The Players Championship golf betting tips: Each-way bets

One man who knows about the potential to lose position, and cash, very quickly around this course is bang-in-form Sean O'Hair. After nearly winning at Bay Hill, Sean proved at Quail Hollow that he is here to stay at the highest level of the game, and consequently starts third favourite this week. I'm sure he'll be a popular selection as punters recall how he battled hard with Mickelson before a disaster at the infamous 17th hole in 2007. However, back to back wins are never easy, even more so when we're talking about the fifth and sixth majors.   LUKE DONALD has always struck me as the archetypal Sawgrass winner, and with the benefit of a week off following 2nd spot at the Heritage, rates an excellent value each-way bet at 40/1. Donald's strength has always been long game accuracy, so it was notable that he ranked 3rd for greens in regulation at Harbour Town, for what was his third top-7 in his last six US starts. Long-term critics of his temperament will no doubt refer to the fact that Luke really should have won here in 2005, when blowing a final day lead, and to be honest the question marks do still remain. Nevertheless, at this price we can afford to take that chance.   Some of you may recall that I completely rejected the claims of HENRIK STENSON as favourite on his last start in Korea; a view which turned out to be vindicated. I can therefore imagine the confusion created by my tipping the Swede for this much stronger tournament. Its all about the price, and course form. In three visits so far, Stenson has shown a strong liking for Sawgrass, finishing 3rd, 23rd and 10th. That equates to much better than a 50/1 chance in my book, especially when also factoring in recent high class form in the States when finishing 3rd at Redstone.   Pick of the lot for me is ZACH JOHNSON, who was marked down as a future Sawgrass winner when finishing a close 8th in 2005. Though his best since is just 16th, Zach has clearly improved in the meantime, winning a Masters and several other PGA Tour titles; including two in the last eight months. Recent form is excellent too, with 3rd place at Bay Hill and 11th over the weekend. In reality, he blew a golden opportunity to win at Quail Hollow, but just couldn't get going again after a disastrous triple-bogey early in his final round. Such things happen in golf though, and he is easily forgiven after previously rock-solid performances under pressure.   My final selection is CAMILO VILLEGAS, who has suggested that he's running into form over the past few weeks. The Colombian made a big impact when finishing 3rd here in 2006 despite still being very inexperienced, marking himself down as a future Sawgrass winner in the process. Since finishing 5th at Doral, Villegas has registered four mid-division finishes ranging from 13th to 42nd. That may not seem like winning form, but like Garcia, Villegas was never really expected to thrive on the fast greens of Augusta and Quail Hollow anyway. Everyone knows Camilo has a huge future in the game, and winning this would be a significant milestone.