MARANA, Ariz. -- Thursday produced another great day at the Match Play, yes the golf course isn't much to talk about and the best players in the world are tearing it apart, but it's proved to be a fun venue for the players and the sold-out fans. The weather has been great, unfortunely some showers and predicted for Friday and colder temperatures over the weekend.
As for my picks on the (second day )I did very well picking 12 of the 16 winners. After the first day, my record was 21 wins and 11 losses, not bad in this format. (1st day predictions) so the for first 48 matches I was 33 wins and 15 loses.
Thursday brought some upsets with the biggest one being Phil Mickelson losing to Justin Rose 3 & 1. Again Phil looked out of sort and tired, he was so mixed up that even Butch Harmon, was his eyes in place of his regular teacher Rick Smith who wasn't on site. The other big upset was Jim Furyk losing to Chad Campbell on the 19th hole. Again, this was the perfect case of Furyk just not holding on as he was 2 up after 14, lost 15 and then the 18th hole when Campbell made a great 17 footer for birdie. In the playoff Furyk missed a 7 footer for birdie and lost when Campbell made a 5 footer. In his great charge Campbell birdies four of the last five holes in the match. So with the loss it means 3 of the 4 top seeds are gone, Tiger is the only one left.
In some other big upset's on Thursday, Vijay Singh, who missed two putts inside seven feet on his final four holes and lost to Stephen Ames on the 19th hole. Retief Goosen had a three up lead on Niclas Fasth after the tenth hole but played the last eight holes in one over par as Fasth one the match one up.
Some other losers on Thursday saw Chris DiMarco losing to Trevor Immelman 3 & 1, Luke Donald losing to Aaron Baddeley 1 down, Padraig Harrington losing to Stewart Cink 1 down, Sergio Garcia losing to Charles Howell III 4 & 3 and Colin Montgomerie falling victim to Paul Casey again in a 4 & 3 loss.
The only top seed in the match is Tiger Woods who is looking invincible as he rolled over Tim Clark 5 & 4. He gets a rematch of sort with Nick O'Hern, who beat Woods in the second match in 2005. O'Hern beat Rory Sabbatini 2 & 1.
One thing that could be a factor, rain is suppose to hit the area on Friday. Here is a look at Friday's third round matches:
The 8 matches
11:12 a.m. - Charles Howell III (45) vs. Justin Rose (36)Howell has looked great in his two matches beating both Stuart Appleby and Sergio Garcia 4 & 3. Over the course of the 30 holes played he has made only one bogey. The key for this stat is the fact of the 9 greens he has missed, Howell has gotten it up and down 8 times. Howell has had 14 one putts and is one of ten players without a three putt.
As for his opponent Justin Rose, he had a easy 6 & 5 match over Michael Campbell and a easy 3 & 1 win over Phil Mickelson, who looked tired and wasn't at his best on Friday. For Rose 30 holes played he is eight under par and just like with Howell has missed 9 of 30 greens. His putting average on greens hit is 1.571, best of the 16 players in the third round.
My Pick: Howell, his game is sharp he doesn't look tired and he looks ready to win again. On top of that he is putting and scrambling too well to get beat by Rose.
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11:24 a.m. - Ian Poulter (28) vs.Trevor Immelman (12)
Poulter has had two easy opponents beating Bart Bryant 5 & 4 and Bradley Dredge 3 & 1. As for his 31 holes he has made nine birdies and even though he doesn't have any bogeys on the card, he has picked up twice. Stat wise he isn't that sharp hiting 23 of 31 greens (74.2%) and 17 of 24 fairways (70.8%). His putting average of greens hit is 1.652 the fifth best of the 16 players and of the eight greens he missed he got it up and down 8 times.
As for his opponent Trevor Immelman, he had a easy match beating Thomas Bjorn 6 & 5 and then beat Chris DiMarco 3 & 1. In that match he was four under par. Immelman has been great in hitting greens, in the 31 holes played he has only missed five of them, second best of the 16 players left.
My Pick: Poulter, some will call this an upset but he is just putting and scrambling way too good, on this type of course the best putter will win most of the time.
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11:36 a.m. - Shaun Micheel (63) vs. Paul Casey (14)
Micheel has had to work very hard for his two wins, beat Adam Scott on the 21st hole and then Rod Pampling 1 up. In the Pampling match he should of lost being 3 down after the seventh hole but played great since then playing the last ten holes in four under par. Micheel has played the most holes of anyone in the field and one key is the fact that he has not made a single three putt in the 39 holes. Micheel has hit 28 of 39 greens and been able to get it up and down 9 of 11 times.
As for his opponent Paul Casey he beat Mike Weir 1 up and then Colin Montgomerie 4 & 3. Over the course of his 33 holes he has only made one bogey and has made ten birdies. Casey has hit 28 of 33 greens and with that has not had a single three putt.
