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While not quite carrying the status of a major, there are few golf tournaments that get punters' juices flowing quite like the TPC at Sawgrass. It is almost as if Pete Dye had a premonition about a future involving betting exchanges when designing his masterpiece back in the 1970s. Just as we've come to expect from other Dye layouts such as Harbour Town and Whistling Straits, the dramatic nature of Sawgrass tends to produce a phenomenon I can only describe as 'In-Running Heaven'. Here's four tips to help maximise the experience.

Lay the Leaders
The beauty of Sawgrass is that it's one of the few courses where players can plausibly hit 64 or 84 on any given day, in any conditions. No lead is big enough to remove the stress from the most famous finish in golf - the legendary island par-3 17th, followed by the long par-4 18th, where water all down the left threatens both the tee shot and approach. However while they are the most famous holes, there is much more to Sawgrass. For instance, the last three par-5s are all eagle chances, yet many a scorecard has been ruined on them after a visit to the water.

Consequently, leaderboards change very fast, generating extremely volatile betting. My favourite renewal was back in 2005, when if memory serves, around a dozen players vied for favouritism during a 36 hole Monday finish. Eventual winner Fred Funk was trading at enormous prices right up until his final few holes. Last year, Lee Westwood and Robert Allenby both traded at odds-on before they were reeled in by Tim Clark's late charge.

Indeed only one of the last six final round leaders has gone on to deliver, with a couple disappearing from the leaderboard altogether. Two years ago, Alex Cejka started the day five shots clear and ended up losing by eight. 2007 front-runner Sean O'Hair was in contention right up until that daunting tee-shot on the 71st hole, yet lost by seven shots, missing the top-ten.

Lay short-prices in the place markets
Due to the nature of the course, that volatility extends beyond just the leader and win market. Cejka and O'Hair's disasters hammered odds-on money-buyers in the place markets, and there have been plenty of similar dramatic turnarounds, where big name contenders have traded extremely short before falling foul of Dye's traps. In 2008, Kenny Perry started Sunday in second place before shooting 81 to finish 15th. In 2006, Vijay Singh and Sergio Garcia disputed final round favouritism, but lost by 11 and 12 shots respectively. It could make sense to lay every player who trades below a certain point, for example 1.25.

Know the course and effect of the draw
A sound In-Play strategy requires knowing which stretches of the course players are likeliest to pick up shots, or lose them. There are very few courses where the par-5s are more pivotal to scoring, as borne out by the stats website www.tour-tips.com. These long holes are the 2nd, 9th, 11th and 16th. Likewise when trying to evaluate a player's position in-running over the first two days, remember that those playing the back-nine first will enjoy a much easier finish. Their final hole will be a par-5, whereas the real 18th is the hardest on the course.

Back after the 8th, lay before the 17th
The ideal time to back your man in-running is on the 9th tee. The previous hole is one to avoid as the third toughest, and this par-5 marks the start of a relatively easy run of five holes, including another eagle opportunity at 11. Neither par-5 is without danger, particularly the 11th where water is a serious threat to the approach, but players will view anything worse than birdie as a shot dropped.

After completing the 13th, most would be happy to play the rest in par. The 14th is the second hardest hole on the course, the 15th ranks sixth and the finishing holes are infamous. Sandwiched in the middle is another eagle opportunity at 16, but again water has been known to complicate matters. Given the countless late disasters here over the years, it makes sense to be laying back or taking the risk out of positions after the 13th, or at worst ways before that terrifying tee-shot on 17. Unless of course, you fancy being brave...

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