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Sony Open Betting: Hot Stricker can keep it going in Hawaii

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Tareq Quiroz previews the PGA Tour opener...

Aloha from Hawaii. Waialae CC, Honolulu is the destination for the first full field event of the 2008 PGA Tour calendar. This amazing setting is enough to drive even the most concentrated player to distraction. But come Thursday morning you can guarantee that the partying will have stopped and the serious business of winning the Sony Open begun.

The winning purse for this week's event is an enormous $936,000 and a pathway to many other riches. Winning early in the season is great for many different reasons, not least because it takes the pressure off the rest of the year and allows you to pick and choose the events you want to play. Every player in this week's field will be hoping to emulate what Paul Goydos achieved in 2007 and book their place back in Hawaii next year for the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

Waialae is a tricky course measuring just over 7,000 yards and if the wind blows it will become a tough task to score low. It is difficult to evaluate the form as many of the players have not been seen out for a couple of months and you have to take their form on trust. Second guessing which players may not have practised, which ones ate too much over the festive period and who's there just for a holiday is the quick way to misery. It's a thankless task and one that will help you in no way as you try and find the potential winner of this tournament.

But having checked the market out thoroughly I believe there is enough value in the pre-tournament prices to get on before the first ball is struck. For the main tournament pick I cannot get away from Steve Stricker. A player's odds are often determined by their reputation and past exploits, which can be very misleading. Furyk and Singh fall into that category this week. The main beneficiary of that is Stricker who is the world's number three, came fourth here last season and was only just beaten in a play-off last week. Yet he is only third favourite for this event and at [12.5] he is a must bet and you just know that he will be in the mix on Sunday afternoon.

The uncertainty surrounding this time of the season means that decent prices are available on players who didn't shine last year for one reason or another. David Howell is an example of a player who will be available at huge odds despite his obvious talent because he had an injury ravaged 2007. This week I am tempted by Kevin Stadler, a player with a lot of ability and a man who will be buoyed by retaining his tour card with almost the last stroke of the season. At [330.0] in the Winner market he is worth a small investment and make sure you have a good look around the Top 10 finish market and get the best price you can for a player surely on the up for 2008.

Tournaments in Hawaii carry a feeling of relaxation and for some players this is just how they like to play their golf. One of those people is Tom Lehman, he still retains plenty of talent and when the mood suits is capable of competing for titles. Although I don't think he will have enough in him to win this event I do recommend supporting him in the Tournament Matchbet against Jeff Quinney. I envisage a comfortable win and anything around [1.9] will represent good value.

2008 promises to be a great year for golf and I can't wait to see who walks away with the big titles. Tiger is sure to come back better than ever and there will be plenty of Europeans who fancy themselves to do well now that Harrington has shaken off the major hoodoo. There is a lot of talk about the quality of the youngsters coming through and whether they have what it takes to challenge the established major winners.

So will 08 be the year that there is a changing of the guard? Do you think that players such as Furyk, Singh and Els have had their day and guys such as Rose, Immelman and O'Hair are now ready to step up and take over their mantle? I think not and I expect this year to see a resurgent Els and a major win from Garcia or Scott. What do you think?