My Pick: Casey, in a touch of deja vu. That is because Casey clobbered Micheel in the finals of the HSBC World Match Play Championship last September at Wentworth, on his way to that win he gave Colin Montgomerie a beating which he did in the 2nd round of this event. Casey is playing so well he could be the man to beat this week.
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11:48 a.m. - Niclas Fasth (38) vs. Geoff Ogilvy (11)
Fasth was a 1 up winner over both his opponents Joe Durant and Retief Goosen. Both matches were very well earned and played as Fasth hit 29 of 36 but has only hit 17 of 28 fairways. Over the course of his 36 holes he has made four bogeys and picked up once, but he has also made eight birdies and the most eagles of anyone, three.
As for his opponent Geoff Ogilvy, who is the defending champion he beat Steve Stricker 4 & 3 and Jose Maria Olazabal 2 & 1. In the 32 holes played he has hit 26 of 32 greens but more importantly has gotten it up and down on all those missed greens. This has led to a perfect 32 holes of golf with 14 birdies, second best in the field and 14 under golf. For the 32 holes he hasn't had a single three putt and is looking great in defending his crown. One other side note on Ogilvy, his first win came in Tucson in 2005, he wasn't able to defend that championship because he played in the Match Play the same week and won that so in a way he is not only the defending champion of this event, but the defending champion of the Chrysler Tucson Classic and is looking to win for the third year in a row the last week in Feburary.
My Pick: Ogilvy, I don't think this will be close.
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12:00 a.m. - Tiger Woods (1) vs. Nick O'Hern (16)
Woods could be looking for a little revenge because it was O'Hern who beat him in the second round in 2005 to end his run of 13 straight match play wins. In a way Woods hasn't even broken a sweat, he beat J.J. Henry 3 & 2 and then Tim Clark 5 & 4. Over the course of the 30 holes he has only lost three holes and has made 12 birdies and only one bogey. He has hit 18 of 23 fairways and 26 of 30 greens. That 86.7% hit greens is the second best in the field. Woods has had no three putts and 12 one putts so all parts of his game is in high gear.
As for his opponent Nick O'Hern, he beat Lucas Glover 4 & 3 and Rory Sabbatini 2 & 1. In both matches he played OK shooting three under against Glover and one under against Sabbatini. He has hit 26 greens but his production of birdies have been low only five in the 32 holes.
My Pick: Woods, again this shouldn't be close, if Woods does the same that he did in his first two matches look for a 4 & 3 win and O'Hern will be happy to go home with $130,000 won.
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12:12 a.m. - Aaron Baddeley (40) vs. Henrik Stenson (9)
Baddeley has gone 18 holes in both matches beating Shingo Katayama and Luke Donald 1 up. Game wise Baddeley has hit 29 of 36 greens but again his putting has been great not making a single three-putt and having 11 one-putts. Again, he has made ten birdies but also three bogeys so he has to find a way not to make bogeys.
As for his opponent Henrik Stenson he beat also has gone to the 18th hole twice beating Zach Johnson 1 up and K.J. Choi 2 up. As for Stenson he has hit 33 of 36 greens, best of the 16 players still left and his 12 birdies is fourth best. Since the 5th hole on Thursday he has played 31 holes in 11 under par and hasn't dropped a shot.
My Pick: Baddeley, in a bit of a upset I feel that on this course the better putter will come through most of the time.
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12:24 p.m. - Chad Campbell (34) vs. David Toms (18)
Campbell beat Angel Cabrera 1 up and then upset Jim Furyk on the 19th hole. Again he is one of the best match players in the game and it showed against Furyk. Despite being 2 down after 14 holes to the 2nd best player in the world right now, Campbell birdied four of the next five holes to win his match. One of the keys to Campbell's good play is his firepower, he has made 15 birdies, more than anyone else. He has hit 30 of 37 greens and has one-putted 17 of those, the most of anyone in the field.
As for his opponent David Toms, he has had two easy matches, beating the injured Arron Oberholser 5 & 4 and then Ben Crane 3 & 2. In those matches he has hit 20 of 23 fairways, best of the 16 players in the field and hit 23 of 30 greens.
My Pick: Campbell, yes both are great at match play with Toms having the second most wins with 22 but Campbell could be the sleeper of this event and his firepower with birdies and good putting will be tough to beat.
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10:54 a.m. - Stephen Ames (39) vs. Stewart Cink (23)
Ames has beaten Robert Karlsson 8 and 7 and Vijay Singh on the 19th hole. He has hit 22 of 30 greens and made ten birdies. Putting Ames had 1.591 putts in the 30 greens, second best of the players in the field.
As for his opponent Stewart Cink, he beat Jeev M. Singh 3 & 2 and Padraig Harrington 1 up. Both players didn't play well as Cink hit 26 of 34 greens and in 34 holes didn't have a three-putt and had 1.808 putts per green hit.
My Pick: Ames, he knows what it takes to win a big tournament, he is putting well and just seems ready to prove something to the world of golf.
