how Tiger endeavours to hold aloft both the Tour Championship and FedEx trophies simultaneously. With practice being limited at East Lake you can bet that Tiger, ever the master-planner, will already have his gym equipment set up to replicate the weight of the trophies.

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