Accenture Match Play 2012: Players, Odds and Predictions

By (Featured Columnist) on February 20, 2012

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MARANA, AZ - FEBRUARY 27:  Luke Donald of England hits his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on February 27, 2011 in Marana, Arizona.  (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The 2012 Accenture Match Play begins this week, and the top players in the world are looking to pickup a tournament win before the majors start. 

Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer are the top four seeds in the World Golf Championships event. 

Last year, Donald beat Kaymer by three strokes to win it all, but this time around the two golfers are on the same side of the bracket. 

The most difficult bracket might just be the Sam Snead side, which features Westwood, Webb Simpson, Bill Haas, Nick Watney, Justin Rose and Tiger Woods. However, a case could be made for each bracket, so it's tough to say which side truly is the hardest. 

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With that said, let's take a look at some specifics of the 2012 Accenture Match Play. 

 

When: Feb. 22-26

Where: The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, Marana, AZ 

Watch: GOLF Channel, NBC on Saturday and Sunday (Times listed here). 

 

Players 

There are a total of 64 golfers competing in this tournament, and all are listed below. 

2012 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship Field

Luke Donald England
Lee Westwood England
Rory McIlroy N Ireland
Martin Kaymer Germany
Steve Stricker United States
Webb Simpson United States
Jason Day  Australia
Adam Scott

Australia

Charl Schwartzel South Africa
Dustin Johnson
United States
Graeme McDowell N Ireland
Matt Kuchar United States
Nick Watney United States
K.J. Choi Korea
Brandt Snedeker United States
Sergio Garcia Spain
Tiger Woods United States
Bubba Watson United States
Justin Rose
England
Hunter Mahan United States
Bill Haas

United States

Ian Poulter England
Thomas Bjorn

Denmark

Keegan Bradley United States
Simon Dyson England
Alvaro Quiros Spain 
David Toms United States
Louis Oosthuizen

South Africa

Kim Kyung-Tae Korea
Robert Karlsson Sweden
Bo Van Pelt United States
Jason Dufner United States
Peter Hanson Sweden
Anders Hansen Denmark
Rickie Fowler United States
Fredrik Jacobson Sweden
Martin Laird Scotland
Francesco Molinari Italy 
Mark Wilson United States
John Senden Australia
Bae Sang-moon Korea
Aaron Baddeley Australia
Paul Lawrie Scotland
Geoff Ogilvy Australia
Ben Crane United States
Zach Johnson United States
Gonzalo Fdez-Castano Spain 
Retief Goosen South Africa
Miguel A Jimenez Spain
Kyle Stanley United States
Ryo Ishikawa Japan
Darren Clarke             N Ireland
Y.E. Yang Korea
Gary Woodland United States
Jonathan Byrd United States
Robert Rock England 
Jim Furyk United States
Rafael Cabrera-Bello Spain
Matteo Manassero
Italy 
Kevin Na United States
Greg Chalmers Australia
Nicolas Colsaerts Belgium
Ernie Els South Africa
George Coetzee

South Africa

   
   

The entire bracket can be seen here.

 

Odds 

*According to ladbrokes.com 

Tiger Woods  10/1

Rory McIlroy  10/1

Lee Westwood  14/1

Luke Donald   14/1

Jason Day        20/1

Sergio Garcia   20/1

Martin Kaymer   20/1

Ian Poulter      25/1

Adam Scott      33/1

Webb Simpson  33/1

Dustin Johnson  33/1

Steve Stricker    33/1

Bill Haas          33/1

 

 

Golfers To Watch For 

Tiger Woods 

138817993_crop_650x440 Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

As the most popular golfer in the world, of course everyone will have an eye on Woods. Since the Masters aren't too far away, this is a crucial event for Tiger. 

He's been playing pretty well so far this season, but with this being match play, there is more pressure to win because it's a one on one event. 

Tiger's first-round opponent will be Gonzalo Fdez-Castano of Spain. 

 

Luke Donald 

139261350_crop_650x440 Harry How/Getty Images

Since he won it all last year, all eyes will be on Donald to see if he can repeat.

It's been a rough start for the Englishman, but a dominant showing here will help remind everyone why Donald is the No. 1 golfer in the world right now. 

Donald's first opponent is Ernie Els of South Africa. 

 

Bill Haas 

139364385_crop_650x440 Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

Fresh off winning the Northern Trust Open, Haas' confidence is sky high at the moment, and that will carry on into match play. 

The 29-year-old former Wake Forest Demon Deacon is playing very well, and because of his recent success, he'll keep performing at a high level. 

Haas' first opponent is the young Ryo Ishikawa of Japan. 

 

Best First Round Matchups 

There are only a few that really stick out, as the really good matchups will happen later on in the tournament. 

The best first-round matchups, though, include Golf Boys' stars Bubba Watson vs. Ben Crane, Donald vs. Els, Hunter Mahan vs. Zach Johnson, Graeme McDowell vs. Y.E. Yang and Sergio Garcia vs. fellow Spaniard Miguel A. Jimenez. 

 

Predictions 

Don't be surprised if Donald is upset in the first round by Els. I think he holds on but doesn't win it all again this year. 

For the final four, I like Adam Scott to represent the Bobby Jones bracket, McIlroy to represent the Gary Player bracket, Woods to represent the Sam Snead bracket and Steve Stricker to represent the Ben Hogan bracket. 

In the end, I have Scott winning it all over McIlroy. 

 

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