Poa Annua greens are often more difficult in the afternoon and I expect the first round leader to come from the morning wave on Thursday. To contend here over four days patience is going to key and those who lose focus or get frustrated may struggle. However, over the course of 18 holes you may get away with it and those who attack the course from the outset may make hay on day one whilst not finishing that high on the leaderboard after four days. ABRAHAM ANCER (125-1 / 8 places) is one of the early starters and fits the bill. He shot 65 or better five times in 2018 with three of those coming at Muirfield, Mayakoba and Sedgefield. Those courses are all pointers as to who could go well this week and Ancer is more likely to lead after round one than contend over the weekend. He sits 18th in Round One Scoring average this season and the 125/1 8 places looks worthy of support.

0.75pt each-way A.Ancer FRL 125/1 (1/5 8 places)

Abraham Ancer - 0.75pts e/w @ 125/1

PHIL MICKELSON (50-1 / 8 places) sits 4th in Round One Scoring this season and should be absolutely buzzing teeing off here on Thursday morning. With this being one of his last legitimate chances to nail the Grand Slam he will be keen to get off to a good start. Mickelson as we know always attacks and around a venue which he absolutely loves he is one of the more likelier early starters to feature on the round one leaderboard. His eagerness can get the better of him and we've seen plenty of poor starts in majors lately, however with his win here earlier in the season it would not surprise me if he is right in the mix throughout the week. Winning it may be slightly beyond him but a first round lead would send a message to the entire field that he'd be the one to beat given his track record.

0.75pt each-way P.Mickelson FRL 50/1 (1/5 8 places)

Phil Mickelson - 0.75pts e/w @ 50/1

GRAEME MCDOWELL (66-1 / 7 places) has history here and like Phil will be keen to send a message to his competitors on round one. These three bets are all guys who I think could feature over the first few days but maybe struggle when it comes to the business end. McDowell has been playing fine golf with a win earlier in the season in Punta Cana followed by that magnificent 30 footer on the 72nd in Canada which secured his place at Portrush next month. He too has impressed early this year ranked 12th in Round One scoring. Both Mickelson and McDowell will be full of confidence that they can score around this track no matter what the conditions and that may translate to better first round scores than most. Key to this is assuming the first round leader will come from the early starters and I'd be surprised if that doesn't ring true. As ever with this market I will tread carefully enough.

0.75pt each-way G.McDowell FRL 66/1 (1/5 7 places)

Graeme McDowell - 0.75pts e/w @ 66/1