WGC- Accenture World Match Play Betting Preview

In terms of groups of global golf tournaments, the World Golf Championship events sit only below the Majors, and this week we have the first of the three (singles) 2005 instalments, with the WGC- Accenture World Match Play.The 64 top ranked players in the official world rankings (who are available) will convene at La Costa in California, with Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Retief Goosen being named as top seeds in the four groups. The matches are played over 18 holes, with the exception of the final, and it should also be mentioned that the first round is on Wednesday as opposed to the more usual PGA starting day of Thursday.Last week's PGA tournament, the Nissan Open was severely interrupted by poor weather, meaning that only two rounds were completed. Darren Clarke ended the 36 holes one shot behind Adam Scott and Chad Campbell, and so just missed out on the sudden death playoff that Scott eventually won. This was the second successive high finish for Clarke, after coming 6th at the AT&T Pebble Beach a week earlier. These have been his only starts in America this term, and the Ulsterman is clearly swinging well.Having endued a tough off-season when he spent time with his family due to the illness of his wife, he chose the South African Open for his first outing, and donated his winnings to the Tsunami Fund for the South East Asian tragedy. He spoke of how the trials he had faced of late had put the mere game of golf into perspective and the signs seem to be that his game has profited from this outlook.He came 4th in South Africa, followed by his two strong results in the States, and this is an event with which he will always have a special affinity. In 2000 he became the first European to lay claim to a WGC event when beating Tiger Woods 4&3 in superb fashion. A liking for the format, and the 7247-yard course has been confirmed with his subsequent results. Last year he beat Stephen Leaney in the third place play off to come 3rd, and in 2003 came joint 5th. Clarke revels in match play scenarios, and is perfectly at home in America where the fans and players alike treat him with a great amount of respect. We advise having a bet at 25/1For the past two years at this event, Jerry Kelly has made it to the quarterfinals, and the American has claimed some notable scalps along the way. Thomas Bjorn, Mike Weir and Phil Mickelson were all put to the sword in 2003, and last year Chad Campbell, Sergio Garcia and Vijay Singh were the victims. La Costa is a course which has often suited the solid player over the more exciting one, and Kelly certainly fits this mould. His game is built around hitting fairways and a reliable putting stroke, a formula which clearly reaps dividends at this Championship.Although the cut was missed at his last outing, the AT&T a fortnight ago, the 39 year old did manage to some 8th at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, and 11th at the Buick Invitational in his two starts prior to that. The 38th seed looks like fine value at 66/1.Tiger woods has an outstanding record in this tournament, and in total has won eight of the sixteen World Golf Championship events entered in his career. For the past two seasons this one has gone his way, and having begun the season in good form, it is hard to imagine him being far away from a famous hat trick.However, from a best price of 9/2 we are not tempted in a format which allows for shock results. Over 18 holes, any of the 64 entrants can beat any of the others, something shown most starkly in 2002 when Peter O'Malley beat Woods in the first round.As regarding the other seeds, Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen have never advanced past the third round. Phil Mickelson did make it to the quarter finals last year and is in great form, but again the 9/1 on offer is not appealing when 42% of first round matches are won by the lower ranked player.Ernie Els is the highest profile absentee having fared poorly here in the past, but otherwise the majority of those who qualify will be fighting it out for their share of the $7 Million purse. Organisers will be desperate to avoid the elemental deluge witnessed in Los Angeles last week. It would be far harder to find a winner of this Championship if, for example no golf had been possible past the quarterfinals. Perhaps the eight remaining players would come together in a sudden death playoff but there would be an overwhelming shadow of dissatisfaction left lingering if this were the case. The forecast is for some rain earlier in the week, although Southern California can expect to be bathed in its more familiar sunshine by the weekend. Have a bet with VC Bet on the Accenture Matchplay