Betting Update; PODS Championship with the bookmakers making Els their 9/1 favourite

Added: (Wed Mar 05 2008)

Pressbox (Press Release) - One translation of Tampa is ‘sticks of fire’ from the Calusa, a native American tribe that occupied the area of southern Florida but it’s also believed to have something to do with the high concentration of lightning strikes that area receives during the hot and wet summer months.

That all augurs well for Ernie Els this week as the USPGA continues its tour in the Sunshine State with the PODS Championship in Tampa at the Copperhead course, Palm Harbor. His sticks (clubs) were certainly on fire at the Honda Classic when he ended a near four-year drought with a one stroke victory over Luke Donald after coming from three shots behind to beat the Englishman and lightning could strike again for the South African golfer.

Now that the ‘Big Easy’ has got his nose in front again it wouldn’t be a surprise to see run up a sequence, although he hasn’t won back-to-back victories since achieving that feat in 2003 when he started that season in spectacular form and picked up the Mercedes Championship and Sony Open in quick succession. However, seven top-10s and only one missed cut the week following a win on the PGA tour is not a bad record.

The PODS Championship is not a regular stop off for Els but he was sixth two years ago and his average finishing position is 20, so there are several factors in his favour again this week.

Go for Joe

In the past it has paid to side with players with a Florida connection and one that stands out this week is Joe Durant who is the only one in the field with three top-10s in the tournament. He has been playing pretty steady stuff so far this year with four finishes of 20 or better in his last five starts and the Copperhead course has suited his game in the past, particularly his iron play. He has now finished in the top two for greens in regulation (GIR) at the track three times.

There have been only two American golfers to take home the first prize in the competition’s seven-year history with John Huston winning the inaugural running of the event in 2000 before Mark Calcavecchia landed it 12 months ago. With that in mind it might pay to keep on the right side of Aussies Robert Allenby and Rod Pampling along with Sweden’s Jesper Parnevik.

Although he only played par golf last Sunday it was good enough for Allenby to secure a share of fourth spot in the Honda, which was his best performance on the tour for nearly a year. However, he did post a seventh in the Northern Trust Open previously and a 12th in the Bob Hope so he’s in pretty good form ahead of this week’s encounter and he was sixth at Copperhead four years ago, so he has form at the course as well.

Pampling can be a bit hit-and-miss but there was a lot to like about his game in the recent World Match Play event where he finished ninth and he has posted three rounds of 65 at Copperhead on his way to finishes of sixth (2006) and fourth (2002). However, it’s also worth remembering that he has also shot rounds of 71-81-76-77 there as well.

It’s quite a while now since Parnevik last won a tournament on the US tour but this event has proved one of his most fruitful and he is the only player in the field who has posted four rounds in the 60s at the track. That was back in 2004 when he chased home Vijay Singh. Another plus is that he lives in Florida so he knows the course lay-outs well, while another incentive to produce a big performance is that he will be celebrating his birthday on Friday. Two other interesting birthday boys this week are Ben Crane and Vaughn Taylor. Crane has finished 12th or better three times this year so far, while Taylor has two successive top-20s in the PODS.

Perry pointers
Mark Calcavecchia notched a notable victory for the over-40s when he landed the title last year and it could be the turn of Kenny Perry to follow in his footsteps.

Perry has the best finishing position average in the field at 17.8 and is also second in the event for scoring at just under 70, while he secured his third top-20 in 2007 when tying for 19th. He comes into the week in fairly good shape with form figures this season of 3-17-20. The latter being a steady showing at the Honda Classic last week. Apart from Els two other winners on the tour this year worth considering are Brian Gay and J B Holmes.

Gay pulled out of last week’s event at the Champion Course but he should be looking forward to the return to Tampa where he has finished inside the top-10 on his last two outings there. He struck form with a vengeance when landing the weakly-contested Mayakoba Classic a few weeks ago and could be fresh following his week off.

An eighth place on his debut at Copperhead (he withdrew from the 2006 renewal without playing a round) was pretty decent by Holmes and he beat a strong field when landing the FBR Open at the beginning of last month. Although he didn’t get very far in the Accenture World Match Play event, he was seventh in the Northern Trust Open immediately following his win in Arizona.

Byrd could fly

Another player with successive top-10s in the tournament is Jonathan Byrd who fared slightly better than Holmes in the World Match Play, posting a ninth place finish, but was well behind Holmes in the FBR Open when 13th there. He could be in contention again this week provided normal improvement on what he has shown so far this term. Chad Campbell is playing a lot better golf this year so far than at the same time in 2007 with four top-20 finishes in six starts and as he has also recorded a second and a fourth in the PODS, as well as a 19th, and merits plenty of respect. There are 19 players making their debuts in the tournament with the most interesting being England’s Paul Casey, who arrives after a fairly good showing in the World Match Play event and a 22nd in the Northern Trust. He posted a top-10 in Miami last year so knows what to expect from Florida courses and it’s worth remembering that he was a top collegiate player in the US beating many of the records set by Tiger Woods.

• All prices correct at time of writing.

ABOUT EASYODDS.COM

easyodds.com is a comprehensive sport betting service that helps you find the BEST ODDS on offer from leading bookmakers, betting exchanges and spread betting firms and then helps you place your bet at the BestPrice.

FREE to register!
www.easyodds.com

Andrew Newton
Managing Editor
020 7691 0660