Rhodes to profit

JR: The rumours are definitely true Dave! An absolutely bookie-bashing fest just occurred, our worst week for a long time, with two well tipped-up winners. The worst thing for Skybet was we laid Stanley as our worst result, and also laid a small each-way double on Lawrie and Levin (50s and 100s) so we were hoping near the end that Ben Crane could pull off mission impossible for us, and unfortunately it wasn't to be, with the punters pockets all lined for this week's action!

SS: What price was Spencer Levin when he teed off in the final round with a six-shot lead?

JR: He was a 2-7 shot entering the final round, I think any other player without such a volatile personality would have been a lot shorter than those odds.

SS: That's a win and a second place for Stanley in the last two weeks. What price is he now for the US Money List and has anyone backed him at fancy prices to be top dollar earner?

JR: No, he was one of those we didn't have in the betting at the start of the season, but his rise to stardom has been unbelievable and he's now a 16-1 shot to land the 2012 US Money list title.

SS: The last time Lawrie won in Qatar (1999) he went on to win the Open later that year. What odds is he to repeat the feat by winning the Claret Jug at Royal Lytham?

JR: Lawrie is now a 66-1 shot for Lytham, 125-1 shot for Augusta, and as low as 5-2 to make Ollie's Ryder Cup side in September. He is certainly playing some fine golf at the moment. They say life begins at 40, perhaps it's 43 for the Scotsman!!

SS: As for this week, the big guns are out to play. Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer are in action in Dubai so I guess they dominate the front of the market?

JR: Yes, all three look to have solid credentials once again, I think I pointed out before Xmas last year that Rory has seven top 5s in a row in Dubai, and it's just so hard to see him out of the frame, but at 4-1 you would have to be a brave favourite backer to part with your money at such short odds. Kaymer is second best at 15-2 with Westwood at 9-1. I think Westwood's game isn't far off and the last two weeks will have set him up nicely for Dubai this week.

SS: In the US, Tiger Woods makes his first start on American soil this year. The venue, Pebble Beach, was the price of Tiger's amazing 15-shot US Open win in 2000 so I suspect he's the hot favourite after his solid start to 2012?

JR: Yes Dave, he's a 5-1 shot at Pebble Beach. He's playing some good stuff, so providing the hoo-ha of the celebrity event doesn't affect him too much he should be at the business end of affairs come Sunday night. Former multiple champions here Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson are next best at 20s alongside Hunter Mahan.

SS: Spencer Levin is also in the field. Any chance that he might 'do a Stanley' and follow up a heartbreak loss with a victory the very next week?

JR: In my opinion he has nowhere near the temperament of Stanley. I would put him in the "Marcel Siem" or "Pat Perez" bracket of hot-headedness, and I think it will take him some time to get over what happened last week. Stanley - okay you wouldn't have said it would take one week - always looked to have a sound game, with a sweet swing, and you could easily see him winning sooner rather than later.

SS: Any other events you're betting on this week?

JR: Yeah, we have a flurry of action from across the globe. We have the Phillipine Open on the humorously named Wack-Wack course on the Asian Tour, a strong field lines up for the Women's Australian Open, we have the Champions tour event, and two smaller mini tour events - one in Morocco on the Alps tour (look out for Walker cuppers Steven Brown and Jack Senior) and one in Spain on the Hi 5 Tour where Scotsman Callum Macauley heads the betting after his third place in last month's Challenge Tour event in India.

SS: Finally, John, what is your best bet of the week?

JR: I like the look of Bryce Molder in the AT & T this week. He could quite easily have won here the last two years, and now with a win in California last year, he will be looking to add to that tally on a course he obviously thrives on.

Thanks John.