Outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt)
Ernie Els to win 14/1 e.w. available generally
Given Woods' lack of tournament golf, Els is arguably the most in-form player in this field and he does have a very impressive record in matchplay ... just not at La Costa. Despite his record-breaking success at Wentworth, he never progressed beyond the 2nd round at La Costa apart from the sole year that this event was played in Australia. He was a semi-finalist that time and with his main rival in this bracket, Phil Mickelson, having a very average record in all matchplay events, he really should be at least a semi-finalist again.
Retief Goosen to win 25/1 e.w. @ Stan James
Stan James are standout odds on Goosen to emerge from the Sam Snead bracket. He should face stiffer competition than Els in his bracket, but until he arrived at the Nissan Open last week he had finished in the top-5 in six of his previous eight Tour starts. Throw in semi-final and quarter-final appearances in the last two years, plus a healthy record in other matchplay events and there is certainly value in these odds.
Henrik Stenson to win 33/1 available generally (0.5pts) & to win the Bobby Jones bracket 10/1 @ BetInternet (0.5pts)
BetInternet don't have their place odds matching their outright odds, so combining their 10/1 on him to win the Bobby Jones bracket with the 33/1 on him to win outright is the best value combination. This is, of course, the bracket that includes Tiger Woods, but the World #1 has failed to progress beyond the 3rd round in any of the last two years and Stenson did beat him to win the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this month. With the form that he showed in the Middle East, he may not be such a large underdog to defeat Tiger again.
Davis Love to win 40/1 e.w. available generally
The Gary Player bracket looks wide open with the top two seeds, Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh, never having progressed beyond the 3rd round in any year since this event started in 1999. Padraig Harrington looks a decent shot at 33/1 from this group, but I'll side with Love who has been runner-up in two of the last three years to underline his matchplay credentials. And he can also combine that matchplay record with a post-Ryder Cup resurgence in form - when he finished 4th last time out at Pebble Beach, it was his fifth top-5 finish in his last eight PGA Tour starts. This may the most unpredictable of golfing formats, but at least one of these selections should win four matches and earn at least a place return.
