Favourites for the Portuguese Open

After sorties to South Africa, Australia, Dubai and Qatar the Tour finally hits Europe this week for the Portuguese Open.

This event kicks off the 'Portuguese Swing' with the Madeira Open and Estoril Open on the agenda in the next few weeks.

The tournament is being played at the Le Meridien Penina for the second time in succession and the seventh occasion in its 43 year history.

It's an unusual 6,594-yard par 73 with four par 5s all of which are under 500 yards.

There's a premium on accuracy with tree-lined fairways and water in play at most holes.

Defending champion is Peter Mitchell who claimed his third European Tour victory by a stroke 12 months ago with an 18-under-par total.

His success continued the sequence of wins which has made this something of a bookies' benefit recently with the last five winners priced at 66-1, 125-1, 40-1, 100-1 and 100-1!

Despite Europe's finest mostly making early exits from the Andersen Consulting World Matchplay last week only Miguel Angel Jimenez, beaten in the first round by Justin Leonard, is in this week's field now that Patrick Sjoland is a late withdrawal.

That means it's the likes of Alex Cejka and Andrew Coltart who head the betting with Dubai Desert Classic hero David Howell along with Qatar Masters victor Paul Lawrie also prominent in the various lists.

LEADING CONTENDERS

Alex Cejka: The form player of 1999 so far with five successive top 15 finishes (11-13-2-11-11). He was tied 12th here last year and the fact he led the stats for Greens in Regulation in 1998 (seventh so far this year) suggests another strong showing is likely this week. However he hasn't reached the winner's circle for three years which makes his price look plenty short enough.

Andrew Coltart: A disappointing 28th last time out in his defence of his Qatar Masters crown. Didn't play here last year but is another whose accuracy should come into play. Nonetheless it's still hard to recommend him at the available odds.

David Howell: Produced a stunning display to claim an emphatic victory in the star-studded Dubai Desert Classic. He also won the Australian PGA in November so has to be on the shortlist in a field such as this. A further pointer to his chances is his 16th place here last year after rounds of 71-72-71-67.

Miguel Angel Jimenez: The consistent Spaniard won twice on Tour last season and made an encouraging start to this campaign with a top ten finish in Dubai. However he missed the cut in the Qatar Masters when a second round 68 couldn't salvage the damage done by an opening 77. It's also a slight worry he was only 55th here last year though his current third place in the Driving Accuracy stats is worth noting.

Retief Goosen: The South African bypassed this event in 1998 and has been seen sparingly this season, finishing well down the field in his native land. But he was 20th in the Qatar Masters last time out so it may be dangerous to discount him.

Robert Karlsson: Made an uncharacteristically slow start to the season in Europe, missing the cut in the Heineken Classic and in Dubai. However he carded a hugely creditable ninth place behind Ernie Els in the Nissan Open at Riviera on a rare outing on the US Tour and a repeat of that sort of form would make him the favourite this week.

Mark James: The Ryder Cup skipper has proved already this year that he shouldn't be ignored as a player. His two appearances have seen him finish third in Dubai and 20th in Qatar. Rounds of 71-71-72-71 put him in the top 30 here last year and 'Jesse' is one we've got to consider this week.

Paul Lawrie: Winner of the Qatar Masters a couple of weeks ago with an excellent front-running display. Four rounds in the 60s saw him finish at 20-under for a seven stroke success. He was tied for second after the third round here last year before an 82 saw him plummet down the leaderboard. Now that he's proved he can handle the last-round pressure he must come into calculations.

Philip Price: Won the Portuguese Open at Penha Longa in 1994 and had his best year so far on Tour in 1998 when finishing 15th on the Order of Merit. His form figures in his last three tournaments are 20-11-2 with the runner-up slot coming last time out in Qatar.

Peter Mitchell: The 40-year-old is aiming to follow the pattern that brought him the title last year, flying out his family to the Algarve. That win was mainly down to superb iron play - as shown by his four successive birdies at the 215-yard par 3 16th. He comes here in similar form to 12 months ago after a 20th place finish in Qatar and could go close again.

BEST OF THE REST: If this was done purely on course form Sam Torrance would have to be near the top of the shortlist. He was tied for fourth here last year when a 66-1 chance and actually won this event when it was held at Le Meridien Penina in 1982! It's a Ryder Cup year (Sam's a 3-1 chance to make the team with Corals) so a return to form isn't completely out of the question. David Gilford is another to consider on the 'horses for courses' argument. The layout suited his straight hitting last year as he shared second place and some big prices are available this time around. A missed cut in Qatar has to be a concern though. John Bickerton has done little wrong so far this season with recent form figures of 45-27-15-4. That sequence suggests he could soon be challenging for a victory and in a relatively low-key field he has to be in with a chance. He is thriving after winning back his Tour card for this season and it's interesting to note that he shot eight birdies in a row in this event in 1994. Peter Baker was seventh here in 1998 but has struggled in the last few weeks.