The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 29 April 2009 /

It's a tactic that wouldn't have shown any profit over the last few years but Steve is backing the home team in Spain this week.

The Race to Dubai pitches up in Spain this week for the Open De Espana, at the PGA Golf de Catalunya, Girona - yet another venue we've hardly seen before.

It was used for last year's qualifying school final stage and way back in 2000 for this event, only a year after opening, when Brian Davis won.

Using the European Tour website as a guide I'm almost completely lost! Under Course information, General playability, the course is described as 'tree lined with elevated tee shots where accuracy off the tee will be very important'. But according to Stanford Eby, of European Golf Design, 'the trees visually frame the course but do not make it tight - it is wide enough'. So who knows?

The weather forecasts are even more contradictory, but it does look like the wind could get up on Friday afternoon and continue to blow through Saturday.

The record of the Spanish in this event is pretty poor. The maestro himself landed the title three times, Sergio Garcia was successful in 2002 and last year Ignacio Garrido very nearly emulated his Father, who won it way back in 1972. But other than that they haven't fared too well, so backing three Spaniards may not be the smartest of moves, but that's what I've done.

It's hard to ignore Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano's three second placed finishes in a row and although I know he's short enough at [17.0] I just couldn't leave him out. I definitely have a soft spot for Alvaro Quiros, having backed him from the start when he won his last two titles, but he does look a shade too big and the last of my three amigos is Carlos Del Moral, who has some experience of the venue having qualified for the tour here back in November.

I've also backed a trio of Englishmen at triple figure prices. Ross McGowan gets a bit wobbly in the mix but looks a winner in waiting, Paul Broadhurst played well enough in Portugal to warrant risking a few quid on and Simon Wakefield is quite simply a weakness of mine. One day, Simon.

Selections:

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano @ [17.0]
Alvaro Quiros @ [29.0]
Carlos Del Moral @ [75.0]
Ross McGowan @ [100.0]
Paul Broadhurst @ [120.0]
Simon Wakefield @ an average of [468.0]

This week's event on the US Tour, the Quail Hollow Championship, is a cracker with a stellar field. It's only the seventh staging of the event but it's already held in high esteem by players and fans alike. It's been a sell out every year.

Last year's winner, Anthony Kim, won in emphatic style by five shots, building on an impressive fifth placed debut in 2007 and although it was only last week that I wrote that 'backing defending champions isn't a profitable strategy' I felt Kim was a very fair price at [32.0]. He's a class act that plays well on tough courses and this one clearly fits his eye.

The front two in the market look a shade short to me. I was tempted by Phil Mickelson but, while he's in great form, I can't imagine he's improved any and he'll still drive you bonkers just when he looks like he's mastered the game. Taking [17.0] about him in early season events he's won before is one thing, taking [12.0] about him anywhere after the Masters is quite another. That said, with an afternoon tee-time I'll be keeping close tabs on him tomorrow night, especially as we'll know how Mr Woods has fared by then.

I've been seduced by some of the big prices on offer but not to big stakes, my main strategy this week will be to concentrate on the top of the leaderboard after day one. Quail Hollow is not a catch-up course and you need a good start. The furthest anyone has come back from after day one is 16th, by Joey Sindelar in 2004.

Selections:

Anthony Kim @ [32.0]
Zach Johnson @ [140.0]
K J Choi @ [150.0]
Steve Flesch @ [270.0]
Ben Crane @ [300.0]

I'll post an update on Saturday morning at the halfway stage of both events.

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