PGA Tour Odds: No Tiger or Lefty at Match Play Championship

Aussie Geoff Ogilvy has the best winning percentage in the history of the Match Play Championship and is the defending champion. (AP Images)

In theory, the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, which begins Wednesday outside of Tucson, Ariz., is supposed to be the best pre-Masters event of the PGA Tour’s early season as it aims to bring the world’s top 64 players in the unique match-play, bracket-style competition.

Ah, but this year there’s certainly a buzz missing as both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are not playing. Last year, Woods returned to competitive golf at this event after missing the last half of 2008 following knee surgery. There were rumors that Tiger would debut here again this year, but he remains out of the public eye as he tries to save his marriage amidst all the off-the-course frenzy surrounding Tiger’s life.

Mickelson is skipping this event to take a family vacation that had been postponed due to his wife’s cancer treatment. The Mickelsons’ three children are on holiday from school this week, so Lefty wanted to spend the week with his family.

So who does that leave as the favorite at Dove Mountain? On Bodog’s golf odds, the trio of Steve Stricker (who is up to No. 2 in the world and the No. 1 overall seed this week), Geoff Ogilvy and Rory McIlroy have opened as the co-favorites.

Ogilvy is the defending champion here and is 17-2 all-time in matches at this event -- he also won it in 2006 and lost in the finals in 2007. Stricker won the Match Play in 2001, while McIlroy has finished in the Top 10 in each of his first two starts on the European Tour this year. This was McIlroy’s first U.S. tournament as a pro last year, and he won his first three matches before losing to Ogilvy.

There have been six winners on the PGA Tour this year but two of them, Ryan Palmer and Bill Haas, didn't make the Top 64 (actually Top 66 since both Tiger and Mickelson aren’t playing) and aren’t in the field. There are 23 players under the age of 30 -- three more than the previous record in 2009. There are 18 countries represented, with 21 Americans. The field also features Italy's Edoardo and Francesco Molinari, the first brothers to contest a WGC event. The No. 1 seeds other than Stricker are Lee Westwood, Jim Furyk and Martin Kaymer. Click here for a link to the Match Play bracket.

Unlike most PGA Tour events, this starts on Wednesday, when the field is cut down to 32, with the winners then playing on Thursday. Last year and in 2008, 13 higher seeds lost in the first round. Friday the field is cut down to 16 players, with the quarterfinals played Saturday morning and the semifinals played on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday the finals will be played with a consolation match to determine 3rd and 4th place.

Get all your golf prop odds for the Match Play at Bodog