Posted by Jason Sobel
KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Pat Riley owns a patent on the phrase "three-peat." I'm pretty sure Stuart Appleby never took similar action on "four-peat," and it's a good thing -- he's not going to win his fourth straight Mercedes-Benz Championship this week.
That's about all we know. Entering Sunday's final round, the overall picture remains muddled. Here are my self-prescribed odds for each contender:
Vijay Singh (-11): After shooting a 3-under 70 in the third round, Singh expressed dismay at that his ball-striking wasn't as good as he would have liked. That could be an ominous sign entering Sunday. Another one is the fact that he has yet to make birdie on the somewhat benign par-5 18th hole. Still, Singh's the prohibitive favorite entering the final day.
Odds to win: 1-to-1.
Adam Scott (-8): He's really been hitting the ball extremely well throughout the week, but never quite capitalized until the back nine on Saturday, when he dropped five birdies in his final seven holes, including a spectacular 4 from the front bunker on 18. Remember, he got the best of Vijay as a final-round playing partner at East Lake, but he was the third-round leader then; this time the roles are reversed.
Odds to win: 3-to-1.
Trevor Immelman (-8): Following the third round, Golf Channel analyst Nick Faldo was asked to give his prediction for a winner and stuck with Immelman. Interesting choice. Unlike Singh, the South African's ball-striking was solid on Saturday, but he left plenty of putts short. If he doesn't figure out the Bermuda grain soon, he could be in trouble.
Odds to win: 4-to-1.
Will MacKenzie (-7): Gotta love this guy. After the third round, he was asked to give his prognostication for Sunday and claimed, "I plan on going pretty low tomorrow." It's been a magical ride all week for MacKenzie, who's fast becoming a media darling and fan favorite. Can he keep it up? Well, like he said, he'd better go pretty low.
Odds to win: 10-to-1.
J.B. Holmes (-7): If someone can go out there and post a low number, it could be this big bomber, who's already got a tournament-tying best round of 5-under 68 this week. Too bad it may take a 66 or so to win it.
Odds to win: 12-to-1.
Field: Led by the likes of Troy Matteson, Luke Donald and J.J. Henry, these guys have a chance to post a number and watch the leaders come back to the pack. But with no one better than within five strokes of Singh, that number's going to have to be an awfully good one.
Odds to win: 15-to-1.
