Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 08 October 2008 /

Tareq Quiroz anticipates a great weekend of golf in the lone-star state and urges you to back the prolific Texan.

Finally, it seems as though we are back on an even keel after some very hectic weeks of golf action. For the big boys the year is now in wind down time but for others that luxury is something they can ill afford. There is still a lot of money to be played for and more importantly there are dozens of golfers on both main tours looking to secure their cards for next season. This week's Texas Open is a long standing event on the PGA Tour and one which always throws up a decently contested event so we have all the makings for a great week of golf.

The Course

La Cantera GC has been the host course for the Texas Open since 1995. It is a terrific little course designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish. It is a Par 70 course that measures just 6,896 yards and is most certainly one of the shortest courses that the players will contest all year. It is tight track that requires a decent amount of patience and course knowledge. That is not to say that it is a tough course because as long as you keep the ball in play the birdies will come quite freely, as Bart Bryant found out when he shot a round of 60 here in 2004.

The Favourite

Favourite layers had a great week last week as Robert Allenby once again proved why your money is never safe with him. This week is very much the opposite as the market leader is the tough Justin Leonard. The Texan is a prolific winner and has often shown he is a difficult man to beat in a tight finish. Leonard has recorded an impressive twelve PGA Tour wins in his career and after a short spell in the wilderness he is clearly back to his best as demonstrated in the recent Ryder Cup. Factor in the fact that he has won this tournament on this very course three times in just nine attempts. He is also the highest ranked player in what is a pretty miserable looking field if the truth be known. Leonard's current odds of [9.6] represents great value and he is a must bet this week.

The Next Best Bets

There are plenty of players in this field who on their best form would fancy their chances but the trouble is that most of them have been in pretty dismal form. Chad Campbell has definitely benefited from his slightly surprising addition to the US Ryder Cup team and if he can take the confidence from that into this week then he will be a big danger at current odds of [28.0]. This tight La Cantera track puts the emphasis on accurate iron play and as such you can't overlook. If he can rediscover anything like his best form then he could well tear this course apart with his pinpoint irons. He certainly merits a small wager at odds of around [38.0].

The Massive Outsider

There a quite a few lively outsiders this week and you can be sure they will see plenty of attention from enthused punters. Now, I am not a fan of his but you cannot ignore the recent form of Steve Allan. He is not one to be relied upon to get you over the winning line but a third and fourth in his last two events suggest that you must include him in your staking plan. He is currently trading at [90.0] in the Winner market and that price will only shorten before the start.

The other player who catches my eye at big price is the Swede Mathias Gronberg. He is way down the money list and needs a huge week very, very soon. Confidence isn't high but he is returning to a course that he came third on last year so he will take a lot out of that. Gronberg is very experienced and he may well run into a place this week and is worth backing at [350.00] in the Winner market and at [50.0] in the Top Five Finish market.

Interesting Info

Rather surprisingly there have been fourteen holes in one on this course since 1996, with six of them coming at the short 13th. In recent years it has become apparent that a lot of top Australian players are playing on the PGA Tour and this week as many as sixteen make the 130 strong starting line-up. There are nine major winners in the field who have between them won all four major trophies.

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