The Castello Masters, a new event on Tour, has attracted a decent field, including Sergio Garcia who is co-host this week along with his dad Victor, and will be playing on the course that he is attached to – the Club de Golf del Meditterraneo.
Ross' Top Tip: Sergio Garcia @ 6/1 Paddy Power
Last week's 'outsider' pick, Alvaro Quiros, did bettingpro followers a good turn when winning at 80/1 - hope you were on! It's hard to follow that, although I'm finding it difficult to see beyond Garcia this week for two reasons. Firstly, he can boast form figures of 2-2-5-20-2 on the European Tour and his form is even more impressive in his native Spain where, in his last eight starts, he's posted a victory and five runners-up finishes.
Secondly, he's playing a course that he knows like the back of his hand having played on it since he was a boy, which gives him a massive advantage over his rivals, many of whom will be seeing it for the first time. True, he's had a touch of seconditis recently (runner up in three of his last five starts), but he won't get many better opportunities and, even if he doesn't win, he's bound to be in contention at some stage, meaning we'll be in a position to lay off.
Next Best: Angel Cabrera @ 33/1 bet365
The presence of Henrik Stenson (16/1 VCbet), Camilo Villegas (14/1 Skybet) and Justin Rose (22/1 totesport), amongst others, mean it won't be a walk in the park for Garcia, although they do ensure we get a decent price on the Spaniard. As for a danger, I just wonder how many of the European Cup players will be fully fired-up for this after a long, hard season, so I'm happy to look elsewhere and the Argentinian represents decent value. Like Garcia, he should probably win more often than he does considering his talent, but he seems to enjoy playing in this part of the world and he looked to be swinging sweetly in Portugal last week, where he finished tied-17th.
Outsider: Pablo Larrazabal @ 60/1 Betfred
The Spaniard is very much in the same mould as last week's winner, Quiros, whose swashbuckling style and fearless approach on the greens showed he can take on and beat the best. Not that Larrazabal has anything to prove this week as he's already beaten the likes of Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood when winning the French Open back in June, and showed that performance to be no fluke when finishing tenth at the British Masters and third on his last start in the Madrid Masters. What's more, he'll be fresher than most having taken last week off to practice for this event in his home country.
Ross' Match Bet: Angel Cabrera to beat Jeev Milkha Singh @ 10/11 Blue Square
Tournament Lay (Betfair): Alvaro Quiros
Played some inspired golf last week but I suspect he might 'save' himself for next week's Volvo Masters, which is being played in his home town of Valderrama.
Recommended Bets:
Sergio Garcia 3pts @ 6/1 Paddy Power
Angel Cabrera 1pt each way @ 33/1 bet365
Pablo Larrazabal 1pt each way @ 60/1 Betfred