This week sees the second WGC event for the year which is being held at the newly renovated and revamped TPC Blue Monster in Doral, Florida. This weeks addition is a stroke play event unlike the match play event recently won by Jason Day (who we tipped @20/1) at Dove Mountain in Arizona.
$250 WGC CADILLAC CHAMPIONSHIP FREE BET
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 7481 yards this year. The tees, fairways, greens and rough are all Bermuda grass. The players are in for a real test this week as the course has undergone a $200 million upgrade which sees more water coming into play, more challenging greens with many bunkers being moved and added. It will be a tougher assignment with players needing to think their way around the course and plot their chosen route.
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 challenging course and requires 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 fairway narrows to 25 yards at the end of the lake and if you are not 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. The Top 5 in betting are 15/2 Rory McIlroy, 12/1 Adam Scott, 14/1 Tiger Woods, 16/1 Dustin Johnson and 18/1 Jason Day.
Joining them are a host of international starts such as 20/1 Sergio Garcia, 35/1 Graeme McDowell, 35/1 Justin Rose, 35/1 Charl Schwartzel and 40/1 Henrik Stenson. 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.
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 two players to back this week who are sure to be in the firing line as they come down the home stretch on Sunday afternoon.
Jim Furyk $61 at Sportsbet.com.au
Great odds for a player ranked number 20 in the World! Especially when you notice his upwards trending form.
Jim started 2014 with a T35th at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am, then followed it up with a T23rd in the Northern Trust Open. His latest start was a T5th at the WGC Accenture Match Play. In the Match Play Furyk beat Chris Kirk 2-1, Charl Schwartzel 3-2, Harris English 1-up before going down to Rickie Fowler in a close match 1-down.
Furyk had a great 2013 season as well where he made 21 cuts from 24 starts and producing 7 Top 10’s. The highlights being 2nd PGA Championship, 3rd BMW Championship and T3rd Valero Texas Open.
When it came to the WGC events last year he was T9th WGC Bridgestone Invitational, T17th WGC Accenture Match Play and T35th WGC Cadillac Championship.
Stats wise his game is perfect for this course. 70% Driving Accuracy, 68% Greens in Regulation and 63% Scrambling. If he had played enough tournaments he would of been ranked 12th in accuracy, 37th in scoring and 28th in scrambling.
Jim thinks his way around a golf course and has great patience which will be a huge benefit here. Expect to see him up there challenging over the weekend. He is to good not to be backed at 60/1.
Matteo Manassero $101 at Sportsbet.com.au
This young gun from Italy is a real class act. At 20 years of age he already has four European Tour victories to his name.
Matteo turned Pro in 2010 and won his first tournament that year when he won the Castello Masters by 4 strokes. In 2011 he won the Malaysian Open, then the Singapore Open in 2012 (beating Louis Oosthuizen in play off). Last year was his biggest win to date when he won the BMW PGA Championship beating Simon Khan and Marc Warren in a four hole play off.
The World No.48 had 25 starts on the European Tour last year and produced 13 Top 25 finishes and only missed 4 cuts. This season he started out on the European Tour with his three starts being T10th Volvo Golf Championship, T31st Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and a missed cut at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
Manassero then moved over to the PGA Tour where he was T17th at the WGC Accenture Match Play where he Luke Donald 5-4 before going down to Jason Dufner 2-1. His most recent result was T12th at The Honda Classic. It is also interesting to note that he played the same two events last year finishing 33rd and 29th before going on to finish 23rd in the WGC Cadillac Championship. This year he was 17th and 12th. And he is 100/1!
When it comes to putting and driving accuracy, Matteo always ranks highly on the European Tour stats so this course should suit his game well. His PGA Stats have him at 66% Driving Accuracy which would have him ranked 32nd if he had played enough events. He is hitting 68% Greens in Regulation and 88% Sand Saves which are perfect for TPC Blue Monster, especially considering there are over 100 bunkers.
Last Week
We were desperately unlucky with Will Mackenzie heading into the 72nd hole in a tie for 5th. Unfortunately he went for broke on the Par 5 and only managed a Par which saw him drop to 6th place. Ouch!