Wales Open

The clear favorite to host the 2009 Ryder Cup, the Wentwood Hills course at the Celtic Manor Resort will surely get a more prominent place on the schedule next year. In its two years of hosting this event, it has been placed the week before the US Open and now the week before the US PGA Championship. Were it not for a good turnout from the home players and the prospect of Ryder Cup points to be won, this would be a seriously weak field. 

The Robert Trent Jones jnr-designed course has been lengthened to 7,344 yards, with two of the four par fives being over 600 yards. Rain and high winds ruined last year's event - but as it is likely to do so this year - but the evidence was that this was an excellent course that favoured shot-makers and would be a fine course for 2009. The course played long last year, but it did seem to particularly favour the long-hitters. It is expected to be the same this year.

The three selections are home boys Ian Woosnam and Phillip Price, plus Anders Hansen. Woosie retains his position as an outright selection and he should do much better than last week. He has dismissed his caddie, so maybe that can bring closure to his British Open debacle. Instead, he has a close friend on the bag this week and he can focus his fervent patriotism on the game. He was very disappointed to have finished 3rd last year, having lead the tournament going into the final round, and in his current form can certainly put that wrong to right.

Phillip Price is another automatic selection. He lives just a stone's throw away from the course and was made a honorary member at its inauguration. His form is not as strong as Woosie's, but he did finish 8th in the European Open last month and has already won the Algarve Portuguese Open this year. He can be expected to raise his game in front of local support and more than match last year's 5th place finish.

Anders Hansen is the final selection on the basis of his current form. He finished 4th two weeks ago at the TNT Dutch Open and has been very consistent all season. So much so that victory this week would propel him into the top-15 in the Ryder Cup standings. He finished 29th last year and with excellent all-round stats, he is likely to feature on this challenging course this time around.

Outright plays:

Ian Woosnam to win 14/1 e.w. @ Victor Chandler

Phillip Price to win 20/1 e.w. @ Victor Chandler

Anders Hansen to win 50/1 e.w. @ Victor Chandler

72-hole plays:

Barry Lane to beat Paul Casey -120 @ Victor Chandler
Casey has struggled since finishing runner-up in the Great North Open. Three missed cuts in four events is not impressive compared to Lane who has been in great form despite the missed cut last week

Alex Cejka to beat Justin Rose -111 @ Simon Bold
Cejka signaled a return to form with three sub-70 rounds at Royal Lytham and though he couldn't carry that form to last week when he finished 36th, that was still better than Rose who missed the cut and has just one sub-70 round in his last ten

Phillip Price to beat Nick O'Hern -115 @ Intertops
O'Hern returns after a six-week break and if his form beforehand is anything to go by, he is one to oppose. After a good start to the season, he failed to finish in the top-30 in his last four events and missed the cut at the Irish Open. He may have finished 5th last year, but with such doubts, Price is an easy pick

Phillip Price to beat Ian Poulter -110 @ Stanley
It's boom or bust with Poulter. Yet again, he followed weeks of poor form with a fine golf last week. He hasn't played this course before and with a record of being very inconsistent from week to week, he is opposed with the local favorite

Ian Woosnam to beat Ian Poulter -110 @ Sports.com
Surprised to find the same matchup available at the same odds. Woosie is at significantly lower odds in the outright markets and as an outright selection is an automatic double-pick against Poulter

Ian Woosnam to beat Warren Bennett -120 @ William Hill
From nowhere, Bennett has a chance of securing a Ryder Cup place after top-4 finishes in two weeks. He hadn't finished in the top-10 since the Singapore Masters previously. With Ryder Cup fever in the air, I expect Bennett to wilt under the pressure this week

Adding:

Andrew Coltart to beat Warren Bennett +110 @ Camelot
Coltart is back to his ways of the early season: one bad round spoiling an otherwise good week. An opening 75 in the British Open and a 3rd round 79 in the Dutch Open spoilt what would have been top-10 finishes. He has taken a week off and can use his experience to perform better under the pressure of the Ryder Cup, something which will be new and daunting for Bennett this week

Final update: 1-6-0 and -5.76 units

  Rain cancelled out play on the 1st day and wiped out play on the 4th, it meant the 36-hole standings were final and all but one play was within two shots. Coltart lost to Bennett by six, but the rest finished: Lane/Casey 1 down; Cejka/Rose all square (but ties lose); Price/O'Hern 1 down; Price/Poulter 1 up; Woosnam/Poulter 2 down; Woosnam/Bennett 2 down. Lost for words ... apart from unprintable ones!

Update on outright plays: 0-3 and -3.00 units

Ditto on the outrights. Woosie was always off the pace and finished in 49th place, but still only 7 shots behind the leaders. Price lost his place in the top-10 of the Ryder Cup standings when Sunday's 36-holes were cancelled. He was feeling optimistic as he was 14th and only four shots behind the leaders. And it could have been a great week with Hansen as well. He ended Saturday's play in 7th place and only two shots out of the lead. But there was to be no Sunday