VERPLANK HAS CONSISTENCY TO SHINE AT GLENN ABBEY

Scott Verplank should go well fresh in Canada

Acton's top tip Scott Verplank 33-1 This year marks the 100th running of the Canadian Open, a tournament rich in history played over several different courses but returning to Glen Abbey, the most used venue, for the 25th time. The event has aged well and is the second oldest on the PGA Tour and the third oldest National Championship in Golf behind the Open and US Open . Naturally with such longevity it has been the source of golfing folklore and provided Arnold Palmer with the first of his 61 PGA Tour victories while Lee Trevino once played in his pyjamas to combat the cold, albeit under his more sober golfing attire. The medium-length course offers no advantage to the longer hitters but it rewards consistency off the tee due to its narrow fairways and there aren't many straighter than Scott Verplank who should relish plotting his way around the tricky layout. He's ranked fourth in driving accuracy this season having hit an impressive 73 per cent of all fairways and his recent form also catches the eye - he sahred ninth place in both the Travelers Championship and John Deere Classic. A past winner in 2001, when the tournament was played at Royal Montreal, he boasts a decent career record including two strong top-ten finishes on the last two occasions he has teed-up at Glen Abbey. A further pointer to his chance is that he will be fresher than most after a two week break and he won't be subject to post-Open syndrome which may affect several protagonists this week. There has to be a doubt about those who played the four days at Turnberry, under such mental and physical stress, as to whether they can quickly adapt to the normal routine after being tortured by the idiosyncrasies of the Scottish links. Next best Anthony Kim 20-1 Anthony Kim played in the Open but missed out on the weekend, having failed to make the cut, but he deserves plenty of credit for the class he showed after carding a tournament-wrecking nine on only his second hole. He never gave up after that and showed great maturity and tenacity in his bid to recover from that early disaster and was arguably unlucky not to make it, a double bogey at the 18th on Friday sealing his fate. Much was expected of the 24-year-old this year but apart from getting off to a fine start when runner-up in the Mercedes-Benz Championship he hasn't delivered yet on his superstar status. However, the first shoots of recovery were evident at the US Open, where he finished tied-16th, and that was quickly followed up with a share of 11th in the Travelers and a further improved effort when third in the AT & T National. Apart from his blip in Scotland this strong recent form makes him of serious interest on a return to the course he devoured over the first three rounds in 2008. He looked the winner at that stage but lost the plot on the final day when a 75 cost him his chance of victory and he finished back in eighth. Other selections Kevin Na 40-1 Brandt Snedeker 40-1 It can only be a matter of time before Kevin Na lands his breakthrough victory on the tour and he's certainly a young gun to watch out for. The 24-year-old has played some high-class Golf this season and been rewarded with six top-ten finishes including third in the FBR Open and a share of third in The Players Championship. He's a magician on the short grass, ranked seventh in putting average, and even though his level dropped last week when averaging 29.5 putts per round, compared to his yearly total of 28.47, he still managed another strong finish when T7th in the US Bank Championship. There are plenty of positives to be taken from his performance in 2008 when an 11-under-par total, including a dazzling second-round 66, proved he can handle the demands of Glen Abbey and he's a strong runner to improve on that fine effort. Brandt Snedeker has made a full recovery from the rib injury that affected his game during the first half of the season and is once again showing the sort of form that enabled him to finish third in the 2008 Masters and proved that was no fluke when following it up with a share of ninth in the US Open. Prior to missing the cut at Turnberry he posted a top-five finish in the AT & T National and then underlined the fact he was back in the big time with a share for second in the John Deere Classic. Although he has no course form, his game should handle the Ontario layout given his straight driving while his silky putting stroke will offer him plenty of birdie chances. Best outsider Spencer Levin 100-1 As is often the case with Tour rookies, Spencer Levin has struggled during the first half of the season and prior to showing an improvement in form in the Travellers he missed five cuts in a row. However, he's finally beginning to show what he's capable of and has really caught the eye on his last two starts when a top-20 finish was complemented with a superb