Author: Matt Fargo - Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Wachovia Championship Preview

The tour heads to Charlotte and Quail Hollow Club this week for the Wachovia Championship and for the first time since The Masters, the field is filled with big names. Nine of the world's top ten are in action with Tiger Woods being the only absentee. The winner is looking to claim the over $1 million top prize which was won by Vijay Singh in 2005. Singh took home the championship in a playoff over Sergio Garcia and Jim Furyk after Garcia blew a six-shot lead after Saturday's third round.

The defending champion comes in at 10-1 and he is in prime shape to follow up that title. In three starts at the Wachovia, Singh has three top ten finishes that also includes a second place finish at the inaugural event in 2003. He is winless this season but he is 7-9 in top tens and he has only finished outside the top 20 once at the Shell where coincidentally he was defending that title as well.

The favorite to win is Phil Mickelson, who had his tournament winning streak snapped last week at the Zurich Open. Lefty finished 15th his second worst finish in nine starts this season and has been tabbed at a 7-1 price this week. He did not play the event in 2003 but has finished 5th and 7th the last two years respectively. His game is in top form right now and he is the favorite for very good reason.

Retief Goosen and Ernie Els, the 3rd and 5th ranked players in the world are both listed at 12-1 this week and both will be making their first ever starts at the Wachovia. Goosen finished 25th last week after three consecutive top four finishes and it was the Saturday round of 75 that did him in. The good news is that he closed out in New Orleans with a final round 67 so he comes in with good momentum.

Els has been off since the Verizon Heritage three weeks ago and he seems to be coming back after a slow start to the season. He has three top ten finishes in his six starts and his 7th place finish in Hilton Head made up for a long weekend at The Masters prior to that. Els has not won on tour since the 2004 WGC-American Express Championship so he is in need of a long awaited victory.

2003 Wachovia champion Davis Toms is listed at 30-1 which seems like a huge bargain for a former champion but his game has gone downhill after a great start to the season. Toms has three top three finishes in his first six starts including a win at the Sony Open but he has missed three cuts in his last five events since then. He is coming off a 47th place finish in New Orleans last week after entering Sunday tied for 13th.

Joey Sindelar won this event in 2004 but has been pretty much off the radar since then with just eight top 20 finishes. He has missed the cut in four of his 10 starts in 2006 and that is the main cause for him to being part of the field this week at 4-1. The victory two years ago ended a 14-year winless streak. Past champions tend to have short odds in the following few years but banking on Sindelar at 4-1 is not the way to go. The good news is that you get 107 other golfers in the mix.

Related Articles:
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- Fargo's National League Handicapping Preview
- Tuesday's American League Betting Report - April 25
- Fargo's Free Baseball Preview For Sunday - April 23
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- Shell Houston Open Free Preview

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