CHAD TO GO ONE BETTER IN HOUSTON

Chad Campbell had to settle for second place on his Shell Houston debut 12 months ago.

But the American Ryder Cupper could be the man clenching his fist in celebration in this year's renewal at the Rees Jones 7,457-yard, par-72 layout at Redstone.

Campbell, a native Texan, started slowly last year but raced through the field with middle rounds of 64 and 65. A seven at the eighth in his final round appeared to undo his title bid but he rallied with four birdies in five holes from the 11th and came up just two shots short.

A four-time winner on Tour, Campbell seems to relish playing in his home State - especially Houston.

"I like it here," he said last year. "I used to always come to Tour School here. I played at Deerwood for second stage pretty much every year and Cyprus Wood for first stage. You know, I just like Houston golf courses. I don't know what it is about them."

Of course, the Redstone GC Tournament Course is also being set up this year to mimic Augusta to some extent and although there are obvious differences (flat vs undulating), the fast greens certainly agree with Campbell.

He described them last year by saying: "They're some of the best greens I've ever putted on, and, you know, they're perfect speed. Just fast enough where you can make a lot of putts."

Campbell certainly did just that - finishing top of the putting stats.

He hasn't exactly been pulling up trees this year but a ninth at the Bob Hope and a 22nd last week at Bay Hill (two events he's won before) suggest that he's worth following on courses where he's done well in the past.

Redstone fits the bill so back CC at 60/1.

I can't help thinking there's potential profit to be made by backing defending champion Johnson Wagner.

With a win in 2008 and a ninth the year before, this tournament accounts for $1,145,500 of his $2.6 million US Tour earnings.

His victory also earned him a Masters debut last year so no wonder the 29-year-old describes Houston as "my most important tournament of the year".

In his eight rounds here he's shot a 63 and a 64 and he knows that the only way to get a second stab at The Masters is to win again.

Despite going off the boil since a 10th place in the season-opening Mercedes Championship, Wagner found a nice bit of form with a 30th place at Bay Hill last week so looks to be going in the right direction.

Speaking to the Charlotte Observer, Wagner said: "My game's there. It's just everything isn't firing yet. I'm a better player than how I've been playing. The ball needs to get in the hole."

He hopes to solve that with some extra hours on the practice green and, like so many, the return to greens where you've putted well before can have a huge galvanizing effect.

Wagner each-way at 125/1 is well worth a play.

This course (long, not much rough) should be a good fit for Daniel Chopra and two previous visits have earned him a 36th in 2006 and a 24th in 2007.

The Swede, who also has a third place in one of his last three starts in Texas, was in horrid form at the start of the year, missing cuts left, right and centre.

But he appeared to turn the corner with a couple of good finishes in Asia (16th Indonesia Open, sixth Thailand Open) and carried that renewed confidence onto the US Tour when finishing eighth at Bay Hill last week.

Chopra's stats in Florida (15th driving distance, seventh putting average) suggest the right parts of his game are working well for a successful stab at this course and it's a surprise to see him out with the washing at 125/1.

With his short game looking sharp, Chopra can continue his good form and hopefully make a big impression on the leaderboard.

Ben Crane continues to thrive in 2009 and back up his claims that he's playing the best golf of his career.

His latest effort was an 11th at Bay Hill last week (oh, but for a third round 75!) and that added to a third at the Honda and a seventh at the Buick Invitational.

That latter result cameon a lengthy track so don't be put off by Crane's lack of hitting power.

And to prove the point, he shot a 65 at this very course when tied 20th on debut last year.

Crane's last half-a-dozen starts in Texas include a fourth and a fifth and perhaps we shouldn't be surprised by that as he's lived there for the last five years.

An excellent putter, another hot performance on the greens should give him a shot at a third US Tour win.

Finally, it may be a bit too soon for monster-hitting Alvaro Quiros to win in the States but, then again, he has a reputation as a fast learner.

He won the Alfred Dunhill Challenge in South Africa in just his fifth start on the European Tour and he's added two more victories since - the 2008 Portugal Masters and this year's Qatar Masters.

Since hitting the States, Quiros has been the talk of the locker room with his massive hitting and US Tour pro Will MacKenzie told reporters: "If he has a short game, we're all in trouble."

As well as hitting the ball into orbit, Quiros displayed his short game touch too when finishing an excellent tied 13th on his US strokeplay debut at Doral where he showed his massive potential with a second round 64.

Any course which has little rough and rewards length plays into his hands and Redstone certainly appears right up his street.

Give the Spaniard a whirl at 80/1.

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