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Outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt)
Bo Van Pelt to win 33/1 e.w. @ Sunderlands [6 places]
Managed to finish one shot out of a top-6 finish last week, but he had been in contention for a place finish throughout and did rank 2nd in greens in regulation on the week. That, allied to an 8th place finish in the Viking Classic the previous week when he had been a selection and finishes of 16th and 11th in the last two years here, are good pointers to a strong performance this week. He may be frustrating in that he has a lot of high finishes without finishing the top-5, so the extra place is particularly useful here.
Bill Haas to win 33/1 e.w. @ Sunderlands [6 places]
His 10th place finish in the Turning Stone Resort Championship and 3rd place finish in the Viking Classic were enough to lift him into the top-100 on the Money List and so secure his Tour Card for next season, so hopefully he can play with the same form, but without the same pressure this week. And there had been a lot of pressure after he lost his form from March to August (eleven missed cuts in 17 events). And with a good record in the desert events in Nevada - 15th in the Reno-Tahoe Open and 11th in this event last year - there seems to be good reason to expect him to play well again this week.
Charles Howell to win 40/1 e.w. @ Paddy Power
Howell is another who lost his game during the middle of the season, but there were clear signs that he was turning his game around with top-30 finishes in each of the last three Playoff events (though the last event was a 30-man field!) and in the Presidents Cup. He had a 2-2 record overall in the event, but having trailed Stuart Appleby after 10 holes in their singles match, he then reeled off five consecutive birdies to take the lead and won the match with another birdie on the par-3 17th hole. Only Scott Verplank of this field ranks ahead of him in either the PGA Tour Money List or the World Rankings, so if he is back to playing near his abilities, then these odds are much too high. That he has finished in the top-20 in four of the last six years here only adds to the value in this price.
Will MacKenzie to win 80/1 e.w. @ Coral
MacKenzie's suitability for desert courses can hardly be doubted as he won the Reno-Tahoe Open last year and in terms of this event, he finished 8th in 2005 and was in 3rd place after the opening last year. On none of those occasions were those performance the result of good recent form - he had missed three cuts in a row before winning the Reno-Tahoe Open, for example - and so the lack of any top-5 finishes recently should not be a concern; it was playing on desert courses that brought out the good form that week. Hopefully he can even build on the form that earned him the first round lead in the Wyndham Championship when he finished 7th.
Bo Van Pelt to win 33/1 e.w. @ Sunderlands [6 places]
Managed to finish one shot out of a top-6 finish last week, but he had been in contention for a place finish throughout and did rank 2nd in greens in regulation on the week. That, allied to an 8th place finish in the Viking Classic the previous week when he had been a selection and finishes of 16th and 11th in the last two years here, are good pointers to a strong performance this week. He may be frustrating in that he has a lot of high finishes without finishing the top-5, so the extra place is particularly useful here.
Bill Haas to win 33/1 e.w. @ Sunderlands [6 places]
His 10th place finish in the Turning Stone Resort Championship and 3rd place finish in the Viking Classic were enough to lift him into the top-100 on the Money List and so secure his Tour Card for next season, so hopefully he can play with the same form, but without the same pressure this week. And there had been a lot of pressure after he lost his form from March to August (eleven missed cuts in 17 events). And with a good record in the desert events in Nevada - 15th in the Reno-Tahoe Open and 11th in this event last year - there seems to be good reason to expect him to play well again this week.
Charles Howell to win 40/1 e.w. @ Paddy Power
Howell is another who lost his game during the middle of the season, but there were clear signs that he was turning his game around with top-30 finishes in each of the last three Playoff events (though the last event was a 30-man field!) and in the Presidents Cup. He had a 2-2 record overall in the event, but having trailed Stuart Appleby after 10 holes in their singles match, he then reeled off five consecutive birdies to take the lead and won the match with another birdie on the par-3 17th hole. Only Scott Verplank of this field ranks ahead of him in either the PGA Tour Money List or the World Rankings, so if he is back to playing near his abilities, then these odds are much too high. That he has finished in the top-20 in four of the last six years here only adds to the value in this price.
Will MacKenzie to win 80/1 e.w. @ Coral
MacKenzie's suitability for desert courses can hardly be doubted as he won the Reno-Tahoe Open last year and in terms of this event, he finished 8th in 2005 and was in 3rd place after the opening last year. On none of those occasions were those performance the result of good recent form - he had missed three cuts in a row before winning the Reno-Tahoe Open, for example - and so the lack of any top-5 finishes recently should not be a concern; it was playing on desert courses that brought out the good form that week. Hopefully he can even build on the form that earned him the first round lead in the Wyndham Championship when he finished 7th.