It looks Rosey for Justin at Bay Hill!!

Last week Luke Donald won a 4 man play off to win the Transitions championship and become the new World Number 1 after getting dethroned by Rory McIlroy 2 weeks earlier. The Number 1 ranking looks like flipping more often than a pancake on Shrove Tuesday but that can only make each PGA stop that bit more exciting this season.

This week the tour stops at Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. This event is one of the favourites amongst the players. The King Arnold Palmer is a hero, someone the older players in the field watched growing up, someone the younger players heard legendary tales about . So for them the win here would be a defining moment in most of their careers.

Not only is Bay hill a tough golf course but at this time of year it gets blustery too. The tough conditions have kept players from separating themselves from the field. The winning scores the last few years have been single digits under par, even during the years of Tiger's domination, he was typically the only one in double digits under par. This course suits great ball strikers, and someone who fits the bill is Justin Rose.

He's already got a win and a tie for fifth during the Florida Swing. And this week is a home game for Rose, who tied for third a year ago at Bay Hill. In the wake of his victory at the WGC-Cadillac, co-led the field in greens in regulation at the Transitions where he placed T29. Ranks 19th on tour in GIR, eighth in the all-around and 14th in bogey avoidance.

There were 5 crucial points in the above paragraph that helped guide me to Rose as my pick this week, but perhaps the stand out one is his ability to avoid bogeys. If the wind blows then there will be more demand in cutting out mistakes rather than making birdies. Rose is long enough to make the Par 5's his friend this week, and if he can keep his nose clean on the demanding  Par 3's then the 16/1 chalked up by most bookmakers is an attractive price.

Yesterday saw the conclusion of the 2 day exhibition match at the Tavistock Cup. Its not the ideal tournament to get carried away with player's scores as its played in a relaxed environment around a course that all the players are very familar with, however its a good indication of how the players coped with blustery conditions. Robert Allenby played for Team Isleworth who finished 2nd, Allenby shot the joint best score of the day with a 5 under par round in similar conditions in which the players will be faced with this week at Bay Hill.

 Last year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Allenby had a tough start with a first round 79, but followed up with 3 rounds under par. In the hope that Robert can put 4 decent rounds together this week, I think the 15/2 on offer from Ladbrokes for a top 10 finish is a cracking betting proposition.

My Selections are:
Justin Rose - 16/1 eachway (William Hill)
Robert Allenby - 15/2 Top Ten Finish (Ladbrokes)