Golf tips - Madeira Islands Open

Selections
1pt EW Gary Orr at 28/1 (Various) Loss 2pts
1pt EW Lloyd Saltman at 50/1 (Various) Loss 2pts
1pt EW Pelle Edberg at 50/1 (Various) Loss 2pts

Total loss 6 points

The Madeira Islands open returns to Santo De Serra this week after a 3 year absence.  Assembling this week for the event is one of the worst fields you will ever see for a European Tour event. The field is an amalgamation of lesser main tour players and Chellenge Tour hopefuls, who can take a giant stride towards securing their card by winning what is a bumper budget event for the second tier European golf tour.

Trying to dissect the field this week is massively difficult.  The best players in this field are fully fledged members of the European Tour, but are far from irresistible talents.  Alastair Forsyth heads the betting after winning the last time the event was played on this course in 2008.  However, that is about all we have to get excited about here, as Forsyth has produced a string of midfield displays since a season opening 5th place.  Similar doubts and inconsistencies exist among all of those at the head of the betting.

In looking for players in genuinely good form, we must consider players such as Philip Archer and Seve Benson, who have started the season extremely well on the challenge tour.  And here is the conundrum.  We can follow the form book and trust that players from the Challenge Tour can make the step up or try to find a player from the main tour who has the necessary armour to go well here.

I have looked at this event from so many different angles and the only thing I know is that I find it difficult to settle on any player with confidence.  First, I am looking for players who can hit greens and putt well this week.  Sadly, finding a player who readily displays both attributes strongly is tough.  Driving distance has not really helped players in the past, but with a number of wooded areas being cleared from the course since 2008, it could be a more useful attribute this week.

So, with little point in agonising further over this, I will come to my selections.

Gary Orr missed an outstanding opportunity to win on tour at the KLM open last year, when seemingly in prime position to do so deep in to the final round.  Orr has a 25th, a 27th and two other midfield finishes this year to show that his game remains in decent order.  Orr also managed 8th place last time out here.  Inside the top 50 on tour for greens hit and scrambling, Orr should show up quite well this week.  He will never have a better opportunity to win on tour again.

Lloyd Saltman finished 19th last time out and placed 4th in this event last year, albeit on a different course.  Saltman is a big hitter but far from the most accurate.  However, this course is plenty generous enough and Saltman will prosper here if he can stay out of trouble off the tee.  I like that his accuracy stats improved to 56th last time out, which hints at improved fortunes this week.  All four par 5s are reachable in 2 shots for Saltman and a fast start could see him contend all week.  Again, I will stop short of saying I am overly confdident, but I do believe 50/1 is a value call and I am happy to back Saltman on that premise.

In a very similar mould, I also want Edberg on side this week.  Another long hitter, Edberg finished 11th last time out in Sicily with much improved accuracy stats from tee to green.  I also like the 5th place he scored in the Challenge Tour grand final last year, which shows that when he needs to produce, he can.  This event is a key opportunity for Edberg to secure privileges for next season and he will want to get back to a consistent European tour playing status.  Edberg has enough class to produce here in this class of field.  A player that produces in spells; the 11th last time out on the main tour serves as a real indicator that we may have caught Edberg at the perfect time, in the perfect event.  Let's hope so.