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There's action all over the world but where has the Punter put his cash? Read his thoughts on this week's three events here...

The Race to Dubai returns to Valderrama this week for the second staging of the Andalucía Masters. Although this week's event is new to the schedule, Valderrama has been a popular staging post on the European Tour for many a year as it was the venue for the old season closer, the Volvo Masters, so there's plenty of course form to peruse.

It's a short, tree-lined track and accuracy is most definitely the key. Course form repeats and as a rule, it's the sort of place that the players need to get to know. Very few debutants fair well, although Jeev Milkha Singh won the Volvo Masters at his first attempt back in 2006.

Last year's inaugural winner of this title, Graeme McDowell, had plenty of Valderrama form in the book, arrived in good nick and was very well-fancied before the off. He was my idea of a typical winner given it's such a demanding venue but very often the winner of the old Volvo Masters would go off at big odds. Soren Kjeldsen, Paul McGinley and the aforementioned Jeev Milkha were all surprise recent winners. I still think it's a place where the cream really should rise to the top though and my first two picks certainly reflect that.

I'm no Sergio Garcia fan by any means but he couldn't have been any more impressive last week and he has some fantastic form around here too. He really should have won the Volvo Masters and was runner-up three times. In ten starts at Valderrama (including two American Express Championships) he's finished outside the top-ten just once and he even managed to finish in the top-ten here last year, the week after missing the cut at his home track. It's very difficult to envisage him not contending and he looked very much over-priced at 9.2 yesterday.

I've given up on the weather forecasts; they all seem to contradict each other with regards to the wind but Thursday certainly looks wet. I may hang on to all of my Sergio wager or I may lay the stake back and give myself a small free bet, or given he has an afternoon tee time on day one, I may just wait and see how my other main pick, Martin Kaymer, who tees off in the morning, fares first.

I don't think I have ever backed the first two in the market at an event before but that's precisely what I've done here. This time last year, in scintillating form and looking for his fourth straight win, Kaymer was trading at half his current price and although I backed him, I did so somewhat reluctantly. My instinct told me he was going to the well once too often but this time around, my intuition tells me he's ready to win again.

Kaymer has repeatedly said that Valderrama is his favourite course and his form figures back that up. In just three starts here he's finished sixth, second and last year's disappointing 21st. He contended well at the Portugal Masters two weeks ago and was runner-up at the recent European Masters and I couldn't leave him out.

That was supposed to be it but Paul Krishnamurty makes such a compelling case for David Horsey that I've followed him in. He is indeed correct, even though this is Horsey's first look at Valderrama, he's definitely too big at 100.0.

Of the remainder, I wouldn't want to put anyone off the defending champ, McDowell, and I really liked Thomas Bjorn but wanted a bigger price. Soren Kjeldsen has incredible form figures at Valderrama, having finished second, first and second again in his last three appearances and he's a big price at 60.0 but he's been woefully out of form this term so he's left out too.

Justin Rose won here in 2007 but he also had fine form figures at last week's venue in the States where he missed the cut. He's been well backed again but he looks short enough to me after last week's woeful effort. And finally, a regular play of mine, Alvaro Quiros, lives just up the road from Valderrama but this is simply not his type of venue and even at a huge price he's readily overlooked.

Selections:

Sergio Garcia @ 9.2
Martin Kaymer @ 14.5
David Horsey @ 100.0


Also in just its second year is the Asian and PGA Tour collaboration - the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic from the MINES resort in Malaysia. Ben Crane took the inaugural birdie-fest last year and he's the favourite this time around but he's not for me. Ben was last seen beating Webb Simpson in a play-off for the McGladrey Classic a fortnight ago but since then his wife's given birth to their third child, a girl, and I just wonder if he really wants to be on the other side of the world right now.

Given that we have so little to go on, and given this will be played out when I'll be tucked up in bed (and don't get caught out by the early start) I've been ultra cautious. I've swerved all the Asian players as they just didn't figure last year and I can't say I was grabbed by any of the American contingency either.

I quite liked Colombian Camilo Villegas but not at such a short price and in the end I've just played one from the start and that's the duel major winner Angel Cabrera.

The Argentine has plied his trade all around the globe and he's won in all sorts of far-flung places. He's won in the heat and humidity of Singapore and he's also played the MINES before. With rounds of 69 69 68 67, he partnered Eduardo Romero, who fired 72 68 70 72, when Argentina finished fourth here in the 1999 World Cup. He comes here fresh off his best performance of the year in the States - sixth at the McGladrey Classic and he might just go well at a fair price.

Selection:

Angel Cabrera @ 42.0


The best field of the week lines up at the inaugural Shanghai Masters - an event I didn't know existed until yesterday! It isn't part of any tour schedule and the Asian Tour head has called it a "vanity" exhibition tournament.

It's a tough one, I understand that china is a huge growth area for the game but I find it a little sad that Europe's elite are chasing the $2 million first prize instead of playing in Spain. Not that I blame them.

Anyway, I've not really looked at this at all yet but if you fancy a bet, here's the market. I may get involved in-running, I may not. If I do, I'll detail it in the In-Play Blog, which I'll probably kick off on Friday.


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