Golf Events / Editor / 20 March 2007 /

Tiger Woods has made the World Golf Championships pretty much his own property since their inception, and anyone wishing to beat him in Florida this week will first have to overcome a combination of factors the world number one appears to have on his side.

Woods has been close to unstoppable since the WGC events were first introduced in 1999 - winning 12 out of the 23 tournaments held all over the world so far.

The Doral Golf Resort and Spa will play host to the WGC-CA Championships (formerly sponsored by American Express) this week, and Woods will tee off knowing that all the evidence points towards a fifth win in six years at the event for him.

With his past history in the tournament, it's not surprising that, despite the world class field, he will start as the overwhelming favourite to win at odds of 3.6 to win in the early market.

After his win last week, Vijay Singh is next best and can be backed at 15.5 to triumph ahead of Phil Mickelson (18), Ernie Els (22), Jim Furyk (23), Retief Goosen (29) and Adam Scott (30).

Woods turned last year's event into a procession as he strolled to an emphatic eight-shot win at The Grove, in England, and, if he was choosing a course to defend his title, Doral's Blue Course would have been pretty close to the top of his list.

The American, who is available at 1.66 to place in the top five this week, has won the last two tournaments staged at Doral and is a collective 44-under-par for the eight rounds played - with an astonishing 66.5 scoring average per round.

Woods has not finished out of the top ten on the four occasions he has played at the Florida venue and he will be desperate to produce a good performance this week, after his indifferent display at the Arnold Palmer Invitational tournament last weekend.

Bearing in mind his performance at The Grove last September, backers might be tempted to take advantage of the odds of 6 available for this week's winner triumphing by four or more shots.

But Woods' display last week, where he was joint-leader after the first round but then tamely fell away to finish well down the field, will have given everyone hope that he is far from his best at the moment and can be beaten.

Singh has been a different player altogether this year to the one that consistently failed to fire on all cylinders in 2006, and his game is coming together nicely ahead of the US Masters in two weeks' time.

His final round 67 at the Arnold Palmer event, at a time when his major rivals were all struggling, was proof of his improvement and he could be a good bet to follow up this week. He is 3.85 to place in the top five while he is around half a point shorter to finish as the best Rest of the World player.

Mickelson, Els and Goosen all finished outside the top ten last weekend and will be keen for good displays with the first Grand Slam event of the season so close.

Els, the only man to have beaten Woods at this tournament in the last five years, has spent the last few weeks adjusting to his new Callaway clubs and ball, but looks on the upward curve and may be worth following.

After turning to a coach for advice for the first time in nine years, Goosen's game has also been a lot sharper in 2007 and he could also go well. He is trading at an attractive 6.2 to place in the first five and 5 to finish as the top Rest of the World player.

Furyk and Scott's seasons have yet to really get going after taking time out in the first few months to recharge their batteries, but both are capable of shooting low around a course renowned for a low, final winning score - especially the former if he finds his touch on the greens that has been missing so far in 2007.

Scott is favourite to finish the week as top Australian at 3.4 ahead of US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy (4.2), but Robert Allenby could be worth backing at good-looking odds of 5.6.

Allenby has notched up five top ten finishes already this season on the PGA Tour and has already been backed in to 55 to win and 10 to place in the top five this week.

A lot of focus will be on WGC Accenture Match Play champion Henrik Stenson after his victory last month and the Swede may again do well, where he is trading at 34 to win and 7 to place in the first five.

Paul Casey (50 to win) and Luke Donald (46 to win) both performed well last week and will have their followers, but the European player who looks to be in the best form of all is Spaniard Sergio Garcia.

Garcia tied for fifth place last week but his game looks to be coming together well and that will be key this week, where taller rough around the fairways and greens means that the players will be tested to the full extent.

Of the home players, David Toms (34) and FedExCup leader Charles Howell III (50) are leading fancies while Chad Campbell looks to be a long price at 100 to win.

But it would also be no surprise to see Trevor Immelman (48 to win) and Stephen Ames (75 to win) challenging for honours on the final day after encouraging displays last weekend, when they both finished ninth behind Singh.

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