Golf Events / Editor / 18 February 2009 /

Daniel Geraghty straps on his betting boots for a second go at finding a winner from three selections - this week at the Northern Trust Open.

This column hit the crossbar last week when severe weather conditions denied Retief Goosen his chance in the final three-ball on the last day of the AT&T Pro AM. Jason Day also put up a bold show and would have gone into that final round in 14th place. Phil Mickelson (once again) proved a big disappointment and only made the cut by the skin of his teeth, yet despite his third poor tournament from three, I was very close to tipping up Big Phil once again this week. Alas, common sense prevailed (he'll win now)...

At last weeks AT&T event it's fair to say Padraig Harrington wasn't focused on winning a golf tournament. In a pre tournament interview he admitted he'd be trying harder to win the team event than the individual trophy. He was conveniently paired with his friend Paul McGinley and their frequent amateur partners, Dermot Desmond and John McManus respectively. It seems during a social but competitive week, Harrington's mind was on winning the bragging rights.

With no Pro-Am this week Pod's mind will be focused on the main prize and after an excellent third position in this event last year there's good reason to believe he'll give us a run for our money. Class is permanent and Harrington may feel he has a point to prove after last week's missed cut.

strong>Ernie Els form hasn't hit the heights we're used to during the past few years, however he still won on the PGA Tour last year and of the 16 tournaments he took part in, he finished in the top 10 five times. He's clearly still got a lot to offer and is the forgotten man in this field. So far this year Els has only played in two PGA tour events, opening his season with a sixth place finish at the Mercedes, before finishing well to take 39th place at the Sony Open.

This week Ernie's website diary provides us with reassuring titbits such as...

"I made the late decision to enter this week's Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club in LA. It's probably one of my favourite golf courses on the PGA Tour.

"I've just been working really hard on my game, I feel fresh, my game feels pretty sharp, and basically I'm raring to go. I'll fly into LA on Monday afternoon; that way I'm giving myself time to get tuned-in for Thursday's first round."

Regular readers of Mr Els diary will know he's usually positive about his chances, but this weeks entry inspires extra confidence. When you add the fact that he's a past winner here and tied third when the US PGA was at Riveira, you have yourself a value bet.

Bubba Watson is a much better golfer than many people give him credit for. He's a lot more than a man that can hit a golf ball the best part of 400 yards. In fact, I firmly believe he's one of the best players on tour without a win to his name. He knows it too, and his frustration is often apparent on the course, stringing four unblemished rounds together has been a problem.

Each year he's been on tour Watson has good early season form to his name, this season he's progressed from a missed cut to finish tied 25th twice in a row and then tied seventh on his last outing at the Buick Invitational. He has good form here, having finished tied 14th last year and for his sake I'm hoping he'll win sooner rather than later.

Selections: Padraig Harrington ([21.0]), Ernie Els ([38.0]), Bubba Watson ([150.0]).

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