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WGC Match Play preview
 

The World Golf Accenture Match Play Championship, other than a major tournament, is my favorite event to wager on. The first round starts on Wednesday with 32 head-to-head battles and we can't wait to fire on some of the matchups.

I expect to be there Tuesday and Wednesday and look forward to see some of the new Top 64 players in the world, such as European Tour Rookie of the Year, Martin Kaymer from Germany, who has won again already this season.

Also, make a note of some first-timers teeing off this week. J.B. Holmes is one of the newbies and he’ll be tested right away against Tiger Woods. Along with Holmes, Hunter Mahan, smooth swinging Brandt Snedeker, hard hitting Camilo Vilegas and Aqua Man Woody Austin should make for an interesting field.

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The Dove Mountain Gallery Course is a basic bombs away track, but with very tricky turtle back greens that frustrated many players last year. The fairway rough is up because the players asked for it to stop the tee shots from running into the desert areas.

The four division brackets are horrendously difficult to predict this year and I'm predicting an upset to win, someone ranked in the bottom 20-30 seeds. Yes, Tiger can be beat and not get out of his division bracket.

We'll start with the Bobby Jones bracket. Tiger should get past his first two opponents but after that he could face Aaron Baddelely and if he gets by the Scottsdale, Arizona resident he could then play another Scottsdale commuter Paul Casey or K.J. Choi to get to the semifinals. I see Casey advancing, he was tied for fifth last year here and that means he won his first three rounds before losing to runner-up Geoff Ogilvy, who we are fading right now since he has yet to make a cut on the PGA Tour in three tournaments this season.

The Ben Hogan bracket features Ernie Els, Adam Scott, defending Champion Henrik Stenson, the Goose, who is only making his second start of the season and will be lucky to win a match, Sergio and Kaymer. Upset special here, Kaymer to get past Immelman to the semis.

The Gary Player bracket looks to me to be the weakest group. Phil Mickelson is the favorite, but I wouldn’t expect him to play well after round one, since he might be too tired after winning last week is playing his fifth consecutive event with no breaks. Vijay Singh has found a good swing, but cannot putt to win and close out matches. It seems like he only wins if his opponent really plays poorly. My pick to win in this bracket is Niclas Fasth, who was a slow starter in Europe this season but a grinder and a plodder in match play. Fasth finished tied for ninth here last year and has the ability to drive his opponent nuts by lining up short putts.

Finally, the Sam Snead bracket which is also weak with Steve Stricker as the No. 1 seed. Luke Donald, Paddraig Harrington and Stewart Cink are all next in line. My upset pick in this bracket would be on Hunter Mahan. The 2002 U.S. Amateur Runner-up can make a big splash in his first WGC Match Play event.

As far as picking a winner, I really do not get involved with betting the futures too much. My success is specializing in head to head matches, but any player you like that isn't a Top 3 seed realistically should be 100-1 or more to win an event like this.

So we'll take a flyer on Kaymer against Fasth in the final with Fasth winning 6&5. (Perhaps I should hope he gets out of the first round).

I'll have several picks/matchups to choose from on Tuesday night after I have seen the Top 64 on the range, putting green and on the course.

Check back each day throughout the week for more WGC Match Play selections.

  
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