Who will be on song at the KLM?

Simon Dyson returns to the KLM Open with the sort of form and confidence to justify the 16/1 favouritism the oddsmakers have handed him to defend his trophy in Kennemer, Zandvoort this weekend. The Englishman beat Richard Green in a play-off to claim this trophy last year and is showing the sort of form to suggest another trophy is well within his scope. Dyson has a tendency to play well at courses where he has succeeded in the past, as evidenced by his eleventh-place finish when defending his title in Indonesia this year, and he has registered three top five finishes in an improving season. His recent sixth at the USPGA will have boosted confidence and his 23rd place at the Scandinavian Masters last weekend showed a golfer very much on top of his game. Markus Brier is another player beginning to force his way into the hearts and minds of golf punters. The Austrian has made steady year on year progress and 2007 has been his best yet. He memorably led in the first round of The Open where, as in the BMW PGA, he finished 12th, he has won in China, come second in Italy and is certainly worth the 22/1 about him making a breakthrough.On the shortest course on tour both Bernhard Langer and Christian Cévaër are interesting propositions. Neither player hits the ball very far, particularly the Frenchman, but both deserve respect with Cévaër, who came fourth here last year, in form following his runners-up finish last week. Langer, for whom this is the last tournament before he qualifies for the Seniors Tour, was having a fantastic season until he was laid low with a back problem. If it holds out there is every chance he will sign off in style in a tournament in which he will be performing for the first time against his son Stefan. Sentimentality aside Langer came in the top 20 in Milwaukee in July, runner-up to Rory Sabbatini at the Colonial and his runners-up finish at the BMW Open was marked by some extraordinary long putting with a broom handle that suggested he was, quite literally, going to clean up. The lay-off may well have recharged his batteries and at 28/1 the 49-year-old could well put in a dynamic perfomance. Verdict: 2 pts Dyson e/w at 16/1 (SportingBet); 1 pt Brier e/w at 22/1 (general); 0.5pt Cévaër e/w at 33/1; 0.5pt Langer e/w at 28/1 (SportingBet)