Golf - Tournament of Champions

First tournament of the year and hopefully we can kick off with a winner. Going to get involved on the lay side in the top 10 finishes this season.

Course is wide open that definitely suits the long hitters. Players from Sth Africa and Australia seem to have some success as they have been playing during December whilst most of the US and Euro players are coming off a 2 month spell. Weather can get nasty in Hawaii but the forecast seems relatively benign. Putting on the big greens is also a big advantage.

Dustin Johnson 2 units to win @ $13 (betfair)
Long hitter who loves these sorts of courses. Has a great record at Pebble Beach plus was in contention at both the Brittish Open & US PGA. To be honest, I hope it does blow a bit as it seems he likes it.

Jonathan Byrd, 1 unit to win @ $70 (betfair)
Three starts here have yielded a 6th, 10th & a 13th. Last year wasn't his greatest but has a lot of ability and is by no means a short hitter.

Adam Scott, 0.8 units to win @ $20 (betfair)
Coming off a good last 3 months and seems to be getting back to his best. Putting is still the big query but IMO is the best of the Southern hemisphere players lining up this week.

Bill Haas, 0.8 units to win @ $50 (betfair)
Just seems over the odds to me for a player who hits the ball long and who is a good putter. Coming off a career best year and $51 is just too big a price.

Top 10 finish Lays
Ben Crane to lose 2 units @ $3.45
Heath Slocum to lose 1 unit @ $6.40
Francisco Molinari to lose 1.5 units @ $2.60
Jim Furyk to lose 1.3 units @ $1.85
Camilo Vilegas to lose 1.2 units @ $3.20

Failed to match : Hunter Mahan

Update : That damm eagle putt by Garrrigus on the last has taken some of the value away from doing some business back on Byrd. Am still trying anyway.

Update 2 : Have laid Byrd @ $3.80 & have greened up on all other runners in the win market for a locked in profit of 3.5 units. Will probably do some in running business @ $2.00 or shorter if I get the chance but happy with position for now.

Update 3 : (Byrd on 7th hole) - Have got another 5 units out of Byrd @ $1.91. Basically on the winner market if Byrd wins, profit = 36.5 units. If he loses, profit will be 8.5 units.
That will do me I think. Can now relax and cheer him home.

Fantastic result to kick 2011 off. Lets hope the rest of the year follows in the same vein.

In the top 10 market, got collects on all except on Furyk who finished tied 10th so it was a reduced dividend. The Villegas bet was voided as Betfair stipulates a player must play at least 54 holes (a rule I was unaware of) but given my luck this week I'm not going to complain. I'm going to persist with this bet type as I reckon it could be a real earner for me.