IT'S all about matchplay this week in golf and Louis Ross (@KingLouis2105) has got the best bets for us.
WGC Cadillac Matchplay | 29th April – 3rd May | Sky Sports
Last week. Entertaining, but a bit like watching football with 20ft high goals. The winning score was always going to be 20 Under plus. Sean O'Hair would have notched a nice 45/1 place with a birdie on the last. He went for eagle to share the lead instead and double bogey followed. We go again. Did I really just say that.
The PGA Tour arrives in San Francisco for a completely different event to the normal format. You may have seen Matchplay in the Ryder Cup. Here's where I get a bit condescending. This is more like the World Cup. The worlds Top 64 players split into 16 groups of four. They play Round Robin from Wednesday to Friday, Round of 16 & Quarter Finals Saturday with Semis and a Final on Sunday. You probably knew that.
It means a slightly different approach as a betting event. I usually try and choose players who will at the very least, give us four days interest and have a chance come Sunday.
With this format, I have to admit my picks could be gone on Day 1. However, I'm sure we can do better than that (I'm up against 7 out of 8 Serie A winners!) and the tournament does present some more interesting betting opportunities. Group betting is always attractive. I have a few suggestions below, but please tweet me if you would like my group trebles.
The group market looks good to me as they are seeded and there are some stand out favourites as you would expect in World Cup groups. Jordan Speith is seeded to meet Rory in the final. Jordan looks to have a very easy group but an equally short price.
I like the look of Group 16 and the second favourite, Kevin Na at 3/1 with Betfair. Hideki Matsuyama is the favourite in that group but is not someone who shoots very low scores. Kevin Na on the other hand always looks like he has a 59 in him. Great price. Shocked it's not the other way round.
Jason Day looks a very solid 6/4 chance in Group 7. He played well for nearly three rounds last week and maybe only a couple of bad bounces kept him out of a playoff. Justin Rose had those bounces go his way en route to a win, that he fully deserved. He's in such great form that 11/8 in a group of Ryan Palmer, Marc Leishman and a chap called Anirban Laihri (nope, me neither) seems a little bit long.
I'm going with two names for the outright win. All firms are 1/4 the odds first four and I think I have two very decent each way shouts. I like Paul Casey. Everyone likes Paul Casey surely. After three injury ravaged years, he has come back in a big way. Very consistent in the last 12 months culminating in a Top 10 finish at The Masters. He has a great record in this format. Ryder Cup points and even a World Matchplay title to his name. 40/1 with Betfred will do.
Henrik Stenson was a name I juggled with at Augusta and I backed him a few months ahead as well. Unfortunately he picked up a real bout of flu in the week before and was not in the best of health. He still performed admirably and made the cut easily. Stenson in form is a top five in the world player. I think he's in very good form right now.
He will appreciate the course. That has been completely revamped and as this is the first time this event has been played here, there is no form to compare. However, wide fairways and slow greens will suit the big Swede. 18/1 everywhere.
Best Bets
WGC Cadillac Matchplay Championship – Henrik Stenson to win (19/1 Betfair)
WGC Cadillac Matchplay Championship – Paul Casey each way (40/1 Betfred)
WGC Cadillac Matchplay Championships – Kevin Na to win Group 16 (3/1 Betfred)
WGC Cadillac Matchplay Championship – Justin Rose to win Group 6 (11/8 Betfred)
WGC Cadillac Matchplay Championship – Jason Day to win Group 7 (6/4 Betfred)
