Humana Challenge…..

Last week’s Sony Open winner Russell Henley displayed a great temperament in winning his maiden title on the PGA tour in only his third start. Having won twice at the end of the 2012 web.com tour, Henley continued his good form in setting 54 and 72 hole records and making only two bogeys all week. Have we seen the birth of another golfing superstar?

After two weeks in Hawaii the tour joins the mainland this week for the Humana Challenge. Played on three different courses this early season pro-am is a birdie bonanza for the pros and you will need to go very low to be victorious. My three off the tee for this event are Harris English, Ross Fisher and Josh Teater.

English has long been on my list of golfers to follow and I have seen nothing in the last couple of months to change my mind. Having finished last season with a 19^th placed finish, English posted a top ten last week in Hawaii having birdied the 36^th hole to make the cut on the mark. He followed that with a 62 on Saturday for a good start to the season. He had already shown he has the capability to go low and the third round last week will give him added confidence when firing at the pins this week. His first season on tour was not spectacular but he showed up often enough and posted some nice finishes. Having kicked off 2013 well he will no doubt be expecting a first win this year.

Ross Fisher enjoyed a great start to his career and has already had multiple wins on the European Tour. Having placed in 3 of the 4 majors a few years back his form took a downward turn, due in part I think, to starting a family. In an interview on Sunday he seemed excited by the challenge he has set himself this year after qualifying to play on the US tour as well as the European, a task that seems to get easier each year for the top players as highlighted by the fact Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy have been top money earners on both sides of the pond in the last couple of seasons. I believe the time to catch Fisher is early and I certainly expect a bold showing at layouts that should suit the Englishman.

My final pick is another player who has been on my shortlist for a while, Josh Teater. Another with a solid season under his belt, he probably did not capitalise on some of the opportunities he gave himself last season but with the experience gained from those chances he is another I would hope to see lifting the main prize this year. Teater finished last year with a 5^th place finish at the CMN Classic and a top twenty at last week’s Sony Open. So like English, he comes here in good form and having had an outing. Another who has displayed the ability to go low and sitting high in all the key ranking stats, expect another of our picks to be there at the weekend.

Josh Teater current odds 80/1

Harris English current odds 40/1

Ross Fisher current odds 66/1