COURSE CHARACTERISTICS: The track in Chicago, which was re-designed by Rees Jones in 2008, is a long tough place to play as shown by the fact that only four players produced double-digit par scores. There are over 100 bunkers and there is water in play on six holes, including the tough par four 18th where a pulled shot from the sloping fairway can spell disaster. There are just three par fives with the ninth at 600yds being the trickiest while the 15th offers the chance to gain strokes. Holes 12 to 14 are known as 'death valley' and are the toughest on the course.

THE MAIN MEN

TIGER WOODS: Bidding for a hat-trick of wins in the tournament and a sixth victory overall. Didn't take part in the 2008 renewal but picked up the title the year before and landed it once again 12 months ago. Three years ago he matched the low final round of his career when signing for an eight-under 63 to land the first prize by two strokes after taking the lead for good with a 12-foot birdie at the 13th hole. His final total of 262 for 22-under broke the previous record he had set up at Cog Hill by five shots. Murdered the opposition last year, coming home eight shots in front of Jim Furyk and Marc Leishman, shooting a course record 62 in the third round on his way to leading by seven going into the final round. Hasn't really recaptured those heady days so far this season although there have been glimpses of the old Tiger, most notably when fourth on his seasonal reappearance in the US Masters and when occupying the same finishing position in the US Open. Lost his way a little after that but there has been some encouragement for his supporters in his two most recent starts in the Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship in which he finished 12th and 11th respectfully and posted his lowest round of the season, a 65, in the second round of the latter and on the first day of the Barclays to share the lead and where he was ranked No.1 for fairways hit. Earned a ninth place ranking in the driving distance stats at Norton last week.
BEST PRICE: 7-1

JIM FURYK: This has proved a very lucrative event for him over the years with his 14 starts yielding nine top-10s, which include a win in 2005 along with a runner-up finish and three thirds. Led for the field for three of the four days and was in second place on the other five years ago, repelling a late charge from Tiger Woods in the fourth round. The pair were joint leaders at one stage on the last afternoon but three successive birdies on the back nine and his opponent dropping shots all over the place gave him a comfortable cushion and he eventually triumphed by a couple of strokes. Last term he was just inside the top-20 over the first two days before weekend rounds of 67 and 66 helped him to claim a share of second place overall plus occupying the same position in the fairways hit charts along with a tied fourth for putting. Enjoying another cracking season with the six top-10s he has recorded so far being made up of two wins. The first of those came in March when he landed the Transitions Championship by a shot for his first success in just over two years and 58 starts. Almost a month later he beat Londoner Brian Davis in a play-off for the Verizon Heritage where the latter called a two-stroke penalty on himself for striking a loose impediment during his backswing. After securing his sixth top-10 in 15 appearances in the Memorial he posted four rounds in the 60s to grab a share of ninth in the inaugural running of the Greenbrier Classic. Jumped 24 places up the leaderboard to sixth thanks to a final day score of 64 in the Bridgestone Invitational where he occupied the same position in the fairways hit stats and was two places higher in the putting charts. Although he was ranked second for driving accuracy in the Deutsche Bank Championship last time out, he was never nearer than the 19th spot he gained on the opening day.
BEST PRICE: 22-1

LUKE DONALD: Has missed the cut just once in eight appearances in the contest and that was on his debut at the beginning of the century. Since then he has registered four top-20s with two of those being top-10s. The first of the latter happened in 2004 after he had started the tournament with a 72 to lie in 66th position at the end of the first round. The 67 he carded on the last afternoon was the best of the day and led to a tie for third place and a 10th place ranking in the putting stats. Was always inside the top-20 over the four days of last year's renewal and although he posted a 73 in the fourth round he managed to hang on to a share of 10th, while topping the putting statistics. Six top-10s have come his way so far this term on the US tour and two of those have been runner-up finishes and two have been third places, while on one of his visits to the European circuit he managed to lead from start to finish to land the Madrid Masters. That came a week after he almost captured the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. Earlier in the year a final round of 66 led to second place in the Northern Trust Open and that was his third consecutive top-10 in that tournament. In the Verizon Heritage event he was one of just five players to card all four rounds under par ion his way to tying for third, while also occupying the same finishing position in the Canadian Open after four rounds in the 60s. After struggling over the first three days of the Barclays he opened the final round with six consecutive birdies which helped him gain a share of 15th and arrives in Lemont in good form having carded four scores in the 60s at last week's Deutsche Bank Championship where he was ranked third for GIR.
BEST PRICE: 28-1

