Don't succumb to Bracketology. This is the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, not the NCAA basketball tournament. Unlike the hoops tourney, seedings and rankings are pretty much meaningless in 18-hole golf matches between the best players in the world. You might as well line up the world's best marathoners for 50-yard sprints and try to pick winners. Good luck, man.
Only an idiot would try to predict the outcomes of the 32 opening matches. So here's how I see Wednesday shaping up. (If I bat .500 with these picks, I'll be impressed.)
All times Eastern
BOBBY JONES BRACKET
Tiger Woods vs. J.B. Holmes
Tee time: 2:02 p.m.
The best way to look stupid is to pick against Tiger anytime, anywhere. Holmes loves desert golf, though, based on his two wins in Phoenix, and this course in Tucson, the Gallery Golf Club at Dove Mountain, is suited to big-hitters. That should be to his liking. Ditto for Tiger, however.
Winner: Woods
Mike Weir vs. Arron Oberholser
Tee time: 2:11 p.m.
Oberholser's comeback from hand surgery was delayed at Pebble Beach when bursitis in his shoulder forced him to withdraw. Consider the rust factor.
Winner: Weir
Zach Johnson vs. David Toms
Tee time: 12:50 p.m.
Two evenly matched, steady players who aren't bombers. It's a tossup, so go with the reigning Masters champ.
Winner: Johnson
Aaron Baddeley vs. Mark Calcavecchia
Tee time: 12:59 p.m.
Baddeley is a rising star, and he'll have room to spray it on this course. Calc is an under-rated iron player, though, and he's a bit of a desert fox after living in the Phoenix area for years. I'm taking the old guy in a minor upset.
Winner: Calcavecchia
Rory Sabbatini vs. Bradley Dredge
Tee time: 11:38 a.m.
While Dredge has one of my favorite names in golf, the pick has to be Sabbatini. Otherwise, we won't have that Tiger vs. Rory showdown on Saturday morning.
Winner: Sabbatini
Paul Casey vs. Robert Karlsson
Tee time: 11:47 a.m.
Casey had a brief fling with greatness at Oakmont but otherwise ranks near the top of the game's leading underachievers. He's got a house near Phoenix, so this is almost a home game.
Winner: Casey
K.J. Choi vs. Camilo Villegas
Tee time: 10:26 a.m.
Choi is one of the tour's better ballstrikers. It's Korea over Colombia in this one.
Winner: Choi
Ian Poulter vs. Soren Hansen
Tee time: 10:35 a.m.
Poulter caused a dust-up when he said recently he is Tiger's true future rival. He might want to win some tournaments first, but I like the fact that he's confident in his game. Plus, nice pants.
Winner: Poulter, in extra holes
