Outright plays (total stake per play: 1.5pts)
Geoff Ogilvy to win 20/1 e.w. available generally
He took a month off to return to Australia after winning the U.S. Open, admitted that he was very rusty when returning to action at Hoylake, but still finished 16th, and now after taking a week off and feeling tired, he is back in action, according to Ogilvy, "on a course I can play well". Considering that he has finished 18th and 12th in the last two years before he made his breakthrough and finished 2nd in 2003 when a shadow of the player that he is now - he had missed his previous six PGA Tour cuts - he certainly warrants more attention at these odds than the leading three players in the market.
Robert Allenby to win 40/1 e.w. available generally
Allenby has been very solid recently with 16th place finishes in the U.S. and British Opens, a top-10 finish in the Booz Allen Classic and a top-10 position after 54 holes in the Western Open. The fact that none of these strong performances has resulted in a top-5 finish in reflected in the odds, though it should be recalled that he finished 4th last year when playing nowhere near as well. His last top-10 finish had been five months previously in February 2005 and his next one would be in November in the Australian Open. Against that background, his 4th place finish is certainly worthy of attention and he is certainly playing much better this year.
Justin Leonard to win 80/1 e.w. available generally
This event was traditionally the warm-up event for the PGA Championship, being played in August after the International, but it moved to its current slot after the 2002 event and this will be the first time that Leonard has played since it moved to that position in the schedule. Presumably his decision not to travel to Hoylake to be with his wife and the birth of his third child is the cause of this return to Warwick Hills as he fills his schedule in preparation for the PGA Championship and in attempting to qualify for the Ryder Cup. There seems little reason for him not to return to this event earlier as he finished in the top-10 in his last appearance (2001) and won the title in 1996. And while his form has been solid, but without a top-5 finish this season, it should be remembered that he finished in the top-5 only twice last year, but won on both occasions. A return to the place of his first win on Tour could provide a similar result.
Geoff Ogilvy to win 20/1 e.w. available generally
He took a month off to return to Australia after winning the U.S. Open, admitted that he was very rusty when returning to action at Hoylake, but still finished 16th, and now after taking a week off and feeling tired, he is back in action, according to Ogilvy, "on a course I can play well". Considering that he has finished 18th and 12th in the last two years before he made his breakthrough and finished 2nd in 2003 when a shadow of the player that he is now - he had missed his previous six PGA Tour cuts - he certainly warrants more attention at these odds than the leading three players in the market.
Robert Allenby to win 40/1 e.w. available generally
Allenby has been very solid recently with 16th place finishes in the U.S. and British Opens, a top-10 finish in the Booz Allen Classic and a top-10 position after 54 holes in the Western Open. The fact that none of these strong performances has resulted in a top-5 finish in reflected in the odds, though it should be recalled that he finished 4th last year when playing nowhere near as well. His last top-10 finish had been five months previously in February 2005 and his next one would be in November in the Australian Open. Against that background, his 4th place finish is certainly worthy of attention and he is certainly playing much better this year.
Justin Leonard to win 80/1 e.w. available generally
This event was traditionally the warm-up event for the PGA Championship, being played in August after the International, but it moved to its current slot after the 2002 event and this will be the first time that Leonard has played since it moved to that position in the schedule. Presumably his decision not to travel to Hoylake to be with his wife and the birth of his third child is the cause of this return to Warwick Hills as he fills his schedule in preparation for the PGA Championship and in attempting to qualify for the Ryder Cup. There seems little reason for him not to return to this event earlier as he finished in the top-10 in his last appearance (2001) and won the title in 1996. And while his form has been solid, but without a top-5 finish this season, it should be remembered that he finished in the top-5 only twice last year, but won on both occasions. A return to the place of his first win on Tour could provide a similar result.
