Sporting Selections

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Eurovision Song Contest

Usually before the off there are several big gambles - we have already seen three with Greece, Hungary and Norway and we have a feeling that Romania could be the next

The young Australian has excellent course form here - 10th in the European tour event last year and then 3rd in the Asian one,also his one win came in China so he clearly has a liking for the country.. He managed a top 10 in Indonesia last month firing a final round 63 and although this is a stronger field he could give us a run for our cash at big odds.

Suneson has been around for a while - on and off the main tour but we feel he should be a lot shorter in this weak event. He was 7th in his last Challenge tour event in Kenya and was 13th and 12th in 2 Spanish Challenge events last season. He had a top 40 in the Spanish Open lto and can also claim 3 wins on this tour back in 99 - one of them this event.

Bateman has an exceptionally good record in his home state - although its a shame the venue has changed this year. He has played fairly solidy if not spectacularly this season and was in the top 10 going into Sunday at Redstone last week, expect a decent performance on home soil

We do not know where Bet and WIn have got these odds from - Adams is really in the top 3 to win this and should comfortably account for these 2 opponents

Labour seats more than 370

This bookmaker does not seem to have been following the election, although Labour may not reach the heights of the 413 seats last time they stand a very good chance of achieving this mark.

The Aussie is probably one of the most in form players on the PGA tour at present - following up his 5th place in the Masters with a 6th in the Heritage. At these odds he is worth backing again this week on a course where he led after day 1 last year only to shoot a poor 2nd round.

Hills have not realised yet that their 9/4 fave Abera has pulled out so now is the time to pounce. You could take any of those below him in the betting and probably lay back before the off for a profit but we will side with South African Ramaala. He has promised much having been an excellent half-marathoner and has been slow to develop - but he did only start running 13 years ago aged 20. Then in November he made up for his disappointing run in Athens (where he led until injury finally took its toll) by winning the New York Marathon - we think this could lead to further major successes.

It will be difficult to tell how much the disappointment of not making the playoff at Bell South will affect the young former Walker Cup star but he should stand a big chance this week. He has 3 top 5's on the Nationwide Tour - 2 of them were in N/S Carolina, his first PGA top 10 came in Nth Carolina and he was 16th here last year. The man who was born and raised in Sth Carolina also has 3 top 10's from his last 4 starts. If he can put to the back of his mind what happened at the 18th at Sugarloaf he stands a good chance this week.

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano

The young Spaniard could be destined for great things and must be supported at these odds in his Home Open. In October 03 he finished 10th in Madrid as an amteur, then last year was 7th in Mallorca - he then went on to finish 8th at the Q school and secure his card on this course. His last 3 events have seen a steady improvement of 29/31/14 in his form and we think he will play well this week

US Masters - lowest score

Last year this bet would have lost - however the previous 8 it would have won - a poor bit of odds compiling

We find it hard to understand why McEvoy is such a big price - he currently lies 2nd in the Challenge Tour rankings having had a win and in his last 2 starts consecutive 4th place finishes. The winner of the Q school from a few years ago should be a major contender this week.

It is difficult picking a player who has been around for a long time to suddenly come out and win but Hurd fits the bill here. Most previous winners were looking for their first tour success and could boast a solid performance on the course last time they played along with a decent performance last time out. Hurd was 15th last week in the stronger Portuguese event and shot a 63 in rd 3 the week before and in his 3 visits here has gone 11/30/14.

After the agony of watching Olazabal lose last night its back to the drawing board! Another man in that playoff was Rich Beem who sprung to life at the Bell South. He is a player who thrives on confidence and is a Major winner, we would rather back him in the top US market as we see the main threats (Mickelson excepted) coming from overseas players.