[madsteve]

Northern Trust Open

A strong field here with Speith, McIlroy, Dustin, Matsuyama, Bubba, Rose, Walker, Garcia & Scott the biggest names here this week. There are question marks about all of them which makes it an open contest & one on which I am looking for players to upset the favoured players.

The Riviera course seems to favour GIR & Putting players. The course has Kikuya grass, a rarity on the PGA tour but normal in South Africa so could favour players with experience of S African conditions.

Charl Schwartzel 33/1

Schwartzel has experience in spades of playing on this grass and should be around half this price in my opinion. He has played this event twice & and finished 3rd & 5th. He is currently in form with fur consecutive top ten finishes including two wins, in the Alfred Dunhill and last week at Tshwane by eight shots. Should be close if big names slip up.

Freddie Jacobson 66/1

Jacobson is in form with three top five finishes in his last four events. He is a bit of a streaky player so could be a good time to take advantage of his hot streak.

Smylie Kaufman 200/1

Think Smylie is a quality player. He picked up his first PGA Tour win in October and more will follow. The field is tough here but at 200/1, he is value.

Good Luck!