Betting Odds For the 2010 Accenture Match Play Championship

Geoff Ogilvy is the reigning king of the Accenture World Match Play Championship, having made the finals in three of the last four events, and with a 17-2 winning record. And not surprisingly, betters have set him as one of four favorites at 16/1. The others are Steve Stricker, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood. Interestingly, of these, only Stricker and Westwood are number one seeds. McIlroy is a two, and Ogivly a three seed.

Glancing at Ogivly’s possible opponents, however, there’s a strong possibility that he makes it to the finals again. In the bottom half of the Player division, his biggest threat likely is Dustin Johnson, an 11 seed and Henrik Stenson, who he could meet in the Sweet 16. If he passes into the elite eight, his challenge is stronger, with the possibility of facing either Lee Westwood, Ernie Els or Retief Goosen. Those are all experienced players, and I think experience counts for much in Match Play. Take a look at the Match Play Results over the last several years:

2009 – Geoff Ogilvy, runner up Paul Casey
2008 – Tiger Woods, runner up Stewart Cink
2007 – Henrik Stenson, Runner Up Geoff Ogilvy
2006 – Geoff Ovilvy, Runner Up Davis Love III
2005 – David Toms, Runner Up Chris DiMarco
2004 – Tiger Woods, Runner Up Davis Love III
2003 – Tiger Woods, Runner Up David Toms
2002 – Kevin Sutherland, runner Up Scott McCarron
2001 – Steve Stricker, Runner Up Pierre Fulke
2000 – Darren Clark, Runner Up Tiger Woods
1999 – Jeff Maggert, Runner Up Andrew Magee

Sutherland’s not a big name, but he had been on the Tour since 1995. McCarron was a ten year veteran at that point. Pierre Fulke is a bit of an unknown in the US, but had been a European professional since 1989. Again, Maggert and Magee are not big names, but they were experienced players.

Magee, interestingly, is the only player to hit a hole-in-one on a par 4 hole during a PGA Tour event. He did this with a driver at the 332-yard 17th in the 2001 Phoenix Open. The ball caromed off Tom Byrum’s putter on its way to the bottom of the cup. Byrum, in the group ahead, was squatting down looking over a putt.

But back to this year’s odds. Inexperience is the reason I don’t buy Rory McIlroy as a possible victor. He’s got some cagey veterans in his bracket, including Miguel Angel Jimenez, Robert Allenby and Luke Donald.

Stricker, the hottest golfer on the planet right now, is a believable possibility. He won the event in 2001 as a 55 seed, and now will get to plow through such players as Ross McGowan and either Roy Isikawa or Michael Sim on his way to the Sweet 16. There, the worst case might be Robert Karlsson or Rory Sabbatini. His Elite Eight opponent likely will be much stronger, however, for the bottom half of the Jones Division bracket is full of veterans and rising stars, including Angel Cabrera, Ian Poulter, Justin Leonard, Adam Scott, Anthony Kim and Matt Kuchar.

I wouldn’t bet against a Stricker – Ogilvy matchup in the finals. Now THAT would make people forget the absence of what’s-his-name

You can get a printable version of the 2010 Match Play Bracket here.

Leave a comment and let me know how you see it shaking out.

See all of the odds for the 2010 Accenture Match Play Championship after the break, courtesy of Bodog.

Geoff Ogilvy – 16/1
Steve Stricker – 16/1
Rory McIlroy – 16/1
Lee Westwood – 16/1
Paul Casey – 20/1
Martin Kaymer – 20/1
Ian Poulter 25/1
Padraig Harrington – 28/1
Henrik Stenson – 28/1
Ross Fisher – 28/1
Jim Furyk – 33/1
Stewart Cink – 33/1
Dustin Johnson – 33/1
Robert Allenby – 33/1
Ernie Els – 40/1
Anthony Kim – 40/1
Sean O’Hair – 40/1
Luke Donald – 40/1
Sergio Garcia – 40/1
Reteif Goosen – 40/1
robert Karlsson – 40/1
Alvaro Quiros – 40/1
Zach Johnson 40/1
Angel Cabrera – 40/1
Tim Clark – 50/1
Lucas Glover – 50/1
Matt Kuchar – 50/1
Hunter Mahan – 50/1
Charl Swartzel – 50/1
Camilo Villegas – 50/1
Nick Watney – 50/1
Chad Campbell – 50/1
Ryan Moore – 66/1
Brian Gay – 66/1
Graeme McDowell – 66/1
Kenny Perry – 66/1
Vijay Singh – 66/1
David Toms – 66/1
Mike Weir – 80/1
Oliver Wilson – 80/1
Miguel Angel Jimenez – 80/1
Stephen Ames – 100/1
Ben Crane – 100/1
Soren Hansen – 100/1
Peter Hanson – 100/1
Ryo Ishikawa – 100/1
Justin Leonard – 100/1
Edoardo Molinari – 100/1
Rory Sabbatini – 100/1
Adam Scott – 100/1
YE Yang – 100/1
Michael Sim – 100/1
Simon Dyson – 100/1
Anders Hansen – 125/1
Soren Kjeldsen – 125/1
Scott Verplank – 125/1
Chris Wood – 125/1
Jeev M Singh – 125/1
Thongchai Jaidee – 150/1
Alexander Noren – 150/1
Kevin Na – 150/1
The Field – 50/1