Estoril Open de Portugal

Final Update : +8.31 Points (After 5% Commission)

Quite how Lane contrived to lose this is beyond me. All our preset lays were hit which softened the blow but that is no consolation for thiose who backed him as low as 1.13. Lane finished with a 9 on the last hole when a par would have seen him win. Schwartzel played well for a Top 10 finish. I must go for a lie down now ......

Round 2 Update : Karlsson misses the cut so we are left with two active players in Lane and Schwartzel but both are nicely poised for the weekend. Preset lays are now posted.

Round 1 Update : Barry Lane (-3) fared best of our picks, nicely poised just behind the leaders. Schwartzel (+1) is in 44th position, Karlsson (+5) is struggling. Orr withdrew after 11 holes so that bet is already a loser.

Summary : A poor tournament on a difficult tour to predict means that stakes should be kept low. Concentrating on previous tour winners seems a sound strategy.

0.5 points win Barry Lane @ 36.00 Betfair
Lane has started the season well already with two Top 10 finishes in China and Qatar. A very weak field and proven winner in better events than this.

Lay Barry Lane to win 4 Points @ 2.50 (Liability 6 Points) -- Matched
Lay Barry Lane to win 6 Points @ 1.50 (Liability 3 Points) -- Matched

0.5 points win Charl Schwartzel @ 23.00 Betfair
Has won the Dunhill Championship in his native South Africa this year. Finished in the Top 50 in Dubai and Top 20 in Qatar, young and improving could be overpriced.

Lay Charl Schwartzel to win 4 points @ 2.50 (Liability 6 Points) -- Unmatched
Lay Charl Schwartzel to win 6 points @ 1.50 (Liability 3 Points) -- Unmatched

0.5 points win Robert Karlsson @ 21.00 Betfair
No wins on tour since 2002 but five wins overall. 5th in Dubai and 6th in Qatar were excellent results and should go well.

0.25 points win Gary Orr @ 130.00 Betfair
You have to go back to 2000 for his last tour wins, but one of those was the Portugese Open. Only one start this year in Malaysia for an 8th place finish. Speculative but should be shorter in the betting