February 17th – World Matchplay Championship Golf
Once again our early preview of the European and PGA Tours produced another winner with DUSTIN JOHNSON keeping his strong form going by winning at Pebble Beach last weekend. The good news for Managed Fund customers was that although we only got 2 out of 4 head to head bets up they were our 2 HUGE 15% bets so we made a tidy profit for the weekend. This weekend i am sharing my thoughts on the web for all to see, however, i will reserve the offical bets for our subscribers or those who have signed up for the Free month trial.
What an appetising weekend we have in the golf this weekend. The European and PGA Tours are on hold for the World Accenture Match Play Championship and the best of the best are here to compete. For those unsure of the format I will try and break it down for you. It pretty much works like a tennis tournament whereby players are seeded and they verse another opponent in a head to head competition over 18 holes. It is a knockout format so there is no room for a bad day. I will try and give my opinion of a number of first round matches and you may wish to multi some of those together or just stick with the official bets at the end which I believe are the best value. Hopefully I can get some time to preview each round, however, this can be difficult as sometimes they play 2 matches on 1 day.
Round 1
Bobby Jones Bracket
What an interesting bunch of golfers with hardly anyone in great form coming into this match. Having said that many of these golfers have won or finished in the top 5 in recent weeks on the PGA or European Tours. Stricker should beat McGowan but at $1.28 and not a stunning Match Play record you are taking the shorts. Ishikawa ($2.00) vs Sim ($1.82) is a cracking match and I think the underdog is a strong chance of toppling the young Aussie, however, I really thought the odds would have been higher. Karlsson ($1.68) showed his metal when taking on Westwood down the stretch in the Middle east only a few weeks ago but then turned his toes up the following week which makes me un easy about his chances against Sabbatini. Last year’s Semi Finalist Fischer ($1.45) takes on in form Jaidee and I think Jaidee showed some nerves coming up the stretch when in control 2 weeks ago suggesting he might not be able to match the Englishman in this format. Kim ($1.65) should beat Kuchar although Kuchar has been having his best season on the PGA Tour so far in 2010. Poulter ($1.57) vs Leonard ($2.40) is a lottery and I’d probably lean towards Leonard with the value in betting. The most intriguing match-up in this bracket is Cabrera ($1.70) against Scott ($2.15). Cabrera should win that in a canter but who knows which Scott turns up.
Ben Hogan Bracket
This bracket has some hot form coming out of it and it leaves me scratching my head to find a winner of the bracket out of them all. However, I think there are some good head to head bets. Kaymer ($1.53) is making giant leaps in the world rankings this year and has a steely persona which suits this format. He should have no problems with Campbell. Singh ($2.25) vs Clark ($1.63), Glover ($1.67) vs Hansen ($2.20), Jimeniz ($1.90) vs Wilson ($1.90) PASS. Garcia ($1.68) does like this format but has been in horrible form this season and therefore Toms is great value at $2.20. McIlroy should have his way with Na but the bookies think so to and his price of $1.38 is probably only tempting in a multi bet. Allenby ($1.55) is huge odds considering his form and coming up against Hanson who hasn’t set the world on fire in recent weeks. Donald ($1.70) has really impressed me in recent weeks and I am tempted to back him but I have decided to pass against the unpredictable McDowell ($2.15)
Gary Player Bracket
Without doubt the toughest bracket for a winner to come out of. In fact SportsBet have a market on the winning bracket at although this bracket is favourite I think they should be alot shorter than the $3.30 price tag. The only downside is whoever comes through this bracket to the semi finals will have worked pretty hard and may run out of steam before the final. Westwood ($1.40) is being tipped as a potential winner but his match play form has never been flash. He is playing a lot better early in the season than in the past. He comes up against the young gun Wood ($2.95) and I am so tempted to jump on the large odds but just can’t bring myself to do it (I will probably have a little bit of my own on there for interest sake). Watney ($1.36) looks a certain winner and another for a big multi against the much weaker Ikeda. Els ($1.67) is my tip to win the whole thing if he can survive this bracket and therefore I think he is a good thing against first round opponent Moore. Goosen ($1.65) vs Hansen ($2.35), Stenson ($1.55) vs Crane ($2.45) PASS. Yang ($1.83) proved himself in tough situations last year when taking on Tiger down the stretch to his first major and I think he is a huge price again Kjeldsen. Add Ogilvy ($1.35) to your multi bet as he should walk past Noren and on his way to defend the title he won last year. What a match-up to finish with Villegas ($2.10) against Johnson ($1.74) and if Johnson hadn’t won last week I’d be all over him. That said the pressure of winning back to back can be telling and he might be a little rusty in this first round. One to watch for sure.
Sam Snead Bracket
This bracket did not inspire me at all and I couldn’t even be bothered to preview each match like I have done for the others. The only match that stands out for me is Quiros ($1.65) which could be your 4th leg of your multi against Weir. The only thing I’ll be really watching here will be the results of the Italian Molinari Brothers who both appear here and could well be suited to the format although I’m not sure the course is designed to suit them. Last year’s defending champion Casey is in this bracket but crumbled under the pressure on the European Tour a few weeks ago in the final round it wouldn’t surprise me to see him knocked out in the 1st round by Ames.
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