The USPGA Tour returns to the mainland
this week after two weeks in Hawaii and the Humana Challenge sees the
return to action of Phil Mickelson. His preparation for this
event has been far from ideal having recently recovered from a bout
of flu but he is certain to have his supporters at odds as high as
28-1 going into the tournament. Whilst Mickelson acknowledged that he
has not been able to practise as much as in previous years, he feels
that it may not necessarily be a bad thing with such a long season
ahead.
Matt Kuchar (16-1) and Webb
Simpson (28-1) are also sure to be popular, both playing their
third consecutive event of the new season. Kuchar finished ninth at
the Hyundai and fifth at the Sony whilst Simpson did not figure in
either event. Brandt Snedeker (8-1) is the early favourite
after a third-place finish at the Hyundai and Tim Clark (33-1)
was runner-up to Russell Henley (28-1) at the Sony.
There are three courses combined to
host a pro-am format over the first three rounds with the
professionals taking centre stage for the fourth and final round on
the Palmer Course at PGA West. Birdies should not be hard to come by
in a layout that once saw David Duval shoot 59 and ranked only 46th
toughest of 49 courses on the PGA Tour. The Nicklaus Course and La
Quinta also ranked in the forties and low numbers are guaranteed.
Tim Clark is one of the best wedge
players in the game and looks in fine form judging by his runner-up
spot last week. He has a fine record here having been placed on every
visit and is an obvious outside bet at big odds. The only drawback is
that he still has just one PGA Tour victory to his name but he could
certainly be in the money.
Brandt Snedeker may be distracted by
his Farmers Insurance Open defence next week, but will be hoping to
shoot some low numbers. You could not rule out the possibility of
back-to-back wins for Russell Henley after his recent victory. There
is no substitute for confidence in golf and he goes into this
competition on the crest of a wave. At just 23 years of age, he will
looking to build on that excellent start to 2013. He shot three
rounds of 63 and a 67 for a score of 24 under par and put together
some impressive driving and putting statistics in the process. Last
year Johnson Wagner followed up his Sony victory by finishing second
in the Humana Challenge so a prominent showing by Henley would not be
a huge surprise.
Jimmy Walker (66-1) is another
outsider with chances in a wide open field. The big hitter has the
right game for this venue and his putting statistics give him fine
prospects. He has finished in the top ten in his last ten outings in
California and his recent results are encouraging. He has finished
10th, 4th and 26th. He is also under the guidance of Butch
Harmon and has been tipped to put in a big performance this year. His
closing 64 in Hawaii suggests his turn might not be too far away.
As well as Humana Challenge betting on the outright
winner, there are also markets for top American, top European, top
Australian and top rest of the world players.
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