This week sees the second WGC event for the year being held at TPC Blue Monster in Doral, Florida. This weeks addition is a stroke play event unlike the match play event recently won by Hunter Mahan at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Arizona.
The WGC was created by the International Federation of PGA Tours and is an official money event on the European Tour and Japan Golf Tour. It is also official sanctioned by the Asian Tour, PGA Tour of Australia and PGA Tour.
TPC Blue Monster is a Par 72, playing 7334 yard this year. The course was ranked 34th most difficult from 51 on the PGA Tour in 2011. The tees, fairways, greens and rough are Bermuda grass. There are also 110 sand bunkers and 11 water hazards to keep the players on their toes. The Purse is US$8.5 million with the Winner taking home US$1.4 million.
The course has hosted this event since 2007 and prior to that it was played at different locations in the USA and Europe such as The Grove in England (2006), Mount Juliet in Ireland (2002,2004) and Valderrama in Spain (1999,2000). There was no event in 2001 due to the September 11 terrorist attacks.
TPC Blue Monster has always been a favourite for many of the pros on tour as it is a very challenging course and creates a real challenge calling on all aspects of their game. The Par 4, 18th hole is sure to bring a few players to their knees over the weekend. It is the hardest hole on the course and is one of the most difficult closing holes on the PGA Tour. The last few weeks on the tour has seen several players come undone on the 72nd hole (Stanley,Allenby) and this week could be the same. The fairway narrows to 25 yards at the end of the lake and if they aren’t accurate off the tee, watch out! Longer hitters will be at an advantage as the fairway widens after the lake. The second shot is then on to a long narrow green so accurate iron play will be the key. You don’t want to be hitting that shot from the rough.
This weeks field is a cracking line up with all Top 10 ranked players from the FedEx Cup standing, PGA Tour money list and World Golf Rankings lining up to try and tame the Blue Monster. Add to that list; 9 winners from the PGA Tour this season, the 4 past winners of this event and 16 Major winners and we have ourselves a feast of talent to watch!
As there is a limited size field this week there will be no cut off mark after 36 holes so you will get to follow your favourite golfer for all 4 rounds. The field also consists of players from 16 different countries such as Denmark, Italy, Korea, Sweden, Australia and Spain.
Finding the winner this week will be like finding the needle in the haystack as the talent on show this week is huge; even with the smaller field. However there are a few key stats to look at which should help narrow down the numbers.
Doral demands ball control. You don’t want to be off the fairway this week. The bunkers and water hazards have a habit of biting hard. Look for good ball strikers who have patience and can plot their way around the course. Past winners of this event have also rated highly in Par 5 performance as well as Greens in regulation.
Another factor that could come in to play is the wind. If it comes, it makes Doral one huge challenge. So keep that in mind too. Lastly, players who are Bermuda grass positive and Florida positive have always played well here.
Taking all that into consideration I have come up with the two players to back this week. I am expecting the cream to rise to the top this week and the two guys below are sure to be in the firing line as they come down the home stretch on Sunday afternoon.
TIGER WOODS
I have not selected Tiger this year to date as I have been waiting for him to show some signs that his game is back on course. Now is that time! I hope you all saw his excellent bogey free 4th round 62 in the Honda Classic last week. He had the ball on a string and looked much like the Tiger of old. Tiger loves this event. He is a 6 time winner of it which included a 3-peat from 2005-2007. From his 8 starts here he has never finished outside the Top 10! He also won the Doral Open here in both 2005 and 2006. His current form also reads well for a T15th AT&T Pebble beach Pro-Am, T17th Accenture Match Play and the 2nd last week in the Honda Classic. This season his stats are looking very good with 5th in Driving Accuracy, 13th in GIR, 14th for Driving Distance and 4th for Ball Striking. All this points to Tiger getting his first win for the season. And what better place to do it at than TPC Blue Monster where he has a lot of fond memories!
Odds: $7.00 Sportsbet
LEE WESTWOOD
Apart from Rory McIlroy, I don’t think there is a player on the tour in better form this year than Lee Westwood. The guy is in a real purple patch at the moment. He started off the year with a 17th Abu Dhabi Championship, 12th Qatar Masters and then had a 2nd Dubai Desert Classic. From there he made his first start on the PGA Tour for the season and recorded a 4th place at the WGC Accenture Match Play. Then last week he was 4th in the Honda Classic where he closed with a bogey free 63. He was ranked 2nd in greens hit last week which bodes well for this event. Lee has stated that 2012 is all about the Majors and WGC events so I expect some real fireworks from him this weekend. His stats also stack up very well with 6th in Driving Accuracy, 3rd in GIR’s, 5th in Ball Striking, 2nd in Scrambling and 1st in sand saves. While he hasn’t had any success here in the past his results have improved each year with T61st in 2009, T30th in 2010 and T18th last year. This year however he is playing with great confidence so expect to see him up there challenging on Sunday.
Odds: $15.00 Sportsbet
Last Week
Well done to Rory McIlroy who won the Honda Classic by two shots from a fast finishing Tiger Woods. With the win, Rory also claimed the No.1 World Golf Ranking. He was under par for all 4 pars and has been in excellent form this season. Expect to see more victories from Rory in 2012! Tom Gillis, Lee Westwood, Charl Shwartzel and Justin Rose rounded out the Top 5.
Next Week
We stay in Florida next week for the Transitions Championship where Gary Woodland is the Defending Champion.