posted March 9, 2007 at 18:47 EST in Golf Articles

With the PODS Championship midway through the second round, here is my analysis on the final two rounds and several players that online sports bettors should be on the lookout for as this PGA tournament enters its final two days.

The course that hosts the Pods Championship is widely regarded as one of the best on the PGA Tour. The field for this event isn’t. Many of the game’s biggest names – and best players – were absent when this tournament began on Thursday, leaving Vijay Singh as the only player ranked in the top 10 in the world competing at the Copperhead course at Innisbrook.

Under new sponsorship this season, the tournament was previously the final full-field event of the PGA season as recently as this past October. The change in playing dates to early March, a month before the Masters, made it widely assumed that the field for this event would be top-notch as well.

 

Adam Scott, Ernie Els and Retief Goosen played here in October, but are absent this year as all three played in last week's Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are preparing for next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Orlando.

Even with only one Top-10 player participating in the tournament, the field isn’t totally devoid of good golfers.

Sergio Garcia is here for the first time and, though he has dropped outside the world's top 10, the Spaniard is always a player to watch out for.

World number 12, Trevor Immelman and 2007 money leader Charles Howell III are also players that bettors should keep an eye on going into the weekend’s final two rounds.

Picks: My top five players to watch out for going into the final two rounds are:

1. K.J. Choi
2. Chris DiMarco
3. Trevor Immelman
4. Vijay Singh
5. Cliff Kresge

Choi is the defending champion and loves this course. Bettors should be mindful of that fact and take comfort in knowing that Choi will likely be around until the very end on Sunday.

DiMarco is trying to get his career back on track after a sub par season in 2006 and should be very hungry going down the stretch of this tournament. DiMarco is capable of making every shot necessary to keep himself within striking distance – or in the lead.

 

Singh is the consummate professional and Immelman has the talent to beat anyone on the tour on any given day.

Cliff Kresge is the wildcard here, making his third career start in this event after missing the cut in his two previous starts at Innisbrook (2003 -- 75-76; 2004 -- 73-71).

Pat Perez, Vaughn Taylor Daniel Chopra and Arron Oberholser all appear to have legitimate shots at winning as well. The question for this trio will be whether they can withstand the pressure that is sure to come their way.

Remember sports bettors, the cream usually rises to the top, particularly when the stakes are raised even higher and this tournament should be an indication of that age-old fact.

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Eric Williams is a nationally syndicated sports columnist. To contact Eric, e-mail, sportsjunkie66@aol.com.