PREVIEW: Karlsson the favourite

PROVIDING he can recover from being further away in five shots (five feet) than he was in three (four feet) on the final green at Wentworth last Sunday, Robert Karlsson will surely reward NCG Fantasy Golf selection for the latest event.

The Swede, who made his Ryder Cup debut in 2006 at the K Club, made the curious decision to skip the Players Championship at Sawgrass earlier in the month but it makes more sense when you look at his results in Europe over May. He has posted three consecutive third-place finishes on the back of a top 10 at Augusta and now looks sure to qualify for Nick Faldo's team at Valhalla. He also has form in the Wales Open ­ having destroyed the field en route to victory in 2006.

That was on a different course, though, with the 2010 layout that will host the Ryder Cup in two years' time now officially open for business. This week will see the first even to be played on it and with it stretching to 7,500 yards, expect to see the longer hitters dominating.

The star name in the field is Padraig Harrington. His preparations for the US Open in a fortnight start here so he might be one to avoid this week with his focus elsewhere. Another pair of Irishmen might offer better value with Paul McGinley
returning to his best form at Wentworth and Darren Clarke due a decent week after missing the cut.

And then there is in-form Oliver Wilson -­ only Miguel Angel Jimenez's hole-in-one at Wentworth deprived him of a long-overdue maiden win on tour.

In Pool B, watch out for Martin Kaymer, who will relish the challenge, as will Johan Edfors and Richard Sterne. That said, the latter two are streaky in the extreme so perhaps Niclas Fasth would be a better bet.

Wildcard Hennie Otto, another man to consign Wilson to second place in the past month, returns after lifting the Italian Open and Damien McGrane and Peter Lawrie complete a trio of recent tour winners in Pool C. Yet Bradley Dredge is surely hard to resist in front of a home gallery. He also came close 12 months ago.

Colin Montgomerie will continue to search for his elusive best form in Pool D, but with the in-form likes of Richard Finch, Soren Kjeldsen, Mikko Ilonen and Simon Dyson also in action, you may choose to swerve the Scot this week.

Finally, NCG columnist Ross Fisher will be determined to make up for a poor week at his home track and is another who will relish the American-style challenge of the 2010.

Players in action this week

Pool A
Padraig Harrington
Darren Clarke
Paul McGinley
Oliver Wilson
Thomas Levet *
Alexander Noren *

Pool B
Martin Kaymer
Niclas Fasth
Richard Sterne
Robert Karlsson
Soren Hansen
Rory McIlroy
Johan Edfors
David Howell

Pool C
Miguel Angel Jimenez
Nick Dougherty
Peter Hanson
Bradley Dredge
Damien McGrane
Peter Lawrie
Hennie Otto *

Pool D
Colin Montgomerie
Charl Schwartzel
Soren Kjeldsen
Simon Dyson
Steve Webster
Mikko Ilonen
Richard Finch

Pool E
Loius Oosthuizen
Jyoti Randhawa
Jeev Milkha Singh
Graeme McDowell
Ross Fisher
Ross McGowan
Raphael Jacquelin

* Denotes wildcard