21st Feb 2012 | WGC Match Play
WGC Match Play Tip: Nick Watney
Plays the course beautifully, as he proved when shooting -7 in round three last year. Unlucky to lose that day but helps make the price this time round.
Match play events can be difficult to bet on; players aren’t afforded the luxury of 72 holes to rectify mistakes, a couple of bad holes and your selection could be going home. With risk, however, comes reward.
Nick Watney was desperately unlucky to lose in the third round last year and at 45/1 (Sportingbet) I fancy he could go all the way this time. In his opening match, he played within himself to beat Anthony Kim 5&4. He then produced an excellent performance to beat number one seed Lee Westwood, shooting five-under for 18 holes. Amazingly, he shot seven-under in round three but somehow lost on the first extra hole to Ryan Moore.
Even to this day, he probably doesn’t know how he lost that match, but those are the vagaries of match play. He played some of the best golf of the tournament but didn’t even make the weekend. The good news however is we know he plays the course well.
An opening match against Darren Clarke should be straight forward setting up a second round meeting with Tiger Woods - perhaps not the daunting match it used to be; Phil Mickelson proved at Pebble Beach that the former world number one is still vulnerable.
At 45/1 (Sportingbet), Nick Watney is a good each way bet with ¼ odds paid for reaching the semi-finals.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 10:46 21st Feb, 2012 but subject to change
