World Golf Championships Betting Analysis

The biggest event of the 2006 international golf season so far takes place this week, the uniquely formatted World Golf Championships - Accenture World Matchplay at La Costa. As a WGC event it is firmly established on the second rung of most desirable titles for the tour competitors, sitting only below the Majors in the pecking order. The match play format makes for much drama, and the selection criteria of strictly sticking to the top ranked (and fit) 64 players on the planet means that there is no classier match play tournament. The matches are played over 18 holes each, with the draw pitting the top seeded player against the number 64, the 2nd against number 63 and so on and there will be some fantastic match ups from Wednesday morning onwards. The final is competed over 36 holes on Sunday. Fitness is especially significant this week, as the world number one and in form Tiger Woods is suffering with a flu virus. The provisional top seed was forced to withdraw after two rounds of the Nissan Open last week, and if his illness continues, there is no doubt that the draw will have a more open look to it. The difficulty in forecasting this event at this stage is that, although we wish to give punters plenty of time to read through our picks and advice, one withdrawal would mean that the whole draw in affected. If Woods does pull out, every single first round match would change, with everyone moving up one place, and so facing a different opponent. What will largely remain stagnant however (with one obvious exception), is the identity of the top eight seeds, and they are the men expected to reach the quarter finals. These men are Woods, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson, Chris DiMarco, Jim Furyk and David Toms with Adam Scott waiting in the wings if Tiger is unable to take part. This event has thrown up many surprises during its 7 Year history, and the winners board is testament to this. Elite class has risen to the top on occasions, with Woods, David Toms and Darren Clarke all taking the trophy, but victories for the likes of Kevin Sutherland, Steve Stricker and Jeff Maggert all give hope to those amongst the lower seeds this week. David Toms was the champion last year, and his record of won 18 matches and lost 5 at this event gives him the second best record of the entire field. Behind Woods, of course. This fact will not surprise many, as Toms is well known as a tenacious competitor who loves the ferocity of a one on one battle. As well as his victory last year, beating fellow Ryder Cup combatant Chris DiMarco in the final, Toms has been a runner up in 2003 and has never been knocked out in the first round in his six appearances. In fact, he has won at least two matches for each of the last four years, and this is a record that compares very favourably to that of the vast majority of the field. In addition to this, the 8th ranked player has been playing well this season, with results of 13th at the Mercedes Championships, 1st at the Sony Open, and 19th at the FBR Open and 7 of the American's last 8 rounds have been in the 60's. Toms has a great deal in his favour this week an we advise having a piece at 20/1 at BlueSq. Another man with a good record is Ian Poulter, but his semi final place last season came in what was his fifth American start of the campaign. This time around this will be his first outing stateside and his form in Europe has not been overly encouraging. An opening match against one of the top eight (withdrawals permitting) also poses a significant hurdle and we advise leaving the Englishman alone at 66/1. Davis Love III is another we shall leave alone as despite a good overall record in the past, his results here have tended to reflect his early season form, and two missed cuts in four outings and no top 20's does not inspire confidence. Our second pick this week is Adam Scott. We do not feel it will make too much difference whether or not he is seeded 9th or 8th, as the secret to winning this title is to beat whoever is put in front of you, and all of the players are of high quality. Since debuting in 2002 when he got through the first round, Scott has finished 3rd (winning 4 matches), 9th (winning 2)and 5th Lat year (winning 3). 12 months ago it was the eventual champion David Toms who beat him, and we feel these results indicate a clear liking for the tournament. Last week the young Australian was defending his title at the Nissan Open and heading for nothing more than a solid week going into the final round. However, a Sunday 64 rocketed him up the leader board into 2nd place, and also boosted his confidence. That was only his third outing of 2006, with 8th at the Sony Open and 6th at the Johnnie Walker Classic doing nothing to divert our interest and 20/1 at VCbet.com is a price worth taking in an outright capacity.