World Cup

[Stanley]

Outright plays (1.5pts):

England to win 6/1 @ BetDirect
England?s combination of Paul Casey and Luke Donald look a very good match for each other in team golf as they showed when they formed a very successful Walker Cup partnership. Casey, at his best, is one of Europe?s finest golfers, while Donald has been widely cited as England?s heir-apparent to Nick Faldo. This looks a very strong team that should certainly be a match for the tournament favourites, Spain.

Argentina to win 12/1 e.w. @ available generally
Initially I had looked to double up the England selection with one on Spain as these two teams are well ahead of the pack, but 3/1 is at least a point too short. Instead, Argentina look one of the best of the rest. The pairing of Angel Cabrera and Eduardo Romero has represented this country in each of the five years that this has been a WGC event and have finished in the places (top-4) on two of those five occasions. Romero's straight driving and Cabrera's length off the tee mean that they should be a good foil for each other and having played as a team so often, they could certainly fill one of the places again. It will also help their motivation that their compatriot, Ricardo Gonzalez, won the inaugural European Tour event on this course in April.

 

[Stanley]

Matchup plays (1.5pts unless stated):

Denmark to beat New Zealand -118 @ Centrebet
It may be arguable that Hansen and Kjeldsen are better players than Smail and Perks, but it should certainly weigh heavily in their favour that they are used to playing in Spanish condition whereas the Kiwis have yet to play in that country. Hansen showed some promising form at the end of the European Tour season and finished 2nd in the Open de Madrid, while Kjeldsen even has course experience from playing in the Open de Sevilla (he finished 28th) earlier this year.

England to beat Ireland -120 @ Bet365 [3pts]
No such angle here, but despite the experience of the Harrington/McGinley pairing they are really no match for Donald and Casey. Take their respective h2h records for example - Donald vs. Harrington, Donald vs. McGinley, Casey vs. Harrington and Casey vs. McGinley - the sum of these for European Tour and WGC events in the last three months is 17-4-1 in Donald and Casey's favour. No hesitation in backing them in matchups as well as the outrights this week.
(also available at Pinnacle)

Wales to beat Scotland -111 @ Centrebet
In this matchup, the respective matchups for European Tour and WGC events means a 45-17-2 record in favour of Dredge and Price. Drummond really is the weak link in the Scottish pairing despite both of them playing well in the Volvo Masters. They both finished a long way behind Bradley Dredge on this course in April and so long as Price is not too tired from his successful week at the PGA Tour Q-School Stage Two, the Welsh team should certainly finish in the top-10.
(also available at BlueSq, Paddy Power and Skybet)

 

[lostinamerica]

Outrights:

England(5/1) e.w. @ Bet365
- - Finishing outside the Top 4 seems far less likely than a 50/50 proposition, with plenty of upside for a stand up pair of budding champions.

GL

 

[Stanley]

Outrights - FINAL RESULT: 1-1; +7.50pts

England 1st
Argentina 19th

Donald and Casey certainly made us sweat after coasting to a five-shot lead after 36 holes, but the compatibility of their games told as they shot the lowest score on each of the foursomes rounds and that is where this tournament gets decided.

Matchups - FINAL RESULT: 3-0-0; +6.00pts

Denmark/New Zealand WON by 2
England/Ireland WON by 3
Wales/Scotland WON by 5

A nice sweep to round off a very profitable event!

WGC events ytd:
Outrights: 3-5; +66.38pts
Matchups: 7-4; +5.70pts