2011 WGC Accenture Match Play Championship Odds: Tiger Woods Favored
By Drew Sharper
Bet on Accenture Match Play Championship
MARANA, AZ (TheSpread) – The 2011 WGC Accenture Match Play Championship tees off on Wednesday featuring the top 64 golfers in the world playing in a match play tournament.
The top 64 golfers in the current World Golf Rankings are seeded into a 64-man tournament and golfers advance in each round by winning a one-on-one match play event. The last golfer remaining wins the prize of over $1 million.
According to online sportsbook SBGGLOBAL.com, Tiger Woods is favored to win this event with 12/1 odds. Other short odds to win are Martin Kaymer and Paul Casey, as each has 14/1 odds.
Woods is a three-time winner of this event, having won his last title in 2008. He reached the third round in 2009 and did not play in 2010. Woods is still searching for his first win since late 2009 but is still ranked third in the world.
Kaymer ranks second in the world right now. He has never won this event and reached the third round in the 2010 and 2009 tournaments.
Casey has not won this event but has finished second the last two years. Casey is currently sixth in the world rankings and seeking his second victory of the year.
For complete odds on the 2011 WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, see below.
2011 WGC Accenture Match Play Championship Odds to Win
Tiger Woods 12/1
Martin Kaymer 14/1
Paul Casey 14/1
Rory McIlroy 16/1
Phil Mickelson 16/1
Lee Westwood 20/1
Graeme McDowell 22/1
Dustin Johnson 25/1
Ian Poulter 25/1
Geoff Ogilvy 25/1
Luke Donald 28/1
Nick Watney 28/1
Steve Stricker 28/1
Alvaro Quiros 33/1
Ernie Els 33/1
Hunter Mahan 33/1
Matt Kuchar 33/1
Retief Goosen 33/1
Charl Schwartzel 40/1
Jim Furyk 40/1
Rickie Fowler 40/1
Adam Scott 50/1
Bill Haas 50/1
Francesco Molinari 50/1
Justin Rose 50/1
K.J. Choi 50/1
Robert Allenby 50/1
Robert Karlsson 50/1
Tim Clark 50/1
Stewart Cink 50/1
Padraig Harrington 50/1
Anthony Kim 66/1
Ben Crane 66/1
Bubba Watson 66/1
Camilo Villegas 66/1
Edoardo Molinari 66/1
Louis Oosthuizen 66/1
Martin Laird 66/1
Ross Fisher 66/1
Ryan Moore 66/1
Bo Van Pelt 80/1
Henrik Stenson 80/1
Jason Day 80/1
Jeff Overton 80/1
Matteo Manassero 80/1
Miguel Angel Jimenez 80/1
Peter Hanson 80/1
Ryan Palmer 80/1
Y-E Yang 80/1
Zach Johnson 80/1
Anders Hansen 100/1
Jonathan Byrd 100/1
Mark Wilson 100/1
Sean O'Hair 100/1
Richard Green 100/1
Charley Hoffman 125/1
Ryo Ishikawa 125/1
Seung-yul Noh 125/1
Thomas Bjorn 125/1
Heath Slocum 150/1
Kim Kyung- Tae 150/1
Hiroyuki Fujita 175/1
Yuta Ikeda 175/1
Brendan Jones 200/1
WGC-Accenture Match Play: First Round Odds & Picks
By Matt Fargo
After a ho hum Sunday at the Northern Trust Open, the PGA Tour heads to Arizona for the WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship from the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana.
This is a field of the top 64 players in the world that play until one winner remains. It’s only match play event of the season and definitely gets some added Tiger Woods is a three-time winner at the WGC Accenture.attention because of it. This will be the first time since the 2009 event at Doral that every player ranked in the top 50 will be teeing it up this week.
The WGC Match Play starts a day earlier to accommodate the six rounds and concludes with a 36-hole final match on Sunday.
Unlike the NCAA Tournament where the higher seeds normally advance, anything can happen here and while rankings are still important, they are not to be taken too much into consideration. In the 12 years of this event, a No. 1 seed has won it only three times and that of course was Tiger Woods, the only player to win this event three times.
There are plenty of upsets throughout but for the most part, a low seed usually takes home the prize. The last four years, a No. 3 seed or better has won the event and in the 12 years, nine winners have come from a sixth seed or better.
Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Phil Mickelson and Woods are the one seeds this year with Woods the overall moneyline favorite at +1200.
Here are my eight favorite first round matchup bets:
Ryan Moore +105 over Francesco Molinari
Moore made his debut last year and lost to Ernie Els 4 and 3 but he has a tremendous match play record. In seven USGA individual championships as an amateur, Moore collected a 27-4 match-play mark and won the 2004 U.S. Amateur. Molinari has Ryder Cup experience but lost in the first round in this event last year to Zach Johnson.
K.J. Choi +105 over Retief Goosen
Goosen had a strong showing here last year but he has been very inconsistent for the most part including a first round loss two years ago. Choi missed this event last year after losing to Oliver Wilson in 2009 (Wilson went to the third round) but he has a lot of experience here and in the President’s Cup. A 13-seed at +105 says he is better than that.
Henrik Stenson +160 over Lee Westwood
Westwood is the most likely No. 1 seed to go down in the first round as he drew the 2007 champion in the first round. Westwood lost to Nick Watney in the second round last year and has never made it past the round of 32. Stenson also came in third in 2008 and even though the last two years he lost in the first round, the value is tremendous.
Ross Fisher -115 over Robert Allenby
Many will forget that Fisher made it to the semifinals two years ago and ended up with a fourth place finish. He was upset in the first round last year and that alone should fuel the fire. The fact that he is a 10-seed and laying even odds should tell you something as well. Allenby reached the quarterfinals in 2005 but he has gone only 2-5 since then.
Sean O’Hair +135 over Hunter Mahan
This is not a knock on Mahan at all. I just think this is great value on O’Hair, who was a fourth seed last year and is now a 12th seed and getting 12th-seed value. He made it to the quarterfinals two years ago, losing to Paul Casey. This is the first match since the infamous flubbed chip at the Ryder Cup and Mahan is just 2-3 in this event in his career.
Yuta Ikeda +125 over Miguel A. Jimenez
Jimenez has loads of experience in this event and numerous Ryder Cups but his recent play here has been spotty at best. He reached the quarterfinals in 2000 but he has not made it past the second round since, losing in the first round four of the last seven years. Ikeda lost to Watney last year, certainly not a bad loss, and that experience will help here.
Bubba Watson +120 over Bill Haas
I mentioned that seeding should not be looked at too much but in this case, we are getting a No. 5 seed as an underdog against a 12 seed. Watson withdrew last week at Riviera with a strained oblique but should be ready to go. Both he and Haas are rookies in this event but I will take the Ryder Cup experience with Watson at a great price.
Padraig Harrington +125 over Geoff Ogilvy
We all know the success that Ogilvy has had in this tournament but he was ousted in the second round last year. It’s safe to say this year’s first round opponent is a little tougher. Harrington has not had nearly the same amount of success here but gets excellent value being just one seed lower.