Matchup plays (2pts unless stated):
Bruce Fleisher to beat Mark McNulty -111 @ Centrebet
McNulty finished the 2003 in great form with a 2nd place finish in the European Open and two top-20 finishes in his last three events on the European Tour. But having missed the cut in the South African Open and finished only 40th in the Dunhill Championship, there may be some questions marks over whether he will take this Tour by storm, or at least not just yet. With no course form, he may find, like many before him, that the Champions Tour is more competitive than he thought. At this stage of his Champions Tour career, he is being opposed with players who have proven current and course form. Fleisher is definitely in this camp with one win from three starts this year and a very impressive record in this event: 5 starts, 2 wins and no finishes outside the top-3. McNulty at his best would struggle to match Fleisher on this course.
Gil Morgan to beat Mark McNulty -105 @ Five Dimes [4pts]
Morgan hasn't won this event, but he did finish 2nd in 2001 alongside Fleisher and while he hasn't won an event this year either, he has finished in the top-10 in all three events. Just can't see him being the underdog in this matchup until McNulty proves himself on this Tour.
John Jacobs to beat Gary Koch -110 @ Five Dimes [4 pts]
Backing Jacobs in a matchup is a rarity, but this is a special circumstance. Koch should have won last week's event. He had daylight between himself and the rest of the field in the final nine holes and he shot two-over-par for the last five holes and went back to the pack, whereupon he duly lost the playoff. Having never even securing a top-10 finish in his previous twenty starts on the Champions Tour, this collapse will surely have an effect this week. He also struggled badly to finish 78th (of 81) last year, shooting 83 in the 2nd round, so a repeat of last week's course record appears extremely unlikely. With finishes of 9th, 5th and 15th in his three starts this year, Jacobs should have a decent event, but either way, there should be plenty of space between these two on the leaderboard.
Tom Purtzer to beat Sam Torrance -110 @ SIA
Siding with the player who has two years' course experience against none and who has looked in good form this year, despite pulling a stomach muscle when in contention for the Royal Caribbean Classic. Torrance's finishes of 29th and 53rd this year suggest that he will not be a contender on his debut on this course.
1st round plays (2pts unless stated):
Larry Nelson to beat D.A. Weibring -118 @ Five Dimes
John Jacobs to beat Gary Koch -115 @ Five Dimes [4pts]
Jose Maria Canizares to beat Ed Fiori -115 @ Five Dimes
