The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 22 October 2008 /

Sergio mixes the bucks fizz as the Punter makes his picks for a new event which is being played on a course unused before on the European Tour.

Sergio Garcia hosts the Castello Masters, which is played at his home course, the Club de Campo del Mediterráneo, on the outskirts of Valencia.
Quite what hosting entails I'm not too sure, perhaps he'll be on the first tee offering canopies?

Whatever it entails I won't be backing him, even though he's in tremendous form and will obviously know the course like the back of his hand. I just can't back Garcia at such a low price. I've rolled this stat out a few times now, just one win in three years. He may well be in his back garden for all I care, at around [7.0], no thanks.

Second favourite is Camilo Villegas who I thought was a certainty to withdraw after the tragic murder of his Uncle last Saturday. He's still listed and has a tee time so I assume he's playing but you'd have to worry about his mental state.

So who then? Well it's pretty hard given we've no course form but the venue has been used on the Seniors Tour in the last couple of years and they've been putting in some pretty low scores.
First up for me is last week's winner Alvaro Quiros and why not? I backed him two weeks ago when he was fourth and last week when he won and I'm struggling to find an argument against backing him this week, [50.0] was plenty fair enough.

I've also backed another recent Spanish winner in Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano at [60.0]. I suspect, along with Quiros, he'll also be suited to this low scoring track.

My third pick is Jeev Milkha Singh, who's had a great season and comes here fresh from a decent tournament in India where he finished 4th in the Hero Honda Indian Open. He's another who enjoys a low scoring event.

Those three are joined by four more speculative selections.

Selections:

J M Singh @ [40.0]
Alvaro Quiros @ [50.0]
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano @ [60.0]
Paul Broadhurst @ [170.0]
Markus Brier @ [200.0]
Miles Tunnicliff @ [460.0]
David Griffiths @ [1000.0]

* * *

There's a little bit more to go on in this week's US event but not much. This year sees the second staging of the Frys.com, won last year by Mike Weir.

I fancied a few here but felt they were just too short to back before kick off. Sean O'Hair, Arran Baddeley and last years runner up Mark Hensby are all fancied to do well but are a shade too short.

I have backed a few though, first up is Ryan Moore at [50.0]. He held a three shot lead at the halfway stage here last year and played well enough last week to suggest he could be worth an interest.

Steve Flesch won twice last year but seems to have lost his way this season since a pretty poor effort when in the mix at the Masters back in April. Not much more than a hunch really but a return to any sort of form would make the [120.0] look big.

Last up is an even bigger priced long shot, Peter Lonard at [200.0]. The Australian has also lost his way this season and has played just a couple of events after a mid-season break. There have been a few glimmers of an upturn in fortunes and he reverts to a conventional putter this week, something that has sparked rejuvenation with others in the past.

Selections:

Ryan Moore @ [50.0]
Steve Flesch @ [120.0]
Peter Lonard @ [200.0]

I can't profess to be brimming with confidence about any of my picks this week given the lack of course form to go on but we'll see. I'll post an update on Saturday morning.

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