Henrik to rule world at 22-1

WITH Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott sitting out the first World Championship event of the golf season, you would think that finding the winner might be a little easier.

Not a bit of it. The Accenture Match Play Championship, held at Dove Mountain, Arizona, is notorious for producing shock results, which is no surprise given the sprint nature of its matches.

Contestants play each other in 18-hole shoot-outs and a poor start over the first five holes can prove terminal for even the world’s best players. Specialist match play golfers are the ones to focus on. Last year, Matt Kuchar beat Hunter Mahan in the final; the year before, Mahan saw off Rory McIlroy.

Luke Donald defeated Martin Kaymer in 2011, while Ryder Cup king Ian Poulter was the champion in 2010 when he saw off Paul Casey, who also reached the previous year’s final, only to lose out to Geoff Ogilvy.

Casey and Ogilvy are absentees this year as the world rankings shuffle, but the rest are here, along with the 2007 champion and my idea of the winner, Henrik Stenson.

Ranked number three in the world, he won the European Tour’s Race To Dubai and US Tour’s F ed-Ex Cup last year, so his big-tournament prowess is beyond dispute.

The Swede’s proven matchplay abilities are a further plus and he has already shown clear signs of a return to form in the early stages of this year.



MANCHESTER City are out to 20-1 to qualify for the quarter-finals and 100-1 to win the competition following last night’s 2-0 home reverse in the first leg of their last-16 tie against Barcelona.

Arsenal entertain reigning champions Bayern Munich tonight and are 4-1 to come away with a win.

The German side are 4-5, with the draw rated a 3-1 chance.

RECOMMENDATION: Henrik Stenson to win World Match Play, 22-1, (general).