While the leading players in the world play the wide open confines of Firestone this week - read Paul Williams' WGC Bridgestone Invitational tips - the PGA Tour “rank and file” play the Turning Stone Championship in New York State. But don’t be fooled into thinking this tournament has no real meaning. That couldn’t be further from the truth. The Turning Stone played on a +7400 Par 72 Tom Fazio designed track is an absolutely massive event for a whole host of players in attendance. The fact is that half the field know that they could walk away with a cool $1,080,000 winner's cheque and a 3 year PGA Tour exemption.
Now that truly is pressure for ‘journeymen’ players and inevitably leads to an exciting tournament where the lead will be passed from player to player like a hot potato!
This is the first time that the Turning Stone has been a fully fledged PGA Tour event, although the course located close to Syracuse did play host to the now defunct B.C. Open in 2006 (won by John Rollins). Previously the Reno Tahoe Open has run concurrently to the Bridgestone Invitational but in 2010 Reno was demoted to a secondary slot whilst the Open Championship took place. However the following list of players is interesting in terms of gaining an angle from which to tip from.
Reno Tahoe Winners: 2007 Steve Flesch; 2008 Parker McLachlin; 2009 John Rollins
Turning Stone Winners: 2007 Steve Flesch: 2008 Dustin Johnson; 2009 Matt Kuchar
Fact is 5 of the 6 champions had all won previously on the PGA Tour and in the cases of Flesch, Kuchar and Dustin Johnson have performed well in Majors and Augusta in particular. Also nice to see our friends from over the Irish Sea, Paddy Power, taking this tournament seriously with some mouth watering prices.
Charles Howell III 2pts Win 25/1
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An obvious selection and one I’m sure our illustrious colleagues in the Racing Post will concur with! The Oklahoma State grad who played his NCAA Championship college golf on a Tom Fazio design is due his 3rd PGA Tour victory in 2010 and the Turning Stone represents a beautiful opportunity for the Augusta Georgia raised Howell. On a course where driving length is a real positive and where the Par 5s have to be birdied, Howell has all the advantages at his disposal. 3rd here in 2008 and 18th last time out, Howell III’s liking of New Orleans where he finished 2nd earlier this season also attracts greatly. 4 Top 30s around Augusta highlight the fact that Charles is a great player who has under-achieved but is playing well enough to win.
Jonathan Byrd 1pt EW 40/1
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Byrd at 40s with Stan James offers real value this week and he’s the second member of my Turing Stone team this week. Bubbling along nicely this season and has attractive 4 tournament form of 21-MC-21-16. As night follows day Byrd will contend in a tournament very soon. South Carolina born and educated is very similar to Charles Howell in the fact that he has all the game but has under-achieved and never truly stepped onto the world stage. Byrd who lost his father in 2009 is currently 123rd in the FedEx Cup so needs Top 5 results to guarantee both his card – this is the 3rd and final year of exemption after his 2007 John Deere Classic victory - and passage into the Play Offs.
Shaun Micheel 1pt EW 40/1
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Proven winners are always an advantage in an event where inevitably the lead will be passed around like a game of musical chairs on Sunday afternoon. By adding Shaun Micheel to the team we have a player whose career is in renaissance in 2010 and a Major winner to boot. Micheel has already produced a 5th in Houston and a pair of 4th places in St Jude and Deere Run (last time out) with a combined score of -39. Micheel won his PGA Championship in 2003 at Oak Hill…..a Tom Fazio Re-Design based in Rochester New York and his only visit to Turning Stone in 07 yielded a solid 35th when he was playing awfully.
John Merrick 0.75pt EW 66/1
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Lets add some youthful zest to our squad. Undoubtedly Merrick is one of the most talented young players on the PGA Tour who as yet hasn’t managed to win. One of my favourite players on the basis of his recent Top 10 results at both The Masters and PGA Championship. His love of Reno-Tahoe really jumps off the page for me as there is a definite form link between both Reno and Turning Stone tournaments so I’m attracted by the 3rd, 4th and 8th places achieved in Nevada on his last 3 visits. In decent nick and could well sneak into contention this week.
Andres Romero 0.75pt EW 66/1
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In a sea of mediocrity Romero’s light shines like a beacon. PGA Tour victor in New Orleans in 08 (another track that has form connotations with Turning Stone) Romero should have won the 2007 Open Championship and as a result ranked in the Worlds Top 30 in both 2007 and 2008. The fact that Argentina’s Number 2 player isn’t at the WGC at Firestone this week says all you need to know about recent form. Romero though is still both talented (5th at Riviera and 10th at Sawgrass already in 2010 highlights the fact) and motivated as he needs to add to his circa $720,000 in earnings to guarantee a place in the big money end of season play offs. I’d rather have Andres in my team this week that not.
Joe Ogilvie 0.5pt EW 100/1
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Smacks of a real value EW punt this week. Ogilvie won the “2nd Division” Milwaukee Open in 2007 to open his PGA Tour champion account after 4 wins on the Nationwide Tour. Has Top 10 finishes across Muirfield, Turning Stone, Reno-Tahoe, Houston and Milwaukee so obviously likes long, bent green tracks. 3 Top 20s including 8th in Phoenix and 11th in Houston allied to recent form of 51-48-MC-21-16 show that Texan Ogilvie should mix it in the upper echelons of the leaderboard this week in New York State.
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Odds and bookmaker offers correct at 19:45BST 3.8.10 but naturally subject to fluctuation.
