OUTRIGHTS:
Arjun Atwal(30/1) e.w.
Jeev Milkha Singh(25/1) e.w.
Jyoti Randhawa(14/1) e.w.
Shiv Kapur(33/1) e.w.
- - For this event I've been tracking the five Indian players familiar to me, and what I've seen and heard has been trending favorably by almost every measure, which includes Chopra's leading inspiration, and reports on the less than 3 star venue and environs further contributing to the sense of a potential home field advantage. And while plays built on run-of-the-mill annual connections to family and friends are a double-edged proposition, with factors easily as likely to trip up as to contribute to emotional and inspired efforts, this center stage moment is much more a case of boyhood dreams and swelling national pride, which I cap as carrying a far lower incidence of flat efforts per in the zone performances. While all this is reflected in the prices, and it's not a contingent generally likely to strike fear among their peers coming down the stretch on Sunday, nevertheless, nothing in the build-up has disabused me of my notion of a strategy of backing any of the five on hand "as a contingent" to get full value, fully expecting that trying to pick a name or two to cut from the list would be the most likely route for being tripped up, as any name I might cut from the list is too likely to be the annointed one come late Saturday and heading into Sunday.
Jean-Francois Lucquin(150/1) e.w.
- - Lucquin is possibly one of very few European players on hand that cast their eye over the thickets and environs of Delhi and see richer opportunities than presented by the desert oasis of the Middle East swing. Interesting to note that his best finish in 2007 came in the first event after the Tour left Dubai. And his recent stat lines are very encouraging IMO for the quick transition to a fiddly track, and his putter hasn't been his friend yet this season, so a dramatic shift in putting surfaces could be a prescription for improvimg fortunes.
GL
