The opening round of the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play was a mix of the usual emphatic performances mixed in with plenty of shocks and much of the same is expected on the second day of action on Thursday.
Those who won on Wednesday will go a step closer to the knockout stage with another win while the players who were beaten in their opening match much win on Thursday to remain alive in the competition.
We had two winners from three in our match betting on Wednesday and we are back for more on Thursday. Once again we have some top matches to get stuck into on Thursday with the match between Rory McIlroy and Gary Woodland, the 2015 final repeat, being the highlight. Other good matches include Daniel Berger vs Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed vs Kevin Kisner and Dustin Johnson against Martin Kaymer.
As with the opening day there are three matches which standout from a betting point of view with plenty of value around on Thursday.
Louis Oosthuizen vs Jim Furyk
Match tees off at 15.03 GMT.
The 2016 runner up Louis Oosthuizen looks for back to back wins when he takes on the American Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk who battled hard for a half against Hideki Matsuyama in his first match of the event.
In bare numbers Oosthuizen has the edge here. He shot three under for the 15 holes that he played while Furyk could only go round in level par for the entire 18 holes which included a very slow start that he is unlikely to get away with again. Oosthuizen has a really good record around this course. It seems to fit and with Furyk not on fire with the putter I’m with the South African in this one.
Rafael Cabrera Bello vs Charles Howell III
Match tees off at 18.21 GMT.
Rafael Cabrera Bello is another one who has an affinity with this course having finished third around here last year and he picked up where he left off in his opening match against Jeunghun Wang. Charles Howell III lost to Tyrrell Hatton in the opening match so he is fighting for his tournament life here.
Charles Howell III dumped more balls in the lake than he kept dry on Wednesday so you’ve got to wonder what level his confidence will be at here. Cabrera Bello was never behind in the first match and spoke about how he loves the course afterwards. I’m expecting the Spaniard to translate that positive energy into another win here.
Emiliano Grillo vs Soren Kjeldsen
Match tees off at 19.27 GMT.
The player of the first round was without doubt Soren Kjeldsen. He gave a ball striking clinic to touch off Rory McIlroy and if he didn’t take confidence from that there will be something wrong with him. Grillo was seen off by Gary Woodland and another defeat will be fatal for his chances here.
We’ve got one of those excellent match play situations here where Kjeldsen will be firing into every hole first but we saw on Wednesday that his irons are dialled in. That is going to put extreme pressure on Grillo and he hasn’t always fared well when the heat has been applied to him. Kjeldsen was six under for his 17 holes on Wednesday and a repeat of that should see off the fiery Grillo.
Tips
Back L.Oosthuizen to beat J.Furyk for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfred
Back him here:
Back R.Cabrera Bello to beat C.Howell III for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Paddy Power
Back him here:
WON – Back S.Kjeldsen to beat E.Grillo for a 4/10 stake at 2.40 with Ladbrokes
Back him here:
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