Betting: World Match Play

One of the quirks of the Cisco World Match Play is that four players get to miss out on the physical demands of playing 36-holes - sometimes less, sometimes more - on the opening day which, at least according to recent history, gives them a decided advantage in terms of annexing the title. So it is that the four top seeds, who can take a rest on Thursday, are also the four shortest-priced players in the field. Of the four, only Darren Clarke has yet to win the championship: Vijay Singh won in 1997, Colin Montgomerie in 1999, and Lee Westwood in 2000. Maybe this will be Clarke's year, but the odds of 4 to 1 - even in a 12-man field - are a tad tight and, despite the fact that he will be in action on Thursday, the odds of 9 to 1 on Retief Goosen, the US Open champion and number one in the European Tour moneylist, are a little more tempting while Padraig Harrington, a 14 to 1 chance, is also a decent enough bet. Goosen, though, gets the nod.