Defending champion Phil Mickelson is the clear market leader for the second World Golf Championship event of the year, the CA Championship played at TPC Blue Monster at Doral Resort, Florida.
Lefty is as short as 13/2 with Totesport but as big as 9/1 with Blue Square, who make Riviera winner Steve Stricker their 14/1 second favourite. Last week's Honda winner, Camilo Villegas, is 18/1 with Paddy Power, while Ian Poulter - successful in the first WGC event of the year, the Accenture Match Play - is a general 25/1 shot.
Despite its name, the 'Blue Monster' is not overly-long by modern standards at just over 7,200 yards but is expected to show its teeth this week with low pressure dominating, bringing with it some wind and rain. That said, conditions were quite breezy last year (10-20mph for all four days) and 19 golfers still finished 10 under par or better.
With no halfway cut, punters are assured of a run for their money for all four rounds and, despite the limited field of 68, each-way terms of 1/4 odds, five places, are on offer, so this is one punter-friendly event.
Ross' Three Off The Tee:-
Ian Poulter @ 25/1 Paddy Power
The European contingent continue to make hay on Tour and there's no reason why last week's fourth and ninth, Paul Casey (18/1 bet365) and Lee Westwood (22/1 general), won't contend again. However, neither are in the same sort of form as world No.5 Poulter, who has won twice, finished second and fifth in his last eight starts, and yet can be backed at a bigger price. Throw in his Doral form - four top-20 finishes in his last five starts, including second in 2006 - and he's a no-brainer for the staking plan. With the greens expected to be extra receptive this week, the Englishman's superb iron play - he barely missed a green when winning the Accenture - should ensure plenty of birdie putts and there's not much wrong with that department of his game either (ranked 3rd in Putts Per Round).
Anthony Kim @ 33/1 Ladbrokes
I was tempted to tip up Villegas as the Colombian is playing with so much confidence right now it's scary and back-to-back wins are not of the question. However, he is half the price of last week's runner-up Kim, who has never been short of confidence either and might have won last week but for a poor third round, which was also his undoing in Phoenix. Sooner rather than later he's going to string four good rounds together and I liked what he had to say about his prospects for this week: "Well, if I keep hitting it this good, it's going to be great for my game because it's a longer golf course. I'm reading the greens real well". Win-less since two victories in 2008, he is certainly due another and it could come this week on a course and in conditions which should suit.
Oliver Wilson @ 66/1 bet365
After finishing tied-17th last week, the Englishman is up to 36th in the world rankings, which is some going considering he has never won on either Tour (eight times a runner-up). Because of that, he's still being underrated by bookmakers, who chalk up a tasty 66/1 this week, and that looks even bigger when you consider he finished tied-5th here last year despite a double-bogey finish. "I'm feeling good for Doral. My game is consistent but I do need to take the next step up," he said after shooting 71 on Sunday. Well, now's your chance!
Bubbling Under: J.B. Holmes (66/1 William Hill)
After a couple of modest weeks, everyone seems to have forgotten about JB but his third at Riviera and second at Pebble Beach hinted at a win around the corner and it would be no surprise to see him in the mix come Sunday.
Punters Beware: Phil Mickelson
He's going to pop up one week soon and we know he likes it around here, but just one top-10 finish from four starts in 2010 is poor by his standards and he's more likely than not to let down favourite backers once again.
Recommended Bets:
Ian Poulter 2pts each-way @ 25/1 Paddy Power
Anthony Kim 1pt each-way @ 33/1 Ladbrokes
Oliver Wilson 1pt each-way @ 66/1 bet365