WCG Accenture World Matchplay Championships

WCG Accenture World Matchplay Championships at The Golf Club, Dove Mountain, Marana in Arizona


The 2014 World Championship Match Play is upon us and this is the first, well nearly the first tournament, that see’s the best field of the year so far. This is one of the most prestigious events on the calendar and will give the winner a really good start to the year in which I think could be one of the bets years we have seen for a while. The field are drawn into 4 groups, of which the players are seeded in each of the 4 groups. We then have the semi-finals and final, of which will be played over 36 holes, to determine this year’s winner.

Bobby Jones Group…
Henrick Stenson, (number 1 seed), will take some stopping if he continues the form what brought him much success last year in reaching the very top of the golfing ladder. A Major title must be in his sights this year, and if he can become a Major winner it will be a remarkable journey for the Swede who nearly came off the pro circuit for good a few years back… 18/1…

Jason Day (2) has risen up to be one of the main contenders for the big honours over the past 2 years and he will be looking to try and emulate fellow Aussie Adam Scott and win one of the Major titles this year. Very consistent and with a good short game, he will be up in the mix at a lot of the tournament events this year… 18/1…

Steve Stricker (3) is very much the veteran on the pro circuit now and has probably lost his chance of winning one of the big events on the Tour now. But that is not to say he won’t feature at the top table again this year. Never a Major winner, he has 12 PGA Tour wins to his name over the years. He is a part time golfer now, cutting his schedule to target the Majors and the events he likes and this could help him add to the 12 titles he already has… 60/1…

Brandt Snedeker (4) seed, can be one of the hottest players on a course when everything is going right, which invariably he dos. But when his putter isn’t working then he can shoot big scores and that will cost him tour victories in the end. Last year he pulled out of the event with back and shoulder problems so he will be looking forward to get his name back on that leader board again very soon… 40/1…


Gary Player Group…
The 2013 US Open winner Justin Rose (1) will be feeling every bit the Champion that he is this year, in what will be a big year for him I think. That Major win maybe the break though he needs to get him to believe in himself that he is indeed one of the very top players on the Tour and can go and win another big tournament, and hopefully another Major title… 28/1…

Matt Kuchar (2) the 2013 Match Play Champion will be looking to try and become only the second man to win the title back-to-back since Tiger Woods in 2003 & 2004. Has become a firm favourite for most of the events he plays in and his likable attitude and general play makes him one of the best players to watch on the Tour. Another who will take some stopping again this year… 22/1…

The young Jordan Speith (3) has risen to 13th in the World Rankings very quickly and looks like he will be around for a while too as well. Won the John Deer Classic last year and will obviously be looking forward to getting his name on another title very soon. He has already come 2nd in the first event of the year; he makes his debut here at the World Match Play… 25/1…

The very likeable and laid back Jason Dufner (4) is the 2013 US PGA Champion but that sort of covers up the fact that last year wasn’t the best of years for him. Obviously winning a Major title is a big thing but he had many more events out of the top 20 than he would have liked. With 13 of the 22 Tour events he entered seeing him either cut or 21st at best he will be looking to push on and get back to winning ways soon. 50/1…


Ben Hogan Group…
What will 2014 bring for Rory McIlroy (1) this year...? The super talented player looks to be settling down to some sort of rhythm at the moment, missing out on winning in Abu Dhabi by one shot recently, he has finished in the top 10 in all but 1 of his six events this year. 2013 was a bit of a mare for him so he will want to put all of the club nonsense to the back of his mind and get back to what he dos best, win golfing tournaments… 12/1…

The enigma that is Sergio Garcia (2) starts another season with the same old questions that all top top players get each year, will he win a Major this year, or has his time gone past him…? Well, I think we all agree he should have won more than he has in his career, but he has been a serial winner on both sides of the Atlantic. The Players Champion back in 2008, he also has 7 other PGA Tour victories to go with his 11 European wins, he is no serial loser, but he is missing a Major on his cv for all the talent he has… 20/1…

After relocating to live in America a couple of years back, Ian Poulter (3) is another of the very talented players yet to win a big Major event. Yet his Match Play qualities are there for all to see, his Ryder Cup stats are just simply fantastic. This is the type of event he dos well in, as he did in 2010 when he won the event in a play-off with Paul Casey. A real fighter around the golf course it is just a shame he just cant replicate that to the Tour events and at the Majors… 28/1…

South Africa are producing some great players at the moment and Charl Shwartzel (4) is another one of them. A multiple winner on both Tours, where he won the 2011 Masters, he always seems to get into position to win tournaments even if his game is slightly off. This is his 6th visit here at the Match Play Championships and he has yet to make a top 8 finish… 28/1…


Sam Snead Group…
Zach Johnson (1) has hit form early this year winning the Hyundai Tournament of Champions last month, and so will be in good nick for this event. Although any enthusiasm for this event maybe tempered by the fact he has only got past the group stages once, back in 2006 where he came 3rd, and has been a 1st round knockout for the majority of all his other matches… 35/1…

The other Johnson, Dustin Johnson (2) also comes here in fine fettle with two runners up spots to his name so far this year. He however is another who’s record here isn’t the best, only once in his last 5 attempts has he gone past the first match. He may be the number two seed in this group but his stats don’t back that up, and why his is 2nd favourite for this tournament amazes me… 16/1…

The pink shafted driver of Bubba Watson (3) got him to his first Tour victory last weekend since his Masters win back in 2012, and he looked a very relieved man to have finally won again. Super talented, super brave and super stupid at times he will hoping not to wait as long again before he adds to his Tour wins column. A losing semi-finalist back in 2011, this being the only time he has made it out of the groups, and into the semi-finals… 22/1…

Graeme McDowell (4) or G-Mac to his friends had a bit of a topsy-turvy sort of year last year where he failed to make the cut in 5 attempts out of 16 events, but won the RBC Heritage Tournament in April to add to his only other PGA Tour win the 2010 US Open. This will be his sixth visit back to the World Match Play tournament where his record is a bit patchy. It tends to be the first event of the year he plays in, though this year he has already played in a couple of events, so that might help him… 33/1…

Group Bets...

Winner of the Bobby Jones group – Billy Horschel @ 16/1…
Winner of the Gary Player group – Matt Kuchar @ 6/1…
Winner of the Ben Hogan group – Rory McIlroy @ 4/1…
Winner of the Sam Snead group – Bubba Watson @ 13/2…

And a single bet on Billy Horschel @ 80/1 and Rory @ 12/1 e/w to win the whole thing… Its ¼ odds for making the semi’s…


Good luck to all in this and to all the golf that we will be betting on this year...

 

Not the best of starts to the season but there is a long way to go yet...