Token Homemate Cup

FINAL RESULT: 0-2; -2.00pts

Katayama wd
Wi dns
Smail 44th

First event of the Japan Tour season, the event is reduced to 54 holes as snow cancels Friday's play and Katayama withdraws because of a cold. Sounds like they will need the three-week break before the Tour resumes at the end of April!

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt)

Shingo Katayama to win 14/1 e.w. @ IASbet and GolfingGods
There may some rustiness around at the opening event of the Japan Tour season, but Japan's leading player is worthy of support again. He finished in the top-eight in 15 out of 20 starts on this Tour last season to highlight his consistency and he has opened the season in particularly good form on this course: in two previous visits, he has finished 1st (2001) and 2nd (2004). I'll take 14/1 with that history.

Charlie Wi to win 25/1 e.w. @ IASbet and GolfingGods
Wi finished alongside Katayama in 2nd place last year, though he had been the leader heading into the final round. Incidentally, he had finished 2nd in his previous Japan Tour start, the Okinawa Open, and in his latest Japan Tour start, the Okinawa Open, he finished second, so it would be profitable if history repeated itself! But now as a fully-exempt PGA Tour member and with some impressive performances under his belt already, there is good reason to hope that he will at least match his 2nd place finish of last year.

David Smail to win 33/1 e.w. @ GolfingGods
Smail finished his 2004 Japan Tour season in good form with finishes of 2nd, 6th, 18th, 1st and 4th in his last five starts and he has shown enough form on the Australasian Tour to suggest that he could be as competitive again on the lesser Tour in Japan. He does have course experience with a 12th place finish in 2001, so is certainly good value at 33s even with just four places on offer.