Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 14 November 2007 /

TQ is excited by the international quality in action at Far East tournament

Played in mid-November after the razzmatazz of the Champions event, and at a time when many of the top players are heading home for the festive period and a much needed break, for some the Hong Kong Open is an easily forgotten event. However, credit to the sponsors UBS who have put together a decent field this week, and I fully expect them to deliver a feast of good golf.

Jose Manuel Lara will be hoping to repeat last year's success, but I believe he will have to wait for a weaker event to get his second tour win. A more likely champion is Lara's partner in the following week's World Cup, Miguel Angel Jimenez. He has an excellent record in Asia and is a former winner of this event. Add to this the fact that he has some decent recent form, and Jimenez looks to be great value at [28].

With Jimenez safely banked as our main pre-tournament fancy, the rest of the pre-tournament betting strategy centres around another experienced tour player, Thomas Bjorn. The Great Dane has had a difficult time over the past year or so with only the odd flash of form. His public spat with Ian Woosnam over his omission from the Ryder Cup team affected him badly, and I feel that he is only just ready to start playing the kind of golf he is capable of. My advice is to back him in both the Winner and Top Five Finish markets, as I am sure he will be in the mix come Sunday afternoon.

I cannot see a player outside of the Top-10 in the field winning this event, so with two very solid pre-tournament picks already backed, we can turn our attention to the first round three-balls where there is some terrific value.

As is often the case in slightly weak events, many of the groupings have one weak player who you can almost certainly rule out. Check out all the three-balls this week and you will find some that take your fancy. My first pick has to be Martin Erlandsson who is grouped with Murphy and Groom. This is music to my ears as he is sure to come out on top in that grouping. The Swede does blow hot and cold but having almost won this event a couple of years ago he will be fired-up and should get off to a flying start.

In the glamour three-balls I can't get away from Simon Dyson. He has taken his game to a new level over the past year and I wouldn't be surprised to see him make Faldo's European Ryder Cup team. This week I will settle for him winning his first round three against Weir and Kapur. Dyson has a great record in Asia and only just missed out on my pre-tournament selections, and I fully expect him to go low in round one.

Dyson is one of many good players on the circuit at the moment and he was involved in a great Volvo Masters finish a couple of weeks ago. Similarly, last week's HSBC event had a dramatic finale. Great for the viewer yes, but as a punter it leaves you asking the question, did the player bottle it? Nobody wants to label someone a choker, but a sinned-against golf punter is often quick to point fingers.

In just two weeks you could wave such an accusatory digit at Kjeldsen, Dyson, Rose, Fisher and Mickleson. Yes, there are two winners in the list, but only because their attempts to throw the tournament away were foiled by subsequent attempts by other players to do the same. Is it fair to label these players bottlers? Or, should we as golf punters, be understanding that they are playing a sport that requires a high level of skill under a great deal of pressure and these things happen? Ask me on Sunday evening.

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