Tiger Woods is a 16/1 chance with totesport and extrabet to win the Accenture Match Play Championship but the three-times winner is just one of a number of former champions in action in Tuscon, Arizona this week.
There are 64 of the world’s 65 top-ranked players competing in the first World Golf Championship event of the season at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club – at 7849 yards the longest course used on the US PGA Tour – and the sudden-death format should provide some thrilling golf over the next five days. Woods is seeded three but looks to be facing a tough draw in his section, starting with recent Qatar Masters winner Thomas Bjorn (200/1 with Stan James) in the opening round.
Matchplay, of course, isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and current world number one Lee Westwood has a particularly poor record in this event. The Worksop golfer (25/1 on betfair) has never got past the second round at Dove Mountain and is no certainty to get the better of wildcard Henrik Stenson on the opening day. Australian Geoff Ogilvy has to be taken seriously, however, as he’s already won this tournament twice and has begun the new season in steady-if-unspectacular form. The 2006 US Open champion comes alive here and can be backed at a tempting 28/1 with Betfred, Paddy Power and William Hill. Paul Casey, runner-up twice in recent years, is a general 14/1 shot and should make the latter stages again, while I’m a big fan of last year’s third Camilo Villegas. The Colombian looks a surefire bet to land a Major in the not-too-distant future and is a big price in this with totesport and Paddy Power at 100/1. If I wanted to give a chance to an Englishman, apart from Casey, Ross Fisher would have to be high on the list. The Wentworth pro did this column a massive favour when storming to the 2009 Volvo World Matchplay Championship and clearly loves the cut and thrust of this format. The general 60/1 quote has had my index finger hovering over the ‘bet’ button for days but, having denounced loyalty in betting recently, I’d feel a hypocrite if I went against my own advice and, instead, have risked a couple of pounds on Steve Stricker.
‘Mr September’ can comfortably be classed as a veteran nowadays and his record in this tournament has been modest since he won the event 10 years ago. But the 44-year-old, who hasn’t has many golf course miles on the clock as his age might suggest, still knows how to win (he was successful twice on the US PGA Tour in 2010) and he’s made the cut in all three tournaments he’s contested so far this year. The draw has been comparatively kind and I feel Stricker can give us a run for our money at Skybet‘s 35/1 this week.
- Steve Stricker to win Accenture Match Play Championship @ 35/1 (Skybet)
- Camillo Vegas to win Accenture Match Play Championship @ 100/1 (Paddy Power)
- Geoff Ogilvy to win Accenture Match Play Championship @ 28/1 (Betfred, Paddy Power and William Hill)
