The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 16 November 2009 /

Steve's tired but happy, as Ames pulls off an unlikely success at Disney..

With two of this week's three events on the other side of the world and on during the night; I made life a bit easier by hardly watching the Australian Masters, where I'd backed Tiger Woods at [2.7].

At halfway I'd thought he'd just about wrapped it up, but following last weekend's slump in Shanghai, he again shot an iffy round, relinquishing his sole lead and drifting from [1.25], right out to around [1.7]. I have to confess I was beginning to wonder.....was he becoming just a tiny weenie bit unreliable?

I've now banished such ridiculous thoughts; he straightened himself out and cantered to a comfortable two shot win over Greg Chalmers. It was a good start to the day, but it was to get worse before it got much better.

At the Hong Kong Open all three of my pre-event picks had gotten in to the mix at different stages, but they all ultimately failed.

With a round to go, Thongchai Jaidee, who'd been right up there after day one, had slipped too far back but Miguel Angel Jimenez, who I confess I'd given up on at halfway, and Francesco Molinari, were both six shots behind the leader Gregory Bourdy, but I felt they still had a squeak.

Jimenez put me out of my misery early doors with bogeys at three and four and then Molinari did his usual thing. He pounded fairways and greens but missed putt after putt until he was just too far back, and then he put in his obligatory late flourish to finish just a few shots shy.

He's infuriating, but you get exactly what it says on the tin with Molly, so I've no complaints. Like a classy, temperamental hold-up thoroughbred he needs everything to go his way and he nearly always leaves his scintillating late run just a smidgen too late. It wouldn't have been too bad if I'd have left it at that but of course I didn't...

Leader Bourdy hadn't done anything wrong early on in the round but I thought he was looking ever so slightly vulnerable and I backed his closest pursuer, Robert Jan Derksen at [4.2], but then on the par three 5th Bourdy made a lengthy birdie putt of around thirty feet and he was off and running.

He'd given it an almighty whack, but with deadly accuracy; the ball thumped the back of the hole and dropped in. It would have run at least ten feet by had it not been bang on line but it was and it didn't, and at the very next hole he made an even longer birdie putt.

To Derksen's credit he too birdied the 6th but Bourdy's relentless high quality play eventually broke my man and in the end the biggest threat to the Frenchman came from Rory McIlroy, who I also backed in-running, at an average of [9.4].

Playing sublime golf, young Rory closed to within one with two to play, was matched at a low of [2.96], but yet again he fluffed his lines.

After a perfect drive on 17, he hit a loose approach shot and then three putted, all in the blink of an eye and far too quickly for me to get rid of my bet. Oh how I wish I'd had a much needed lie-in!

Bourdy was extremely impressive, in fact probably the most impressive winner in the Race to Dubai all year. He didn't flinch after his birdie on the 5th, though that could be explained to a degree, by the fact that he didn't look at a leaderboard all day.

It had been a disappointing morning but things were to improve dramatically.

After a really poor start to the Childrens Network Classic in Florida, I'd had a few in-running bets and by the end of round three I had a few in with a chance on a very open looking leaderboard.

Will MacKenzie had been backed during round two at an average of [44.0] and he started the day just two off the lead. Ben Crane backed at over [100.0] on Saturday was too far back, and Zach Johnson, three off the lead, was also added at [23.0].

But best of all, I'd also backed Stephen Ames on Saturday - after he'd birdied the 8th hole, at [55.0] and [50.0]. I'd backed him in-running when he'd won the event in '07, so he'd always been on my radar.

The final round started poorly for me, with bogeys on the 1st from Johnson and MacKenzie, leaving Ames as my only chance. He started really well though and was four under par through seven holes, with a birdie putt on the 8th to come from 15 feet, and I was getting excited about his chance. Moments later I'd given up on him after he'd three putted, surely that was that...but no.

After three steadying pars he went on another birdie blitz, playing the last seven holes in five under par to worm his way into a three man play-off with Justin Leonard and George McNeill.

After the Hong Kong debacle I layed plenty back at all rates from [4.2] down, but when George McNeil missed from six feet on the second play-off hole, with Leonard having already been eliminated at the 1st, I'd completely unexpectedly hit the jackpot and it's fair to say my mood improved somewhat.

I may be tired but I've renewed vigour for the end of the season now, after such a stroke of luck, and I'll be avidly studying the form today for next week's Race to Dubai finale - the Dubai World Championship, which I'll preview on Wednesday.

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