STEWART CINK: Missed the cut on his debut in this tournament way back in 1997 but four subsequent outings have yielded pay-days and two of those have been top-10s. The best of those was a tied fourth in 2006, which seemed an unlikely scenario after a first-day score of 71 saw him lying in 63rd position. However, he bounced back with a 64 the following day to propel himself up the leaderboard to third and a place higher came at the end of Saturday's play before he shot a 71 to drop back two places. A year later he opened with a 66 to lie in fourth spot but made life tough for himself when a 73 followed and he dropped back to 17th. Weekend rounds of 68 and 65 saw him climb to his eventual finishing spot of tied seventh and an eighth place ranking for GIR. Was fifth in the driving distance stats in 2009 and 17th for putting and it was only a Sunday score of 68 that enabled him to finish in a tie for 23rd. Started this season with a solid ninth in the SBS Championship and a fifth in the World Match Play event but had to wait until June for his next top-10 which came in the Memorial tournament where he finished in a tie for eighth place. Has played very solidly of late with his last four outings yielding top-20s and two top-10 rankings for GIR. Will be keen to prove that captain Corey Pavin was right to include him in the US Ryder Cup team and that could make him a strong challenger this week.
BEST PRICE: 50-1

IAN POULTER: The Hertfordshire-born golfer has made just two starts in the BMW Championship and both have been highly satisfactory. Made his debut three years ago and climbed 18 places up the leaderboard after closing with a 66 to grab a share of 10th place and earning a fifth place ranking for fairways hit and a tied eighth for GIR. Missed the following year but returned to Cog Hill in 2009 to play solidly and claim a tie for 20th and once again his accuracy off the tee was shown by his fifth in the fairways hit stats along with an 18th for putting. Started this year strongly with a 65 on the first day of the Abu Dhabi Championship in late January to lead the field only to slip back after carding a 70 on the Friday before weekend rounds of 66 and 67 led to a runner-up finish. About a month later he captured his first title on American soil when beating his good friend Paul Casey 4 and 2 in the final of the World Match Play Championship to become the first player from England to land a World Golf event. A week later he shot a 63 in the second round of the Phoenix Open on his way to sharing 24th spot and then opened the US Masters with successive rounds of 68 to be the co-leader with Lee Westwood at the halfway stage. Couldn't break 70 over the weekend and ended tying for 10th at Augusta and picking up top-20s for driving distance and putting. Apart from an 18th in the Open de France his game has been in the doldrums since then but there was some encouragement from a 15th in the Barclays a few weeks back where a third-round 66 helped him to climb 45 places to 12th with a day to go before he closed with a 70 to tie for 15th. Still maintained his superb accuracy for finding the fairways in regulation from the tee when tying for 15th in those stats but could only manage a 45th overall.
BEST PRICE: 80-1

TIM CLARK: Prior to a tied 30th in this tournament 12 months ago he had racked up three consecutive top-10s between 2006 and 2008 inclusive. Four years ago he was languishing outside the first 50 on the leaderboard at the halfway stage but came home strongly with weekend scores of 68 an 66 to snatch a share of fourth spot. A year later he shot a 29 (seven birdies, one bogey) on the front nine in the final round on his way to posting a 67 and a tied fifth, while also claiming a seventh in both in the fairways hit and putting stats. The South African golfer was never lower than his final leaderboard position of eighth when taking part in the event in 2008 and at one point was lying in third. Once again his excellent skills on the greens led to a top-10 ranking for putting while he also tied for 14th for GIR. Closed with a 66 in 2009 to jump 31 places to tie for 30th but did much better in the fairways hit stats where he achieved a fourth place to go with a 14th for putting. After a number near-misses he finally got off the mark on the US tour when capturing the Players Championship in May. Played the final 26 holes at Sawgrass without a bogey, winning it with an eight-foot par putt on the final hole to win by a stroke. A couple of solid efforts have come his way since with a tied 12th in the US Open and a tied seventh in the John Deere Classic while prior to that win he had recorded a second in the Bob Hope and a tied 10th at Pebble Beach. His form has tailed off a bit of late but not his accuracy from the tee as he has been ranked fifth, eighth and 16th for fairways hit in three of his last four outings despite finishing no higher than 39th (USPGA Championship). Not a lot to recommend him on his recent form but his overall record in the BMW Championship makes him one to be interested in.
BEST PRICE: 90-1

BILL HAAS: Three years after finishing just inside the top-30 he improved 20 places to tie for 10th last season on his only other start in this contest. Gained 35 places on the last day of the 2006 renewal when closing with a 67 to tie for 30th but there were a couple of decent rankings in the stats with a tied ninth for GIR and an 11th for driving distance. Last term it was his putting (ranked second) that helped him stay in the top-20 over the final three days of the competition and led to a tied 10th finish. Couldn't have started 2010 in better fashion as he landed the five-round Bob Hope Classic a week after missing the cut in the Sony Open where he made his seasonal return to action. Proved he had an abundance of stamina to land his first PGA tour title in the Hope after ending each day with a score in the 60s and saved the best to last as he signed for a 64 having two-putted for birdie at the 18th on the Monday for eight-under par to triumph by two strokes. Topped the rankings for GIR there and was also fifth for driving distance. Had to wait nearly two months for the next highlight which came in the WGC-CA Championship in Miami. A 66 on the second day of that contest saw him lying in third place at the halfway stage but that was only time he broke 70 and he eventually finished a very creditable sixth, while earning a second place in the GIR stats. Made it to the weekend in each of his next eight outings and posted three top-20s. He was ranked 14th for both driving distance and fairways hit but finished outside the top-40 in the Barclays before closing rounds of 69 and 68 led to a tied 22nd in the Deutsche Bank Championship last week, his highest finish on the tour since a 13th in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at the end of May.
BEST PRICE: 100-1

