Preview & outright plays:
The second WGC event of the year and the last one was a very long time ago! Very few of the world's elite traveled to Melbourne for the WGC Matchplay event; quite the reverse this week. Duval and Singh withdrew last year because of back problems, but barring any such repeat, this event is a worthy of its "world" name.
The event is open to members of the 2000 Presidents Cup teams, the 2001 US Ryder Cup team and the top-12 from the European Ryder Cup points table - there are still two weeks of qualifying left in Europe. There is no cut. They play at the South course at Firestone Country Club, which had been the host to the NEC World Series of Golf before the WGC event. Like last week, it is a long par-70 with just two par-fives and one of those is 625 yards. This is not a power course, good overall driving and a deft touch around the greens is a must this week.?
A year ago, Tiger won this event by eleven shots with memorable scenes of the crowds holding up lighters in the darkness around the 18th green. He had just won four of his last six events and he was a heavy favorite. Now he has failed to finish in the top-10 in his last five starts, is having big problems with his swing and is reported to have fallen out with Butch Harmon, temporarily at least. The odds of 7/2 on him are as large as have been for several years and while he has the ability to turn his game round in a day, a mid-table finish is just as likely as a win. With Paddy Power again offering a refund of all lost outright bets if the selection finishes ahead of Tiger - would have been helpful last week with Price and Hoch - it looks to be the offer of the week. The 2nd best offer is 5 places from Surrey and NetBetSports even though there are only 39 players in the field!
The three selections for this event are Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Scott Hoch. After failing to overtake Toms down the stretch last week, Mickelson could well be expected to suffer a reaction, but his record on this course is so impressive, he gets the nod over Duval as primary selection. His finishes since 1995 read: 4th, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 4th. There is no doubting his form or the quality of his short game, so ignoring the 15/2 available from Sports.com and taking advantage of Paddy Power's offer looks the best option.
Furyk failed to make an impact on the leaders last week, but the turn-around in his game is complete. From the TPC to the US Open, he managed only one top-10 finish (8th at the MasterCard Colonial), but he has now finished 2nd and 6th in the last two weeks to secure his place in the Ryder Cup team. With the pressure of Ryder Cup qualification now over, he looks a good prospect for this event. He finished 4th last year and 10th and 14th on his other visits to Firestone. Not one for winning in this company, the option of five places with Surrey looks most appealing.
Scott Hoch finished the best-placed of last week's selections and is retained this week. The hole-in-one helped him secure 6th place and extend his run of top-10 finishes to seven from eight starts, ignoring the British Open. A runners-up spot in 1994 and a string of his customary top-15 finishes in other years, lends support to this being a good course for Hoch's game and in his current form, he can beat any one of this field. As with Furyk, the extra place available with Surrey is appealing.
Outright plays:
Phil Mickelson to win 6/1 @ Paddy Power
Jim Furyk to win 25/1 e.w. @ Surrey
Scott Hoch to win 25/1 e.w. @ Surrey
The second WGC event of the year and the last one was a very long time ago! Very few of the world's elite traveled to Melbourne for the WGC Matchplay event; quite the reverse this week. Duval and Singh withdrew last year because of back problems, but barring any such repeat, this event is a worthy of its "world" name.
The event is open to members of the 2000 Presidents Cup teams, the 2001 US Ryder Cup team and the top-12 from the European Ryder Cup points table - there are still two weeks of qualifying left in Europe. There is no cut. They play at the South course at Firestone Country Club, which had been the host to the NEC World Series of Golf before the WGC event. Like last week, it is a long par-70 with just two par-fives and one of those is 625 yards. This is not a power course, good overall driving and a deft touch around the greens is a must this week.?
A year ago, Tiger won this event by eleven shots with memorable scenes of the crowds holding up lighters in the darkness around the 18th green. He had just won four of his last six events and he was a heavy favorite. Now he has failed to finish in the top-10 in his last five starts, is having big problems with his swing and is reported to have fallen out with Butch Harmon, temporarily at least. The odds of 7/2 on him are as large as have been for several years and while he has the ability to turn his game round in a day, a mid-table finish is just as likely as a win. With Paddy Power again offering a refund of all lost outright bets if the selection finishes ahead of Tiger - would have been helpful last week with Price and Hoch - it looks to be the offer of the week. The 2nd best offer is 5 places from Surrey and NetBetSports even though there are only 39 players in the field!
The three selections for this event are Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Scott Hoch. After failing to overtake Toms down the stretch last week, Mickelson could well be expected to suffer a reaction, but his record on this course is so impressive, he gets the nod over Duval as primary selection. His finishes since 1995 read: 4th, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 4th. There is no doubting his form or the quality of his short game, so ignoring the 15/2 available from Sports.com and taking advantage of Paddy Power's offer looks the best option.
Furyk failed to make an impact on the leaders last week, but the turn-around in his game is complete. From the TPC to the US Open, he managed only one top-10 finish (8th at the MasterCard Colonial), but he has now finished 2nd and 6th in the last two weeks to secure his place in the Ryder Cup team. With the pressure of Ryder Cup qualification now over, he looks a good prospect for this event. He finished 4th last year and 10th and 14th on his other visits to Firestone. Not one for winning in this company, the option of five places with Surrey looks most appealing.
Scott Hoch finished the best-placed of last week's selections and is retained this week. The hole-in-one helped him secure 6th place and extend his run of top-10 finishes to seven from eight starts, ignoring the British Open. A runners-up spot in 1994 and a string of his customary top-15 finishes in other years, lends support to this being a good course for Hoch's game and in his current form, he can beat any one of this field. As with Furyk, the extra place available with Surrey is appealing.
Outright plays:
Phil Mickelson to win 6/1 @ Paddy Power
Jim Furyk to win 25/1 e.w. @ Surrey
Scott Hoch to win 25/1 e.w. @ Surrey
