World Golf Championships-CA Championship
TPC Blue Monster at Doral
Miami, Florida
11 March 2010 - 14 March 2010
The second outing of the WGC this year sees us in Florida and for the fourth year in a row 64 players will battle it out on the Doral Blue Monster course over four rounds with no cut. Although this course has only hosted the WGC for four years, until 2006 it did host the PGA sanctioned Ford Championship so it is important to look further back over course form when assessing the field.
Measuring in at just over 7200 yards, the Blue Monster isn't huge but certainly demands a certain amount of distance as proved by the last three winners who have been an average of 298 yards or over from the tee. As a result, Greens in Regulation will be vastly important this week and the top five finishers have consistently been ranked in the top 10 in this stat bar Mickleson last year who 'only' ranked 33rd but demonstrated a flawless exhibition of putting to win. Which brings me on to putting as a stat. Looking at past results, 2009 and 2008 saw the top 10 finishers all finish at least 10 under par and both years have yielded over 60 birdies amongst the top 3. With this in mind it would be advised to look at those players who rank highly in birdie average and putts per round and those who tend to perform well on bermudagrass and fast greens.
Although a relatively easy course, ranking 39/51 in difficulty on the tour, if the wind blows then Doral could prove a totally different task as evident in 2007 where we experienced scores higher than that of later years where the wind was less prominent. The weather forecast indicates that wind shouldnt be too much of a factor this week but it may be worth noting a player who performed admirably in 2007 just incase.
The following players interest me this week.....
Camilo Villegas - A five shot winner last week at the Honda Classic, Villegas looks like he is back to his best again, a claim supported by the fact that in three starts this year he has a win, a third and an eighth. On a course where putting is of the utmost importance, the young Colombian sits 2nd in Putting Average on the tour, 1st in Birdie Average and is top Par Breaker, both key stats as over the last two years this tournament has demanded 15 under par or better of the top five. Im also drawn to Villegas as he sits 1st in Scoring Average, again key to going low, and 2nd in Driving Distance which will be a distinct advantage on a course that measures over 7200 yards. In terms of course form, he finished T5th here last year and was 2nd in 2006 when the Ford Championship was played here. Finally, it may be worth noting that Villegas was a University of Florida student so not only will he be familiar with the area but is more than likely to know this course inside out. 1pt e/w @ 18/1 (numerous)
Zach Johnson - Although he didn't really manage to impress here last year with a T53rd I haven't been put off as in 2007 and 2008 he managed to finish a highly respectable T9th. If we look further back to when the Ford Championship was played here we also find that Johnson managed finishes of T15th (2006) and T3rd (2005), posting low cards in each. So he has course form to go with this year's form where he has started well with all four starts showing finishes in the top 25, his best being in Hawaii at the Sony on a course which will play similarly to the Doral. In terms of stats, 2009 double winner can boast being 5th in the all important GIR %, 9th in Putting Average, 4th in Birdie Average and 5th in Total Driving. Finally it is worth noting that Johnson is a Florida resident so should have local and course knowledge. 1pt e/w @ 40/1 (888Sport 1/3 odds)