Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Picking the winners at Match Play

Here are my final four picks for the Accenture Match Play.

Bobby Jones bracket: Steve Stricker
Stricker is coming off a win two weeks ago at Riviera and is now the #2 ranked player in the world. Match play typically comes down to who can make the most putts and Stricker is one of the best putters on Tour. He is truly in the prime of his career right now and playing with a lot of confidence. When he gets hot with the putter, look out. He does have a brutal bracket however including Ryo Ishikawa, Ross Fisher, Anthony Kim, Paddy Harrington, and Angel Cabrera.

Ben Hogan bracket: Rory McIlroy
McIlroy is only 2o years old and has recently been having back problems, but he has moved to the #8 spot in the world. He's been playing very well of late with numerous top ten finishes and he is prime for a big tournament. He will have to beat out Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald, and the Mechanic, among others, to reach the final four.

Gary Player bracket: Geoff Ogilvy
Ogilvy won the season opener at the SBS Championship and has won this tournament twice previously, including last year. He also reached the in 2007 before eventually losing to Henrick Stenson. He obviously has a knack for match play and typically plays his best at the beginning of the year.

Sam Snead bracket: Sean O'Hair
O'Hair is one of the top young players in the game with three career wins. He learned a lot about match play and gained experience from being apart of the Presidents Cup team in 2009. He also reached the elite eight in this event last year.

Semi-finals: McIlroy over Stricker, Ogilvy over O'Hair

Finals: McIlroy over Ogilvy

Rory McIlroy - AP Photo / Noush Salimi