VIJAY SINGH: This event has yielded five top-10s for the Fijian, although the last was in 2006, but one was a runner-up finish in 1998. Four seasons back he carded two scores of 67 and one of 68 to lead the field with a day to go before a 73 saw him drop back to share fourth spot while claiming a share of third in the GIR stats. Had a top-10 ranking for driving distance and was tied 16th for accuracy off the tee but was outside the top-40 in 2008 but missed out on playing in the tournament 12 months ago. By his high standards the last couple of seasons have been pretty miserable but there have been several encouraging displays in 2010 to give some hope to his supporters. Started the final round of the Honda Classic in second place but ended up two places further back after a final round of two-over par and then followed that up with an 11th in the WGC-CA Championship before four missed cuts came in his next seven starts until a 12th arrived in the Memorial tournament. Has only missed the cut twice (one was the Scottish Open) since then and has registered three top-20s, a ninth in the AT&T National, 13th in the Travelers Championship and a last-time-out 11th in the Deutsche Bank Championship where he was eighth for fairways hit and ninth for GIR. Certainly seems to be gaining some confidence now but whether he can reclaim former glories is another question. Not one to totally discount by any means if he can just find some consistency.
BEST PRICE: 100-1

DAVID TOMS: Three of the six top-20s he has posted at Cog Hill have come in his last four starts in the contest while his only top-10 came along at the beginning of the new century. Back in 2000 he found himself outside the top-50 after opening with a round of 72 but he followed that up with scores of 67 and 68 to climb into ninth place with a day to go and remained in that position after closing with a 71. The following three years he started brightly with scores of 67, 68 and 65 to claim a top-10 spot at the end of the first day before fading out of contention. After the latter score in 2003 he carded a 69 to lie in second place at the halfway stage but weekend rounds in the 70s meant he slipped back to 13th. Didn't take part in the contest again until 2007 where final scores of 68 and 67 gave him a share of 18th. Did not take part in the following year's renewal, returning last season to post a tied 23rd when tying for seventh for fairways hit. Only got into the FedEx Cup play-offs thanks to a second in the Wyndham Championship a few weeks back where he closed with weekend rounds of 65 and 64, rolling in a putt from 27 feet on the 18th to finish a shot behind Arjun Atwal. Topped the rankings for driving accuracy in the Deutsche Bank Championship but could only finish in a tie for 45th. A solid performer over the years in this tournament and one who might be get in the shake up.
BEST PRICE: 125-1

FREDRIK JACOBSON: Three top-10s and no missed cuts in five appearances in the tournament is a pretty good return for the Swedish golfer. It was this tournament that gave him his big break in the US as the eighth place he achieved in the 2003 renewal enabled him to gain special exemption rights for the tour. That year he found himself outside the top-50 at the halfway stage following a poor round of 74 but he rectified the situation over the weekend, coming home with scores of 67 and 66 to climb 12 places from an overnight starting point of 20th. Two years later he again finished strongly this time jumping 21 places up the leaderboard on the final day to claim a share of 10th after closing with a 68. A 72 on the third day ruined his chances in 2008 as he was in fourth spot at the halfway stage, but a closing 65 enabled him to claim a share of 10th. Picked up over $1.5m in earnings this term thanks to eight top-25s, three of which have been top-10s and includes a runner-up finish in the Texas Open. His first high finish came in his sixth outing of the year when he became one of just three players since 2003 to post four rounds in the 60s at the Honda Classic. He reeled off four scores of 69 to claim a share of sixth and topped the rankings for fairways hit. Followed up a tied 10th in the Players Championship with a second in the Texas Open a week later and would have forced a play-off in the latter had he not missed a 17-foot birdie putt at the 18th. Hasn't really threatened to do much since apart from a bogey-free 62 in the final round of the Wyndham Championship to hold the clubhouse lead. Unfortunately, the overnight leaders had yet to go out and despite that superb round it was only good enough to earn him a share of 12th. That was only last month so he might still be worth considering despite the fact that he missed the cut in the Barclays and was 37th in the Deutsche Bank last week.
BEST PRICE: 150-1

SELECTIONS: Stewart Cink, Luke Donald, Fredrik Jacobson, Vijay Singh.

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