Harrington - time for him to win again.

By Dave Tindall

Sky Bet's Odds Compare All Prices

BETTING BOX
FIXED ODDS
	2pts e.w. Padraig Harrington at 33/1 (bet365, Sky Bet, Betfred 1/4 1,2,3,4,5,6).	Twice a runner-up here, played well on Florida Swing recently and T7 last week.
	1pt e.w. Stephen Ames at 66/1 (bet365, Hills, Betfred 1/4 1,2,3,4,5,6).	Former winner here has great record in Florida and form this year is good.
	1pt e.w. Ben Crane at 80/1 (General 1/4 1,2,3,4,5,6).	Top six here the last two years and six payout places this week. A winner already in 2010.
	0.5pts e.w. Kevin Stadler at 200/1 (totesport 1/4 1,2,3,4,5,6).	Playing well this year, second in GIR and top 15 on only previous start here.
	0.5pts e.w. Paul Goydos at 225/1 (bet365 1/4 1,2,3,4,5,6).	Play-off loser to Sergio Garcia two years ago and has some decent recent form.
	1pt e.w. Camilo Villegas at 45/1 (Blue Square 1/3 1,2,3,4,5).	Interesting each-way terms add to Colombian's appeal. T3 here on debut.

After missing the cut by a million miles at Quail Hollow on Friday, Tiger Woods is an almost never seen before 8/1 for this week's Players Championship at Sawgrass.

The bookies are happy to dangle that price as there is the added comfort of his poor course form which shows just one win in 12 attempts at the Ponte Vedra track and a distinct lack of near misses.

Woods' pride will have been hurt by his Quail Hollow blowout but it would take an astonishing effort for him to turn his form around on a course where he struggles and with his private life in a mess still the 8/1 seems fair enough.

In truth, it's a surprise no layer has made the decision to make Phil Mickelson favourite. It would be good publicity and makes plenty of sense too (although as I write this a couple of firms have now cut Lefty to clear favourite).

Lefty has won The Masters and finished second to an inspired Rory McIlroy on his last two starts and won this event in 2007. It's he, not Woods, who should be regarded as the world number one at present and he will officially be given that status if he wins and Woods finishes outside the top five.

Mickelson's wonky driving is the reason that he's 9/1 this week rather than 6s or 7s but if he can keep it relatively straight he is the one to beat.

However, my main tip is another multi-major winner.

Padraig Harrington hasn't posted a victory on either the European or US PGA Tour since the 2008 PGA Championship.

But that surely has to end soon and what better way to pick up the winning thread again than at a huge event like the Players.

Harrington is a player who is best to back with some form under his belt and that's why we should really take note of his tied seventh place in last week's Quail Hollow Championship.

The Dubliner shot 70-68 on the weekend in North Carolina to work his way through the field after only finishing a shot inside the cut line.

And with momentum on his side he looks a good bet to continue that at Sawgrass.

Harrington has already shone in Florida this season, finishing tied third in the WGC-CA Championship at Doral and tied eighth in the Transitions Championship. Those two events were legs two and three of the Florida Swing and highlighted the point about him playing best when in tournament groove after he'd kicked off with a modest tied 40th in the Honda Classic.

Now he looks ready to push again for victory at Sawgrass - a venue where he has twice finished runner-up.

Those two second places came back-to-back in 2003 and 2004 and although he's struggled since then he actually feels the golf course - now harder and faster - suits him more now.

Harrington missed the cut at Augusta last month but that should only make him more determined to make amends here and last week's tied seventh suggests he's put it behind him and his game is sharper.

There's just an element too that he would have been energised by the fantastic victory of his fellow Irishman Rory McIlroy. Harrington was thrilled to see McIlroy triumph but the competitive spirit in him suggests he'll also want to remind the world that he can play a bit too.

If Harrington gets his game face on down the stretch, there's a good chance he'll be adding a Players Championship win to his three majors.

Five of the last eight Sawgrass winners have been non-Americans and that quintet includes Canada's Stephen Ames.

