John Senden is a marginal favourite for what looks to be a wide open renewal of the Viking Classic on Thursday. Senden is an industry best priced 16/1 with Bet 365 as some of the lesser lights on the tour attempt to shine with their more illustrious counterparts competing at the British Open.

The PGA Tour event at the Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Mississippi, is renowned for its difficult conditions, with the heat, humidity and thunderstorms all likely to come into play. The 2009 event was cancelled because of thunderstorms and the players will have to be at their very best on the Jack Nicklaus designed course.

Defending champion Bill Haas wont be defending his crown as he is competing in the British Open, so it is John Senden who leads the way. Senden has three top fifteen finishes from five appearances at the Viking Classic and has been in fine form this season, finishing in the top 25 on five occasions, including an impressive seventh at the Memorial.

Senden faces some tough opposition though and the value in the odds highlights what a wide open tournament this could be. Brendan De Jonge is the next best at 18/1 after he finished tied for seventh in the John Deere Classic last week. De Jonge had been in the final group on day four but fell away badly with a final round 74, although he will have happy memories of finishing tied third here last year.

2006 Viking champion DJ Trahan will no doubt relish a relish a returnto Mississippi after his success five years ago, and it is well worth remembering that the 18/1 shot was tied with De Jonge for third place last year.

Another former champion, Heath Slocum, is also back and the 2005 winner boasts a fine record in the tournament as he has yet to miss the cut in nine appearances. His win six years ago was the second of his four PGA titles and he arrives in decent nick after finishing tied 11th at the US Open and tied 17th at the Travelers Championship. We fancy he is the form man in the field and his knowledge of winning the Viking could well prove key, with his odds of 22/1 with Bet365.com looking very tempting.

Alongside Slocum at 22/1 is Johnson Wagner, who was also tied 17th at the Travelers. He hasnt missed a cut in his last four events and has two top tens from two appearancesat the Viking.

Meanwhile, Chris Kirk returns to the venue where he made his professional debut four years ago, although he missed the cut that week. He has improved on that since by finishing in the top 25 twice and the 28/1 puntlooks set to keep improving.

Finally, Will Mackenzie is the most recent winner of the Viking Classic in this years field and he can be backed at big odds of 55/1. The 2008 winner produced a seasons best performance of tied 30th at the John Deere last week and should improve against a slightly weaker field this time out.

Heath Slocum to win outright @ 22/1 with Bet365.comWill Mackenzie each-way @ 55/1 with Bet365.com

16/1 John Senden18/1 Brendon De Jonge18/1 DJ Trahan22/1 Heath Slocum22/1 Johnson Wagner28/1 Chris Kirk30/1 Chris Stroud33/1 Chris Couch33/1 Troy Matteson33/1 Michael Thompson35/1 Ryuji Imada45/1 Keegan Bradley50/1 BAR

Odds supplied by Bet365.com bookmakers, who provide a variety of odds and markets for the 2011 Viking Classic – including live betting in-running.