Tournament Odds for the 2015 WGC Cadillac Match Play
The WGC-Cadillac Match Play moves to a new venue for this year's competition: the rerouted-for-maximum-drama TPC Harding Park outside San Francisco.
The tournament also features a new format. As PGATour.com's Rob Bolton writes, the "usual field of 64, but they are segregated into 16 groups of four. Each golfer gets three matches, one each against the others in his group. Overall records will determine who advances to the round of 16, which begins the traditional knockout phase on the weekend."
Thus, better players are somewhat safeguarded from the randomness of match play—somewhat.
Here's a look at the best bets.
Best of the Rest
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Here are odds for the players just outside of the top five at major sportsbooks.
Ian Poulter: 33-1. Winner of the event in 2010, Poulter lives for match play.
Sergio Garcia: 33-1. Not having his best year, but Garcia has seen plenty of matches in his time.
Matt Kuchar: 28-1. Won the Match Play in 2013. Finished fifth at Harbour Town his last time out.
Jim Furyk: 28-1. Enters the tournament after a week off following his win at Harbour Town. Still the definition of a grinder.
Bubba Watson: 25-1. Disappointed at the Masters but otherwise on form this season. Tied for ninth in last year's tournament.
Patrick Reed: 25-1. Assuredly likes his own chances this week. After the Ryder Cup, it's tough to bet against him.
Dustin Johnson
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Odds: 22-1
Past WGC-Cadillac Match Play finishes: 2014: T33; 2013: T33; 2012: T9; 2011: T33; 2010: T33; 2009: T33
Recent play: Dustin Johnson tied for 43rd at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans his last time out. Prior to that, he'd racked up top-10 finishes at the Masters and Valero Texas Open. He won the most recent WGC event: the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March.
Analysis: Fresh off an unimpressive showing in New Orleans, DJ has a penchant for exiting the match play in the first round. It's tough to see the world's No. 8 golfer doing much this week.
Justin Rose
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Odds: 20-1
Past WGC-Cadillac Match Play finishes: 2014: T17; 2013: T17; 2012: T33; 2011: T17; 2009: T33
Recent play: Justin Rose won last week in New Orleans thanks to a tidy Sunday 66. The victory followed a strong showing (T2) at Augusta.
Analysis: After a lackluster start to the season, Rose has found his form. He has not, however, impressed in past showings in this event. Still, he's the hot man this week.
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Henrik Stenson
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Odds: 18-1
Past WGC-Cadillac Match Play finishes: 2014: T17; 2011: T33; 2010: T33; 2009: T33; 2007: Won
Recent play: After four consecutive top-five finishes, Henrik Stenson tied for 19th at the Masters.
Analysis: While he won the PGA Tour's annual foray into match play, he hasn't been terribly impressive since. Returning from a couple of weeks off, Stenson's steadiness makes him hard to pass over in this format.
Jason Day
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Odds: 14-1
Past WGC-Cadillac Match Play finishes: 2014: Won; 2013: 3; 2012: T17; 2011: T9
Recent play: Came up short in New Orleans (T4). Prior to that, a Sunday 75 at Augusta led to a tie for 28th.
Analysis: While he won the tournament last year, the fact gives him no particular advantage as the event was held at a different course. He'll likely look to clamp down at Harding Park after last week's near miss. He has a good record in match play, for what that's worth.
Rory McIlroy
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Odds: 10-1
Past WGC-Cadillac Match Play finishes: 2014: T17; 2013: T33; 2012: 2; 2011: T17; 2010: T17
Recent play: Hasn't put a peg in the ground since finishing fourth at the Masters. Three top 15s and one missed cut in his other PGA Tour starts.
Analysis: Though not a brilliant match play golfer, McIlroy should at least have his game in shape after two weeks off. However, his plan to attend the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight Saturday night doesn't exactly indicate that he puts a high premium on winning this event.
Jordan Spieth
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Odds: 9-1
Past WGC-Cadillac Match Play finishes: 2014: T5
Recent play: Won the Masters and then managed put together a tie for 11th at the RBC Heritage while running on fumes. His play was scorching, prior to that, with two second-place finishes and a win (Valspar Championship) prior to Augusta.
Analysis: With the vagaries of match play (even offset by the the round-robin grouping in this match play tournament) anyone can beat anyone. Even so, Spieth is built for the pressure of match play and may possess the Nickalus-Woods gene (more testing needed), which allows him to rise to the occasion at will.
Odds via a consensus of top sports books accessed at OddsChecker.com.
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