The PGA Tour heads to the west coast for the At&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where old rivals Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson square-up for the first time this season.
Tiger is of course an overwhelming favourite this week now he's seemingly found some form and he will many people's idea of the winner, although they are being asked to take a measly 5/1. That said, the world's best players are teeing it up in Dubai so this might represent an opportunity for the former world No.1 to win his first full-field tournament 2008. According to the betting, his nearest challengers are Dustin Johnson (22/1 Betfred), a two-time champ here, and Mickelson, who has not looked at his best in two starts this season but has gone well here in the past. The classy trio of Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan and Nick Watney can all be backed at 25/1 if you shop around.
A word of warning: this is a pro-am so when watching you can expect plenty of shots of amateur hackers making fools of themselves. At least the scenery is stunning, although even here you will be sick of the sight of seals sunbathing on the rocks by the end of it (believe me!). Played over three different courses, with 36 holes played at the Pebble Beach Links, and 18 apiece on the other two (Poppy Hills and Spyglass Hill), it's a test that requires extreme patience from the professionals and some players love it a a lot more than others. One thing we can look forward to is plenty of birdies on courses that are set up relatively easy and this week's forecast benign conditions will help in that respect.
My Three Off The Tee:-
Bryce Molder @ 28/1 Bodog
Tiger's sure to get plenty of coverage this week so backers will get a good run for their money, but I'd still rather be a layer in Betfair's place market at around 2.70. Sure, he won the other side of Christmas and finished third last time out in Abu Dhabi, but the former was nothing more than a charity event and his mistake-ridden final round in the desert was nowhere near like the Woods of old. If he wins, he wins, but there has to be better value out there.
There is of course in the shape of Molder, who is a no-brainer based on his course form - sixth and ninth in the last two seasons - and recent form, which has seen him post top-15 finishes in six of his last seven starts, including tied-15th last week in Phoenix, where he closed with a bogey-free 66. Previously a weak finisher on Sunday, he's looked a much assured character since landing his first PGA Tour win in this state last autumn, and there are plenty more tournaments to be won with him. I was hoping for 33s but the 28/1 with Bodog is fair value considering they are offering generous place terms of one quarter the odds six places.
John Mallinger @ 70/1 bet365
Arguably even better value is the 70/1 on local man Mallinger, who owes his place on the main Tour to a run of six consecutive top-10 finishes on the Nationwide Tour last season and this is one place he will be relishing the chance to play again as it was here that he recorded consecutive third place finishes (2007&2008). Forget his missed cut at Torrey Pines as he's never gone well there and look instead at his previous tied-second in the Humana Challenge; another pro-am played on three different courses. Clearly, he has patience aplenty and likes the event set up, so what's not to like?
Cameron Tringale @ 90/1 bet365
The young Californian has been popping up on leaderboards for a while now and you sense he's poised for a breakthrough win sooner rather than later. It could come this week as he's in good form, having finished fourth at Torrey Pines two weeks back, and was runner-up the last time he played competitively here, albeit that coming in the non-Tour Pebble Beach Invitational last November. Ranked 11th on Tour for Driving Accuracy and 25th for Greens in Regulation currently, he has the tools to get the job done this week and join a long list of big-priced winners of this event.
Recommended Bets:-
Bryce Molder 2pts each-way @ 25/1 Bodog
John Mallinger 1pt each-way @ 70/1 bet365
Cameron Tringale 1pt each-way @ 90/1 bet365
