Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 06 May 2009 /

Spaniard may be lacking form but he's the real deal, a proven winner and at [44.0] he must be backed at Sawgrass, says Tareq Quiroz.

Just like many golf fans I can't wait for the Players' Championship. The four days around Sawgrass are definitely amongst my favourites of the year. This tournament has everything a top class event should have ... and plenty more besides. I hope you have kept your diary clear this weekend as we are in for a cracker.

The Course
If the TPC Sawgrass wasn't difficult enough to begin with, in the last few years the course has been extended to over 7,200 yards. It is a track that holds birdie and bogey opportunities in equal measure. The 17th - the island hole - is one of the most famous in world golf. Couple that with the brutal 18th and you have as tough a couple of closing holes as you could ever wish for. The date of the event was moved to May from March two years ago in a bid to get this course playing as it was designed to. All too often we were faced with a rain soaked tournament that prevented the course from playing firm and fast. There has been a sprinkling of rain in the last few days but still expect it to be a really tough examination with the winning score around the six or seven under mark.

The Favourite
Tiger fans were given a rude awakening last week as the great man led after day one but to everyone's surprise he was unable to complete the job and limped home in fourth place. His final day form was particularly worrying for anyone thinking about backing him this week. Tiger was always going to be the market leader but it is a while since we saw him trading as big as [5.3] for a tournament. A lot of this is because he never seems to find his form around Sawgrass despite a win here in 2001. Too many barren years and a catalogue of disasters have the backers running scared this week. This is a close one to call but I am just edging to leaving Tiger alone this week. He certainly isn't a lay but with his history here I can't recommend backing him either.

The Next Best Bets
Despite its status as a top ranked event this tournament has been littered with surprise winners over the years. In just the last nine years we have had the likes of Craig Perks, Fred Funk, Stephen Ames and Hal Sutton taking this title and, but for a bogey on his final hole, Paul Goydos would have done the same last year. The man who denied him last year was Sergio Garcia, but you'd have to be a brave man to back him this year. Fortunately I am just that! Sergio has a win and a second on his last two visits here so clearly loves the course and its new May date. If the Spaniard was in any sort of form he would be half the odds you find him today. However, let's not forget that he is the world number three and the sight of this course may just be what he needs to spark him back to form. At odds of [44.0] he is right at the top of my staking plan this week.
For those of you who just can't bring yourselves to back Sergio then you should take a good look at the Colombian Camilo Villegas. He gives me the impression he is just about to hit top form and on a course that suits he looks a decent bet at odds of [60.0].

The Massive Outsider
Given that we have had such big outsiders win this tournament in recent years it could pay to take a good look right down the market. I don't see a real unknown doing the job this year but there are some top players who are big prices. Masters champion Angel Cabrera is hit and miss but if this course plays fast then it will suit him down to the ground. You can't really go too far wrong at backing the this major champion at odds of [190.0].
My favourite part of looking down the list of outsiders is looking for top players just going through a barren spell. The man currently top of my list in that category is K.J Choi. This guy has seven PGA Tour victories to his name and I can see no good reason why he won't add more. He started the season well, but has a bad run of form lately. He is still really high up in the greens in reg stat and should he get his putter going this week he will a force. At odds of [220.0] he is a must for an outsider bet.

Interesting Info
To cement the fact that this PGA Tour event is more than just a normal tournament we have all of the world's top ten taking part this week. With the course now playing as intended it is ranked as the sixth hardest on the PGA Tour. Pay particularly close attention to the Hole in One market this week as we have had an amazing 14 in the last ten years. The market currently says it is just over even money for there to be a hole in one again this year. Watch out for the 13th as that is where the last six holes in one have come.

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: