Bet365 Analysis on the HSBC Matchplay

There has been a change to the format for this year's event at Wentworth with the field now boosted from 12 to 16 runners, which means that that everyone has to play on all four days.In the past the top four seeds had the massive advantage of not playing on the Thursday, before entering the fray 'rested' on Friday. Despite this, defending champion Ernie Els still looks to have a cracking chance of making it a hat-trick of wins in this event, and recording his sixth victory overall. Els' domination is based around the fact that this is very much a 'home' fixture for him - he has a house on the course - while his love of the cut and thrust of match play is always worth a couple of holes against his opponents. He also comes here on the back of some very good form. After winning the Amex in Ireland, he then cruised to a tied 7th place in the Dunhill Links last week, where he was particularly impressive off the tee with a new driver in his bag. What's more, he has a cracking draw with his main rival in the betting, Vijay Singh, in the opposite half. Even at the relatively short price of 2/1 it is very hard to make a case against him this week. Singh's Wentworth record is not nearly as impressive as Els', both in match and strokeplay, while he could face a formidable rival in Lee Westwood at the semi final stage. The Englishman appears to be back to near his very best with regular high finishes in recent weeks, and at 12/1 he is worthy of each way support as half the odds are paid if he reaches the final. Should he meet Els in the final, he will take encouragement from his record against the 'Big Easy'. The only twice they have met in the tournament, Westwood has won on both occasions - that's 50% of Els' defeats in this event!bet365 World Match Play prices... Ernie Els 2/1 Vijay Singh 13/2, Retief Goosen 7/1, Lee Westwood 11/1, Padraig Harrington 12/1, others on bet35 website. Bet live IN-PLAY on each day's 36-hole matches, and on our outright market.