WGC-Match Play Championship betting tips
WGC Match Play Championship betting tips: Top selections
There was a growing inevitability about Rory McIlroy’s success at The Players, given his run of high-placed finishes. I’m getting a similar feeling about Jon Rahm (20/1).
The Spaniard blew his challenge at Sawgrass with a very ill advised shot from a bunker at the 11th on Sunday, much to his caddie’s chagrin.
But he replied by finishing just outside the top 5 at the Valspar last week and crafted an impressive final round 68 in difficult conditions.
His run of form this year reads T22-1-T8-6-T5-T10-T9-T45-T12-T6. It was at the Match Play two years that he really launched himself onto the world stage – getting to the final before eventually falling to Dustin Johnson.
If he keeps knocking at the door, he’s bound to pick up another win to add to his Hero World Challenge success this season.
The market leaders, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson (both 10/1), both clearly have pedigree in this event. They’re in good form and obvious selections.
But, if he can get through the week unscathed, then Jason Day (28/1) appeals.
The Australian may have struggled last year, and withdrawn the year before, but he won the Match Play the first year it arrived in Austin.
A victor in 2014 and third the year before, Day’s pedigree is just as good as DJ’s or Rory’s and he’s more than double the price.
He missed the cut at the Valspar but was good for a lot of the week at The Players and has two other top 5s to his credit this season.
If his back holds up, and he gets a decent bracket to start, he could stick around until Sunday.
Others to note are defending champion Bubba Watson (30/1), whose top five at the Valspar was his first in nearly a couple of months. Xander Schauffele (40/1) is also a more fearsome competitor than those odds suggest.
Visit bet365 for all the latest prices from the WGC-Match Play Championship odds.
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Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