The former Trinidad and Tobago native played brilliantly to win here in 2006 and he's since made the payout places again by finishing fifth in 2008.

Also runner-up in 2002, Ames is expert at plotting his way around this Pete Dye track and his iron play looked excellent at Hilton Head a couple of weeks ago. "I've been dialing my irons in really well, hitting a lot of really good iron shots and giving myself as many opportunities as we need out here," he said after shooting a pair of 65s on days two and three and although he missed the cut at Quail Hollow last week that course is nowhere near suited to him as this.

Ames actually shot a bogey-free 69 at Quail in round two so finished in good spirits and five top 20s this season shows his form is solid.

He has an excellent record in Florida and with plenty to recommend him, the 66/1 represents definite value.

Now for some real outsiders. Firstly, 200/1 Kevin Stadler.

Strong iron play is usually a must at Sawgrass and Stadler is second in Greens In Regulation this year.

That's helped him post three top 10s - Northern Trust Open, Mayakoba Classic and Shell Houston Open - and given the impression that a first US PGA Tour win could be around the corner.

This is just his second start at Sawgrass but he was tied 15th on his first visit in 2008 and that was actually his second best finish of that season.

A much more consistent player now, Stadler could just be a dark horse worth following.

The 225/1 about Paul Goydos also seems way too big.

The American increased his cult hero status when a gutsy play-off loser to Sergio Garcia here in 2008.

Speaking later, the wise-cracking Goydos reflected: "It's as much fun as I've had, and again, I get to do a lot of firsts this week. You know, first time leading and first playoff. I've got to think 0-1 is a better playoff (record) than 0-0, right? Am I wrong there? (Laughter.) I don't know, maybe you guys in the media can decipher that one."

Although he's won twice (Bay Hill 1996 and 2007 Sony Open), Goydos has always had the journeyman tag but, at his best, he's better than that.

Already this season he's had two top five finishes and maybe it's significant that they came on courses - Pebble Beach and Riviera - with the smaller than average greens he faces at Sawgrass.

Goydos had a poor weekend at Quail Hollow but he went into it tied third so there are some good things about his game at present and his straight driving will always be an asset at Sawgrass.

Outsiders can fare well in this event and Goydos, as he proved two years ago, is capable of rising to the occasion.

Ben Crane's methodical (okay, painfully slow) approach has served him well at Sawgrass and he's finished fifth and sixth in the last two years.

A winner already of a big event this season - the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines - he's full of confidence and was delighted to make the top 25 at Augusta recently.

Talking of that experience, Crane said: "I just came out here with the idea of having some fun and enjoying the fact that I'm in the Masters. I couldn't be more pleased with just the way I've been playing, and to have a great round today (he closed with a 68) was just icing on the cake for me, so I'm just very pleased."

Crane refers to this event as "one of my favorite courses and tournaments of all time" and having made the top six the last two years he perhaps deserves more respect than the bookies are giving him.

He's 80/1 with several of the firms paying out to six places and that's worth an each-way play.

Finally, I won't desert Camilo Villegas, despite his horrid final round 80 at Quail Hollow.

It's worth remembering that the Colombian was 12th going into round four so it's fairly easy to dismiss his Sunday as one of those days when the adrenalin drains away when a player is out of contention. He also closed with a 77 at Augusta recently.

However, there are plenty of things to like about his chances this week.

Villegas went to the University of Florida and has a great record in his adopted US state having won this year's Honda Classic and also twice suffered play-offlosses.

At Sawgrass he was tied third on debut in 2006 and also finished tied 14th last year when third for Greens In Regulation.

And, this year, he's 5th on the US Money List and 11th in Scoring Average.

The fine record of overseas players adds to his appeal and interestingly Blue Square, who are top price at 45/1, are going with each-way terms of 1/3 the top five.

That gives us 15/1 for the place part of the bet and given his overall record on the US Tour - 12 top threes from 116 starts - it's worth getting those inflated each-way terms rather than taking 1/4 first six at 40s.