Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 15 October 2008 /

Tareq Quiroz has gone through the Shriners Open odds and likes the look of the jolly ... amongst others. Read his betting preview here.

You will have had to go a long way recently to find the world's top players. Since the Tour Championship real golfing quality has been a little thin on the ground. Unfortunately, I can offer you no good news on that front this week. Whilst Harrington, Immelman, Goosen and Furyk fight it out in Bermuda for the fairly meaningless Grand Slam of Golf the rest have to choose between the Portugal Masters and the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Needless to say that is the last time I will be mentioning the full name of the latter tournament.

The Course

It may be a new name for this tournament but it most certainly isn't a new course. The TPC at Summerlin is a well established venue on the PGA Tour and one that many players enjoy returning to. Some of which no doubt has to do with its attractive setting in Las Vegas. Summerlin is a very attractive course and one that suits the relaxed atmosphere that this tournament often produces. At 7,243 yards it is of average length for a Par 72 and I am sure that most players will find something about it that suits them. It isn't a difficult course and like last week you will need to find a birdie machine if you want to find the winner of this low scoring event.

The Favourite

You certainly couldn't describe this field as a quality line-up but that is not to say that it doesn't feature some top players. The jolly this week is the Canadian Mike Weir. The left-hander has had something of a resurgence since last year's Presidents Cup and despite not managing to win a tournament finds himself as high as 15th on the money list. After much thought I have concluded that Weir is indeed a worthy favourite this week and he is certainly the man to beat. Tenth here last year the week before he won, there is no doubt that he will be full of confidence. In a field lacking strength in depth I highly recommend backing Weir at current odds of [18.5].

The Next Best Bets

One player who caught the eye last week with a flying finish was Stephen Ames. He had a cracking final round to give him a high finish and send him into this week with much to look forward to. Ames has had seven top-tens this season without quite managing to get over the finishing line. Fifth and sixth in his last two weeks and a propensity to play well at the end of a season means he is a must pick this week at odds of around [26.0]. One of the other players who catches my eye this week and maybe worth a small investment is the erratic Woody Austin. Scrape away his antics and you actually have a very good player who has recorded six top-tens this season, including two in his last two events. He is certainly worth a saver at odds of [48.0].

The Massive Outsider

This line-up is positively overflowing with potentially big priced winners. If you can just unlock the right combination then you could be in for a very profitable week. At odds of [100.0] I simply can't get away from Steve Flesch as a decent prospect for this tournament. Flesch hasn't had his greatest season but he has been known to play well at the end of a season and he could shoot the lights out around Summerlin if he is on his game. He was fifth in the Masters and sixth in the PGA Champs this year so we know he has the capability to win an event like this. At even bigger odds of [160.0] I also recommend a small punt on the likeable Rocco Mediate. His fantastic display at the US Open gave him some great confidence and after a small break he may well be ready to rediscover that form in an atmosphere that will undoubtedly suit him.

Interesting Info

There are five former winners of this tournament in the field, including last year's victor George McNeill. It is Davis Love who is the most fancied of those at odds of around [65.0], and let's not forget that Davis also holds the course record with a blistering 61. He doesn't feature in the top in the betting but it is actually Ryuji Imada who is the highest money earner this season of the players in this field, maybe he is worth taking a chance on at odds of [55.0].

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