There might only be two weeks until The Masters but that doesn’t mean there isn’t time for a big gold tournament before then and indeed it comes along this week when 64 of the finest golfers in the world head to Texas for the WGC Dell World Match Play.
Jason Day won the tournament for the second time in three seasons 12 months ago and he is back aiming to complete a hat trick of titles in quick succession but the challengers are of the very highest order.
Recent Winners
2016 – Jason Day
2015 – Rory McIlroy
2014 – Jason Day
2013 – Matt Kuchar
2012 – Hunter Mahan
2011 – Luke Donald
2010 – Ian Poulter
2009 – Geoff Ogilvy
2008 – Tiger Woods
2007 – Henrik Stenson
The Format
The 64 men are split up into 16 groups for the first stage of the tournament with everyone playing each other over the first three days. The winners of each group head into the knockout stages with the last 16 and quarter finals on Saturday and the semi-final and final on Sunday. All matches are 18 hole matches with a draw for a tied match in the group matches and knockout matches going to extra holes.
The Course
Austin Country Club stages the tournament for the second time. I really enjoyed this course last year not just from a playability point of view but some of the views and scenery are superb.
The two nines are completely different. The front nine is on higher ground in the hills while the back nine runs alongside Lake Austin. The feature of the course is the green shaping and the bunkers. The greens are large and undulating and the penalty for missing them is huge so iron play and putting is going to be massive.
The Field
Jason Day defends the title this week but his fellow top notch Australian Adam Scott is one of five eligible players who have decided to skip the tournament. Adam Hadwin, Henrik Stenson, Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose have all chosen to miss out as well.
Former champion Rory McIlroy is in the field as is the local man Jordan Spieth. Dustin Johnson also tees it up as do the season’s early success stories Hideki Matsuyama and Justin Thomas. Many of the American and European Ryder Cup players also tee it up here.
Market Leaders
Former winner Rory McIlroy is the 15/2 favourite this week hot after nearly landing the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week. He looked in excellent order with the irons last week and if he can repeat that and find a hot streak with the putter he will go close here.
Dustin Johnson is an 8/1 poke this week although for someone who belts it miles he doesn’t necessarily have the best record here which would be a concern. Jordan Spieth is a 12/1 chance on a course which is local to him. If his iron play and putting is like it usually is then he could be very tough to stop.
Jason Day has won this tournament twice in the last three years and each time on a different course which highlights his match play pedigree. He won around here last year and only once did he go past the 16th all week. If he brings that form with him he is huge value at 16/1 for the title.
Hideki Matsuyama should have a better record in this tournament than he does but he is 22/1 to put that right here. It is 25/1 bar in what should be a really open week.
Betting
Anyone who has followed me in this tournament before will know I like to take a player from each quarter and see how many we can get through to the weekend in the hope of getting someone at least to the semi-finals where the pay outs begin.
In the top quarter all eyes may well be on Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed but it is their Ryder Cup teammate Zach Johnson I want to be on especially at a three figure price. This course is built for Zach. He never leaves the fairway and hits near enough every green and we all know how good a putter he is.
Last year in this tournament Johnson won his group with a pair of 4&3 wins over Marcus Fraser and Shane Lowry and he bashed up Martin Kaymer 8&6 before losing by one hole to Rory McIlroy in the last 16. If that was down to the course suiting him Zach can go very big in a quarter with a vulnerable favourite in his namesake Dustin.
In the second quarter I can’t resist a punt on Thomas Pieters. In fairness this looks an absolutely brutal section of the draw with the likes of Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth, Paul Casey, Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen in it but we saw at the Ryder Cup that Pieters is no respecter of reputation and we also saw just how good an all-round game he has. He showed that again at Riviera last month and if there is a surprise out of this quarter he could well be it.
The third quarter will have Rory McIlroy grabbing the headlines with Tyrrell Hatton and Sergio Garcia, potential Ryder Cup teammates of his next year, looking to grab a slice of the action too. I’ve a feeling Brandt Snedeker might usurp them all though. Snedeker won all of his matches at the Ryder Cup last year and qualified from his group here last year too before running into the eventual winner Jason Day in the last 16. Snedeker is a solid ball striker and excellent putter and he should have every chance this week.
Finally we have the bottom quarter which with Jason Day’s drop in form, Justin Thomas’ inexperience at this level in match play and the erratic nature of Phil Mickelson is very much the weaker of the four groups. I respect Marc Leishman especially after he did me a turn last week but I like Bill Haas here.
I always wanted someone from Danny Willett’s group in this section because his game has gone to pot and it is only natural he is thinking of two weeks time when he defends a major title for the first time. Haas won all three of his group matches last year before running into Chris Kirk’s hot putter in the last 16 but I fancy he can make up for that with a big run here at a silly price given his profile fit for this course.
Tips
Back B.Snedeker to win WGC Dell Technologies Match Play (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 46.00 with Titanbet (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
Back T.Pieters to win WGC Dell Technologies Match Play (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with BetBright (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
Back Z.Johnson to win WGC Dell Technologies Match Play (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with William Hill (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
PLACED – Back B.Haas to win WGC Dell Technologies Match Play (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 111.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-4)
Back him here:
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