Of the two European Tour events this week, the bigger prize fund is on offer at the Johor Open in Malaysia and as a consequence it has attracted a superior field.
Twelve months ago, it was just an Asian Tour event and victory went to Padraig Harrington, who was notching his first victory since the 2008 USPGA Championship with a 20-under score on the 6,945-yard, par-72 Horizon Hills Course. The Irishman is back this week to defend but he faces much stiffer competition this time, including last year's Open hero Louis Oosthuizen, Anthony Kim and Camilo Villegas, and will need to step up considerably on his poor recent form, which went from bad to worse with a missed cut (by seven shots) in Singapore last week, to stand any chance. He makes no appeal at 20/1.
Harrington's victory owed much to his superb short game and that gives us a clue as to what is required this week, with a definite nod going to Anthony Kim (8/1 Paddy Power) on account of his short game skills. Like Harrington, the Korean-born American is not the most accurate of drivers but that hasn't stopped him winning three times in a relatively short PGA Tour career and he's been in cracking form of late in this part of the world, with a second and two thirds, the latest coming in Singapore on Sunday when finishing just a shot out of the play-off. With plenty of local support assured due to his Asian origin, this looks a great opportunity for him to get his head in front.
Oosthuizen, who shared third place with Kim at Sentosa last, is also hard to ignore in his current form, which has seen him finish fourth in the McGladrey Classic on the PGA Tour and seventh at the HSBC Champions, before his third last week. However, for the second pick, I'd rather take the bigger odds on Danny Lee (28/1 Totesport), who was just a shot behind Kim last week in fifth. The New Zealander will be brimming with confidence after that effort and should find this short track to his liking as it will play to his short game strengths. His stellar amateur career, which included becoming the youngest ever European Tour winner in the Johnnie Walker Classic in March 2009, has not yet been translated to the pro ranks, but I like the way he has been grafting away on the Nationwide Tour this season, winning the WNB Classic as recently as last month, and I fancy he can give some of the bigger names a run for their money this week.
The final pick goes to the Englishman Steve Webster, who was also in action in Singapore, finishing 11th. That was carrying on a decent run of form, which included fifth place at the Andalucia Masters behind Sergio Garcia, and he will be keen to keep that up having just moved inside the top-60 in the Race to Dubai standings, which is the cut-off point for the prestigious Dubai World Championship. The turnaround in his form has been the switch to the belly putter and his new-found confidence on the greens could well translate to his third European Tour win, and at decent odds too - 40/1 with Paddy Power.
Recommended Bets:-
Anthony Kim 2pts @ 8/1 Paddy Power
Danny Lee 1pt each-way @ 28/1 Totesport
Steve Webster 1pt each-way @ 40/1 Paddy Power
