After an absence of 254 days, Tiger Woods resumes his golfing career at this week's Accenture Match Play, which is a little surprising when you consider that, to win, he'll have to win six matches in five days - the quarter-finals and semi-finals are played on Saturday before a 36-hole final on Sunday - which could translate to as many as 124 holes of golf. Punters should expect a frustrating mixture of the expected and the unexpected along the way.
The Course: The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, AZ (par-72, 7,833 yards)
I don't know much about the course but the designer, Jack Nicklaus, has this to say: "It's absolutely gorgeous high desert, with a great forest of Saguaro, an abundance of cactus and beautiful vistas." One thing I do know is that, at 7,833 yards, it's the longest in PGA Tour history, although you can knock off around 4% of that due to the altitude, which helps the ball go further. A doddle then!
Ross’ Top Tip: Geoff Ogilvy @ 25/1 Skybet
Tiger Woods is back to defend the title he won by a street last time (beat Stewart Cink 8&7 in the final) and after his super-human effort in winning the US Open last year with a fractured tibia, only a fool would rule out victory.
However, in this anyone-can-beat-anyone format, I'd rather have a stab at some bigger-priced players and the Aussie has plenty going for him, not least his record in this event - lost just two of his 12 matches and won the title in 2006. He's also been playing some nice golf since winning the season-opening Mercedes-Benz Championship so, although he's drawn to meet Tiger in the quarter final, we should get a good run for our money.
Rather than my usual 'next best' and 'outsider' picks, I'm going to tip up one player from each of the Tiger-free quarters and hope to get at least one of them through to the semis thus ensuring a profit. Well, that's the theory.
Second Quarter Pick: Zach Johnson @ 70/1 Stan James
The 2007 Masters champ has also been showing some fine form this season (won the Sony Open after finishing sixth in the Mercedes-Benz), and was third in this event in 2006, albeit on a different track.
Third Quarter Pick: Ian Poulter @ 66/1 bet365
Poults finished a respectable 21st last week, his first run back since corrective eye surgery, and has previous in this event having finished fourth in 2005, reached the quarters in 2004, and the last 16 in 2007. His Ryder Cup record isn't bad either.
Fourth Quarter Pick: Andres Romero @ 66/1 Sportingbet
The fearless young Argentine makes the occasional high number, but he more than makes up for that with plenty of birdies, so should do well in this format, and there was nothing wrong with his game last week at Riviera where he finished third.
Tournament Lay:
I'm still smarting after laying Phil Mickelson for a place last week - sorry if you followed my advice. This week, I wouldn't dream of laying anyone as just about any player can win. That said, Mickelson could be vulnerable to Angel Cabrera (13/8 Coral) in the first round, while neither Vijay Singh and Ernie Els (terrible record in this event) have gimmes against Soren Kjeldsen (13/8 bet365) and Soren Hansen (13/8 Paddy Power) respectively.
Recommended Bets:
Geoff Ogilvy 2pts each way @ 25/1 Skybet
Zach Johnson 1pt each way @ 70/1 Stan James
Ian Poulter 1pt each way @ 66/1 bet365
Andres Romero 1pt each way @ 66/1Sportingbet
(all 1/4 odds, 1.2.3.4)