share of seventh in the US Bank Championship. Last week's effort was all the more impressive as he smashed the course to pieces with a flamboyant final round 63, the best of the day. The likeable 25-year-old is fearless bordering on arrogant, but he can shoot low and will be attacking the pins so Stan James's three-figure quote is well worth snapping up. Dangers Canadian left-hander Mike Weir has come close to winning his National tournament, finishing tenth in 2003, runner-up in 2004 and fifth last year. He will be popular this week and should be competitive given his steady recent play which has seen him bag two top-ten finishes. Sean O'Hair, third in 2006 and again last year at Glen Abbey, has an eyecatching tournament record and his game is well suited to the course set-up. Ranked fifth in GIR, his laser-like accuracy from the fairways will be a potent weapon when hitting into the small targets and if ready to go after his Open exertions (he played four rounds but was never in contention) he looks set for another good showing. Keep an eye out for Casey Wittenberg, who has strung together some decent form recently and played well last week in Milwaukee. He looks overpriced at 150-1 now he's back in the groove after a string of missed cuts and he did finish T24th, on this course, on his only appearance in the event in 2004. Recommendations Scott Verplank 1.5pts each-way 33-1 general Anthony Kim 1pt each-way 20-1 Betfred, Totesport Kevin Na 1pt each-way 40-1 general Brandt Snedeker 1pt each-way 45-1 Coral Spencer Levin 0.5pt each-way 100-1 Stan James PAST CANADIAN OPEN RESULTS 2008 (Glen Abbey GC) 267 C Reavie ..........................400-1 270 B Mayfair..........................100-1 271 S Marino ..........................100-1 271 S O'Hair..............................66-1 272 M Weir ..............................18-1 272 N Thompson ....................300-1 272 S McCarron ......................300-1 273 A Kim, G Day, K Na, 274 B Baird, C Pettersson, K Duke, 275 B Davis, B Estes, C Franco, C Wi, J Furyk, M Calcavecchia, 276 E Axley, F Couples, 277 J Huston, K Jones, M Laird, M Wilson, O Uresti, R Palmer, 278 C Hoffman, C Pavin, 279 K Streelman, K Sutherland, P McLachlin, R Goosen, S Bertsch, S Flesch, 278 T Hamilton, 280 B Haas, Jerry Kelly, M Gronberg, S Allan, T Demsey, T Pernice Jnr, Y E Yang, 281 B Tway, J P Hayes, R Garrigus, T Petrovic, 282 B Curtis, C Collins, J Day, J Dufner, J Durant, 283 A Buckle, C Villegas, F Lickliter, N Taylor, R Armour, 284 A Cejka, C Kresge, D Hart, D Hearn, T Purdy, 285 B DeCorso, J Quinney, M Letzig, Patrick Sheehan, S Sterling, 286 J Allred, 287 N Flanagan, 288 J Maggert, 291 C Beckman, 214 C Freeman, J gore, P Claxton, 215 I Leggatt, 216 J Senden, 217 J Mills, L Mize, 218 JWalker, 220 D Risdon. Missed cut: 142 A Canizares, B Andrade, B Watson, J Mallinger, J McGovern, K Ferrie, M Kuchar, M Turnesa, N Watney, O Browne, Richard Johnson, T Ridings, T Wilkinson, 143 A Parr, A Short, B Elder, C Riley, D Morland, D Wilson, J Overton, K Stadler, L Mattiace, M Allen, N Green, P Perez, S Ames, T Gainey, 144 B Jobe, B Pappas, B Rumford, C DiMarco, C Kanada, C Warren, D Forsman, D Labelle, J Gove, J J Henry, J Park, M Knight, W Simpson, 145 D Im, L Janzen, M Bradley, 146 B Van Pelt, D Lutterus, G Bradford, J Rutledge, M Jones, W C Liang, 147 A Bland, B Fritsch, C Woo, W Heffernan, 148 B Adamonis, J Ellis, 149 B Heintz, B Sowards, H Frazar, 150 J Scriven, M Dawson, T Matteson, 151 C Barlow, 152 E Landreviile, T Perkins, 153 T Halpen, 155 K Thompson, 159 J Bolli. Withdrew: J Williamson, W Mackenzie, Richard S Johnson, B Gay, Dustin Johnson, G Coles, R Whittaker, C Stroud. Disqualified: S Elkington. THE LOWDOWN Canadian Open Prize money $ 5.1m ($ 918,000 to winner) Field 156 The course Glen Abbey GC, Oakville, Ontario Length 7,222 Par 71 Course records - 72 holes 266 Tiger Woods (2000) 18 holes 62 Leonard Thompson (1981), Andy Bean (1983), Greg Norman (1986) The first course that Jack Nicklaus did on his own in 1976, Glen Abbey has hosted 2 Canadian Opens. From 2004 it has had a new look with narrower fairways, extra bunkers and a change of par to 71, one of the par fives, the 16th, being reduced to a four. Faders are favoured. Smallish, undulating Bentgrass greens require accurate approach play. Wind often a factor Last year"s winner: Chez Reavie broke through with a three-shot win over Billy Mayfair Course winner taking part Billy Andrade When to bet By noon tomorrow Where to watch Live on Eurosport all four days, starting at 8pm tomorrow Weather forecast Isolated showers and quite windy on day one, scattered showers on Friday, light rain on Saturday, mainly sunny on Sunday. Temperatures around 24C and quite windy tomorrow and Saturday Time difference Ontario is five hours behind the UK Last week - US Bank Championship 1st B Van Pelt (50-1), 2nd J Mallinger (33-1), 3rd J Kelly (22-1), T4th J Klauk (100-1), J Quinney (150-1), D Pride (300-1)