Scottish Open

[Stanley]

Outright plays (1pt):

Fredrik Jacobson to win 25/1 e.w. available generally
Simply having a great season on the PGA Tour and should continue his excellent form on his return to Europe. He did win three events on this Tour and finished 4th on the Money List last year, so he should be able to make the transition easily enough. He has also had a light schedule since the birth of his daughter, so again this should be a very good two weeks for Jacobson. He will certainly be looking to better his 2nd place finish of 2002.

Paul Casey to win 28/1 e.w. @ Victor Chandler
Casey is another who has not cemented his place in the Ryder Cup team - he lies 6th in the World Points List behind Jacobson, but is 2nd in the more volatile European Points List - though will certainly be a captain's pick if he misses out on automatic qualification. He has finished 2nd, 10th and 14th in his last three European starts so is playing well, but there is considerable room for improvement. It should come on this course which suits his attacking style and with two high finishes in the last two years, he should be on the leaderboard again this week.

Tim Clark to win 66/1 e.w. @ Sportingbet, Sporting Odds, Paddy Power, BetInternet and BlueSq
Clark is a very infrequent player on this Tour, but he has played all over the world and has shown that he can quickly adapt to different course conditions. In this event, for example, he has finished 3rd and 24th in the last two years. And with him coming into some form at the moment - prior to the Booz Allen Classic, he finished in the top-15 in three of his last four PGA Tour events, including the U.S. Open - he deserves support at these odds.

[Stanley]

72-hole matchup plays (1pt unless stated):

Angel Cabrera to beat Trevor Immelman -125 @ Pinnacle
Easy to oppose Immelman who has played in this event for the past three years and missed the cut every time. Cabrera has a decent record around this course until two years ago and is playing much better golf. He leads Immelman 4-1-0 h2h on all Tours this season.
(also available at Sportingbet and Sporting Odds)

Angel Cabrera to beat Lee Westwood -120 @ Intertops
A 2nd place in the European Open was an impressive effort from Westwood, but he had shown no consistency at all until last week and it may be too much to expect a return to former glories this week. He has given glimpses of his former self on several occasions over the past few years and failed to turn it into any form. Will side with Cabrera in this matchup until further notice.
(also available at Bet365)

Paul Casey to beat Niclas Fasth -200 @ NordicBet
At least Fasth has started to make a few cuts now. But the only time that he has finished ahead of Casey in their five common events this year was at the Bay Hill Invitational when Casey withdrew. Far superior player who should win this matchup far more than 66.67% of the time.

Ernie Els to beat Phil Mickelson -125 @ BetandWin, William Hill and Easybets [2pts]
Since 1996, Els has a 12-0-0 h2h lead over Mickelson on European Tour events. Add in that he has won this event in two of four attempts and this really should be a straightforward win.
(available generally)

Tom Lehman to beat Tim Petrovic -111 @ Stan James [2pts]
In terms of current form, Lehman edges Petrovic with a 6-4-0 h2h lead in 2004. But in terms of course form it is much more dominant: Petrovic missed the cut on his debut here last year while Lehman has finished inside the top-15 in each of his five previous visits, including being a winner in 1997.

[Stanley]

Outrights -

FINAL RESULT: 1-2; -1.25pts

Jacobson 34th
Casey mc
Clark 5th

Nearly a profitable return on the outrights. Clark had a storming final round and stood on the final tee just one shot off the lead and needing a birdie for an inward nine of 29. One wild tee-shot later and the bogey was assured which meant a five-way share of 5th place. A par would have make quite a difference to both our payouts!

Matchups -

FINAL RESULT: 3-2-0; +1.80pts

Cabrera/Immelman WON by 8
Cabrera/Westwood LOST by 7
Casey/Fasth LOST by 4
Els/Mickelson WON by 5
Lehman/Petrovic WON by 4

Profitable plays even though the 10-shot swing in the Cabrera/Westwood match on the final day compromised the result.

European Tour ytd
Outrights: 11-34; -7.79pts
Matchups: 36-30; +3.88pts