2012 Accenture Match Play Championship: Five Under the Radar Europeans

So far in 2012, Americans have won every single PGA Tour event.

Las Vegas and Ladbrokes now have the Ryder Cup odds at close to even, which is a far cry from the advantage they were giving to the European side just a few months ago.

However, while American golf has been experiencing somewhat of a revival here in the states, Europeans still occupy the top four spots in the World Golf Rankings, and they are by no means the only Europeans that are playing great golf at the moment.

Here is a list of five under-the-radar Europeans that may just make some noise in this week's Accenture Match Play Championship.

Paul Lawrie

Although Paul Lawrie is a major champion with seven European Tour wins to his name, he is probably best known as the answer to a tough sports trivia question.

“Jean Van De Velde’s meltdown at the 1999 Open Championship has been well documented. Who was the player that went on to win the 1999 Open Championship?”

Well, the answer to that question is Paul Lawrie, of course.

Following Van De Velde's triple bogey on the 72nd hole at Carnoustie, Lawrie went on to defeat Van De Velde and Justin Leonard in a four-hole playoff.

In the years following his Open Championship victory, Lawrie would win the Dunhill Links Championship in 2001 and the Wales Open in 2002 before entering  a winless drought that didn’t end until just last March.

However, after being unable to find his way into the winners circle for eight-and-a-half years, the 43-year-old Scotsman now seems to have regained his major championship form.  

Lawrie has won twice since March of 2011 and in his last five events he has recorded four top-10s including a win at the Qatar Masters and a second-place finish at the Dubai World Championship.

Lawrie is currently ranked 45th in the world and is schedule to play Justin Rose during the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship.

Would anyone be surprised if the reborn Scotsman steamrolls over Rose this morning?

Thomas Bjorn

The Great Dane won the 2011 Qatar Masters, defeated Tiger Woods in the first round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and then went on to win twice more during the 2011 season.

Bjorn is currently ranked 27th in the world and has two top-10s in his last three events.  

Bjorn enters the Match Play Championship as a sixth seed in the Bobby Jones bracket and is scheduled to face off against fellow European Tour star Francesco Molinari tomorrow morning.

Bjorn will not only be looking for his 20th professional title this week in the Arizona Desert, but he will also be looking to pick up some valuable World Golf Ranking points. That would go a long way towards earning a spot on the 2012 European Ryder Cup team.

Bjorn, a native of Denmark, is known as "The Great Dane," but this guy is more of a bulldog when it comes to competitive golf. Don’t be surprised if Bjorn knocks off some big-name players this week at the Accenture Match Play Championship.

Louis Oosthuizen

Louis Oosthuizen has finished within the top 10 in his last seven consecutive events, including a successful defense of his African Open last month.

Oosthuizen is currently near the top of virtually every scoring category on the European Tour.

He ranks fourth in scoring average, 18th in greens in regulation, second in putts per GIR, 10th in putts per round and second in scrambling.

Essentially Oosthuizen is playing some fantastic golf at the moment, and we have all seen what Oosthuizen is capable of when he’s on top of his game…ahem, the 2010 Open Championship.   

Forget about a strong showing this week, if Oosthuizen gets hot, he may just wind up winning this thing.

Robert Rock

Robert Rock is best known as the most recent “Tiger Slayer” after he took down Tiger Woods at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship last month.

Although Rock made headlines around the world with his victory over Woods, he has been a solid European Tour player for years now and has been playing extremely well over the past few months.

Rock has finished 12th or better at four out of his last five starts, including his victory in Abu Dhabi.

Rock is also not afraid of the big stage. Aside from going head-to-head with Woods just last month, Rock tied for 23rd at his first ever U.S. Open appearance last June, despite only showing up at Congressional Country Club on Thursday morning due to a visa issue that delayed his trip over to the United States.

Rock also tied for eighth at last year’s Dubai World Championship, which is the European Tour’s version of the FedEx Cup.

Don’t be surprised if Rock upsets Adam Scott in the Bobby Jones bracket today and then also goes on to take down the winner of the Bo Van Pelt vs. Mark Wilson match tomorrow.

Nicolas Colsaerts

In each of the last seven years, a number one seed has been knocked out in the first round. Nicolas Colsaerts may just be the one to do it this year.

Colsaerts will take on Lee Westwood this morning in the Gary Player bracket. He couldn’t have possibly picked a better number one seed to be paired against.

In 11 World Match Play appearances, Westwood has never made it past the second round. Although Westwood has performed well at team events such as the Ryder Cup, he has never been able to get his game going at the Match Play Championship.

Colsaerts is also playing well coming into the event. He has notched three top-10s and two top-25s in his last five events on the European Tour.

Colsaerts currently ranks second on the European Tour in driving distance and 25th in greens in regulation, which is a lethal combination in a match-play format.

If any number one seed is going down today, my money is on Westwood, and that would mean that Colsaerts would be the guy to do it.

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