Golf Events / Dan Geraghty / 11 March 2009 /

Dan Geraghty looks at the lesser of the two stateside tournaments, the Puerto Rico Open, where a weak field could make the winner easier to find in the betting.

No winner, but excellent showings from Rory McIlroy and Fredrik Jacobson at the Honda Classic meant last week's tips stood up to scrutiny and I could (nearly) forgive Justin Rose his dismal showing.

The starry cast heading to Doral this week means there is a distinct lack of quality lining up in Puerto Rico, which in turn means an open tournament with some juicy prices to get stuck into...

Predictably Jeff Overton struggled when hitting the front last week at the Honda Classic, but the fact he competed at the top end of the leaderboard on such a tough course shows his game is in great shape. His excellent form at the end of last year was rudely interrupted by his need to go under the surgeons knife for an emergency appendectomy.

Remarkably, he rushed back to tournament golf just nine days after the operation, if he hadn't it's very likely he'd have lost his card for this year. Overton played here last year and finished tied for 39th, that course experience will certainly help. This week's field doesn't have the strength in depth that he faced last week and perhaps that will help him keep his head if he hits the front.

Brandt Snedeker can certainly be ranked as one of the class acts in this field. This is only his third full season on tour and he already has a win to his name (Wyndham Championship, 2007) to add to his two Nationwide tour wins. Last year he surpassed expectations by finishing third at the Masters and followed that up with a ninth place finish at the US Open. He's since suffered a bit of a hangover but this is one of the weakest fields he's competed in for a while. At last week's Honda Classic he missed the cut but his impressive second round 69 may indicate a return to form is around the corner.

Manny Villegas is the younger brother of Camilo but he looks to be here on merit. He's the current holder of the Colombian Open (which Camilo won as an amateur in 2001) and has continued to follow in his brothers footsteps by playing his golf at the University of Florida where (by all accounts) he's been a standout player. He makes his PGA Tour debut here but has played competitive golf in Peurto Rico before. He has an excellent CV and winning his first PGA tour start would certainly give him some bragging rights in the Villegas household. It's a huge ask but it's a poor field and he's available to back at an enormous price.

Selections: Jeff Overton ([42.0]), Brandt Snedeker ([42.0]), Manuel Villegas ([410.0])

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