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Fisher poised to soar in Westwood's absence

Ross Fisher putted excellently at the Ryder Cup © Getty Images

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• Profile: Ross Fisher

The Race to Dubai is entering its final stretch as the European Tour season draws toward a conclusion, with US PGA champion Martin Kaymer looking to have an unassailable lead at the top of the tree. But, with a $7.5 million bonus pot to be divided between the leading 15 players, there is a fierce battle raging beneath the German.

Five of that top 15 - Alvaro Quiros, Ross Fisher, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Edoardo Molinari and Rhys Davies - will try and take a chunk out of their rivals' share of the money when they tee it up at the Portugal Masters, which kicks off at Vilamoura on Thursday. World No. 1-in-waiting Lee Westwood, the defending champion, is notable absentee as he begins an injury-enforced absence from the sport.

An analytical glance at the Vilamoura course - substantial yardage, short rough, monstrous greens - leads you to the conclusion that the victor in Portugal is going to need to be powerful, and firing with the putter.

Those circumstances bode well for the long-hitting Fisher (11/1), who proved beyond doubt at the Ryder Cup that his putting demons had been exorcised. When Padraig Harrington was all at sea in their foursomes match, Fisher seized the chance to shine by excelling on the greens.

The English star, who has two top tens at the tournament from three visits, is relishing the prospect of tackling the course. "I really enjoyed playing at Oceânico Victoria last year," he said. "It's a lovely course - pretty long, which suits my game. I've got a good record there and went close a couple of years ago. It's a place where I usually seem to do well.

"My attention has switched back to The Race to Dubai now, definitely. I finished fourth last year and it would be disappointing not to finish better than that this season [he currently sits in 13th]. I've obviously got a bit of work to do in order to achieve that but I've moved up a bit this week and I've got some big tournaments coming up so it's not over yet."

Looking beyond Fisher, Fredrik Andersson-Hed looks overpriced at the distant odds of 110/1. Although the Swede doesn't have formidable length from the tee, he strikes the ball with enough steel to compete with lustier hitters - and the clincher is his expertise on the greens, where he stands in the top five of the putts per round leaderboard.

Furthermore, Andersson-Hed has played the tournament on two occasions, with one third-place finish, and he can boast five top tens in 2010. Well worth a look each-way.

The same is true of Bradley Dredge (55/1), who has excelled at venues with gargantuan greens - he once held the course record at St Andrews - and who has never finished lower than 26th during three visits to Vilamoura.

All odds, correct at time of publication, courtesy of Stan James. Click here to open an account and receive a £25 free bet.

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