Find Me a 100 Winner: Back these capable outsiders to defy recent form

Espen Kofstad is a youngster worth following this season

In his weekly search for huge-priced trading value, Paul Krishnamurty recommends a quartet of up and coming prospects who could be underestimated on the basis of a slow start to the year...

Following the withdrawal of short-priced favourite Richard Sterne, this week's Africa Open may well go down in history as the weakest standard European Tour event of all-time. Thomas Aiken, ranked 120th in the world and with only three top-tens at this level over the past year, assumes market leadership in his absence, yet doesn't actually look a terrible bet! From a value perspective, however, it could instead be worth taking massive odds about players who, while out of form, are capable of much better.

In such a field, I didn't expect to find much of interest above 200.0199/1 so am pleasantly surprised to be able to back four players in that range that have previously featured in this column. Although none have offered any encouragement yet this term, it is still very early in the year and all are capable of making their mark somewhere in 2013.

First up, 20 year-old Emiliano Grillo is another excellent prospect to emerge from Argentina and should have high hopes having finished tenth in this event last year. Grillo's power game could overwhelm the par-fives on this short East London GC layout.

Matthew Baldwin also made the top-ten last year, before showing promise at a vastly higher level. The Southport man qualified for, then made the cut in the US Open before finishing fifth in the high-class Scottish Open and 21st in the Open Championship. Whatever his lack of recent form, surely that's enough to warrant an interest at 280.0279/1 on a course where he has previous?

Finally, two of last year's star Challenge Tour graduates. Espen Kofstad and JB Hansen ranked first and fourth at that lower level tour in 2012, which given the weakness of this line-up, is of at least equal merit to anything most of these achieved over the same period. Kofstad is another big-hitter who could make hay at East London and is rightly the shorter price at 280.0279/1. Hansen is no slouch either and frankly insulted by odds of 600.0599/1. I am quite confident that anyone taking these sort of odds on a weekly basis about these two Scandinavian prospects will make money in the years to come.

The trading plan is to stake four units in total on this quartet, then place two lay orders to bank profit at 15.014/1 and 3.02/1. If any of them hits the first target, we'll be guaranteed a minimum of eight units profit.

Recommended Bets

Back Emanuelle Grillo 1.5u @ 210.0209/1
Back Matthew Baldwin 1u @ 280.0279/1
Back Espen Kofstad 1u @ 280.0279/1
Back JB Hansen 0.5u @ 600.0599/1

Place order to lay each player 12u @ 15.014/1
Place order to lay each player 20u @ 3.02/1

Updated 2013 Stats: -15 units