STEVE PALMER

Weblog: Seven days in the life of a man born to punt

Hope springs eternal as Clark closes in on double

PRAY for me, comrades, because tonight has the potential to be the greatest of my life.

We all fondly remember losing our virginity on a sandy beach, or scoring the winning goal in a cup final for the school football team, but those wonderful times will be trumped in my memory bank if Timothy Clark emerges victorious in the Bob Hope Classic this evening.

For a few years, I have been desperate to set myself free from the rigours of full-time employment, targeting £30,000 as the bank balance I would require to have a tentative crack at professional punting, and now I am on the brink of realising the dream.

I've already banked £2,000 on the golfing weekend from Martin Kaymer's Abu Dhabi Championship triumph - I had £125 at Betfred's opening-show 16-1 - and my ante-post £75 on Clark winning the Bob Hope at 26 on Betfair is also looking good with the South African just one shot off the lead going into tonight's final round.

But it is the double I placed at the start of last week which could propel me to proper riches - £100 with Bet365 on Kaymer at 14-1 and Clark at 22-1. It returns £34,500.

Clark has been steadily working his way up the leaderboard all week in the rain-delayed 90-hole tournament, but he could be backed at 10.5 on Betfair yesterday afternoon when just five shots behind some unconvincing leaders.

It was a price I found too big to resist, so after Kaymer's success I pressed up on Clark with £200 at 10.5, leaving myself with a profit of around £40,000 from the two golf tournaments if the diminutive Durbanite could land his maiden US Tour triumph.

I've had all sorts of concerned colleagues on the blower trying to convince me not to quitmy job if Clark claims the trophy tonight and I've swatted them away as swiftly as possible. He's not even in the lead yet, lads, so let's not get too far ahead of ourselves, eh?

But with Clark no bigger than 7-2 second favourite with 18 holes to play (incredibly Bet365, who inform me they have much greater liabilities on other contenders, are stand-out top price), I must admit I've been day-dreaming about what a positive impact 40 bags could have on my life.
I've done some aggressive hedging this morning, having £150 on Mike Weir at 15 on Betfair and £150 on Matt Kuchar at 18.5. The players behind Clark concern me more than the two in front of him.

I'm prepared to lay some of Tiny Tim if he shortens further tonight, but I'm going to always make sure I still have the chance to secure a £30,000 booty from a Clark victory.

Well, now the Editor has asked me to provide this update, I've clearly tempted fate (whatever that means), so expect Clark to triple-bogey the opening hole tonight.

It's bound to all go wrong, leaving me with nothing but that awkward first sexual encounter (gale-force winds made life very tricky) and that 20-yard thunderbolt (from a seemingly impossible angle) with which to seek solace.

Read Steve Palmer's Betting Week in Sunday's Racing Post for a full account of his latest exploits