Phil your boots at 11-1

THE TPC at Sawgrass, commonly known as golf’s fifth major, gets under way in Florida tomorrow when the world’s finest players will take on a course containing dangers around every corner.

Most notable among the deathtraps which litter the course is the infamous 17th hole, featuring an island green with absolutely no margin for error.

Get your club selection wrong, fail to make a smooth swing or merely misjudge the wind and your golf ball is liable to end up in the drink.

It is no good for the players’ nerves, but for mere handicappers like myself it is satisfying to see the sport’s finest just occasionally brought to their knees.

Such is the challenge of Sawgrass that the finest golfer of all time, Tiger Woods, has won the TPC only once and that was back in 2001.

Woods has returned from surgery in good form – if not at his imperious best – but 4-1 is pretty mean about him winning this weekend when you take into account the small margins for error on this course and the quality of the field stacked against the world number one.

Woods was in the frame behind Shaun O’Hair (a man we backed at long odds in the Masters a few weeks ago) in the Quail Hollow Championship in North Carolina at the weekend, but lurking just behind him were a couple of players who will be carrying my money this week.

Phil Mickelson has been playing some great golf in recent weeks - his first nine holes in the final round of the Masters was truly fantastic - and he has good form at this course, winning in 2007.

I reckon he has about the same chance as Woods, yet he is seven points bigger, so he has to be worth a bet at 11-1.

Ian Poulter’s chance is less obvious, but he finished joint fifth in the Quail Hollow, was a respectable 21st in last year’s TPC and has since been second in our Open Championship and finished top points scorer for Europe in the Ryder Cup.

The flashy Poulter is not everyone’s cup of tea, but he does possess huge self-belief and that quality should stand him in good stead in the cauldron of battle at Sawgrass.

At 66-1, he is well worth an each-way punt.




THE second Champions’ League semi-final will be decided tonight when Chelsea entertain Barcelona at Stamford Bridge.



The tie is intriguingly poised at 0-0, but even though they are on away turf tonight the Catalans are the 4-6 favourites to progress to the final.

Chelsea are 5-4 to go through and if you fancy them to do so, I suggest you take the 7-4 about the Blues winning in 90 minutes.

I can’t see Barcelona going 180 minutes without scoring against Chelsea, however, so the home side may have to score at least twice to reach the final. I expect the task to prove beyond them.




JOHN Higgins clinched the World Snooker title for the third time on Monday night and if you fancy the Wizard Of Wishaw to make it four in 2010, then you can get 10-1 for your money.



The enigmatic Ronnie O’Sullivan is the 7-2 favourite, with Mark Selby on 9-1 and this year’s beaten finalist, Shaun Murphy, a 12-1 shot along with Stephen Maguire.




RECOMMENDATIONS: Phil Mickelson to win TPC at Sawgrass, 11-1 (general), Ian Poulter, each-way, 66-1 (general).