Tiger Woods has 14 official WGC wins in 25 starts, his last win came in 2004 at the Accenture but he has not advanced past the third round since. And Woods doesn't have an easy road to the championship round this year either. If Woods can get past J.B. Holmes in round one, he still has to get past the likes of Mike Weir, Zach Johnson, David Toms, Aaron Baddeley, Rory Sabbatini and K.J. Choi -- that's just his own bracket
This event is set-up exactly like March's NCAA basketball tournament. The four one seeds are paired against four 16 seeds in a field of 64 golfers.
One Seeds: Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Steve Stricker and Phil Mickelson
Two Seeds: Rory Sabbatini, Justin Rose, Adam Scott and Jim Furyk
Three Seeds: Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, K.J. Choi and Vijay Singh.
The WGC is also like the NCAA basketball tournament in the way that there are always plenty of upsets. If you think that the best golfers are going to make it to the end, think again. In 2006, Geoff Ogilvy won the WGC as the No. 52 player in the field and the highest seeded player to win the WGC was Kevin Sutherland as the No. 62 player overall. Look for upsets Wednesday because history shows that as the tournament goes on, the upsets go down. Round one has seen 116 upsets since 1999, while there have only been 140 upsets in all of the other rounds combined. With 26,250 points and $8 million handed out this weekend, you can be certain you'll see some competitive golf.
Here is a quick glance at the regions with the favorites, sleepers and my pick:
HOGAN --
Favorites: Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia
Sleeper: Robert Allenby
My Pick: Adam Scott -- Scott should have a clear path to the Sweet 16 where he could potentially face off against Sergio Garcia. If Scott can get past Garcia and Ernie Els, Woods will likely be waiting for him in the Final Four. Anything worse than the T33 finish he had last year will be a disappointment for Scott, who has won 12 matches at the accenture (tied for fifth most all-time).
JONES --
Favorites: Tiger Woods, Rory Sabbatini
Sleeper: David Toms
My Pick: K.J. Coi -- Choi is consistent, which gives him a good choice at going deep in the bracket. At third in FedExCup points standings, Choi will look to add 262 points or more with his play this weekend (his tie for 17th was good enough for 262 last year). A top finish for Choi, who has a path that will match him against Rory Sabbatini and Tiger Woods before he even reaches the Final Four, will solidify that he is ready to be considered one of the best golfers on tour.
PLAYER --
Favorites: Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson
Sleeper: Brandt Snedeker
My Pick: Geoff Ogilvy -- Ogilvy won the WGC in 2006 and lost in the title game last year, which makes him my favorite to come out of the PLAYER region. Despite the way that Ogilvy has played this season (missing the cut in all three events), he should find his stride with this match play tournament. That is only if Ogilvy can get past his first round match-up with Justin Leonard, not to mention the potential Sweet 16 square off with Phil Mickelson.
SNEAD --
Favorites: Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk
Sleeper: Hunter Mahan
My Pick: Padraig Harrington -- The SNEAD region might be consider the "easiest" with Steve Stricker as the No. 1 seed, so Harrington will look to take advantage. Harrington has played great in his first two events of 2008, finishing T14 at Pebble Beach and T3 last weekend's Northern Trust Open. Harrington lost in the Elite Eight at the WGC in 2006 and will try to get over the hump this year.
Elite Eight:
K.J. Choi over Tiger Woods
Adam Scott over Retief Goosen
Geoff Ogilvy over Justin Rose
Padraig Harrington over Hunter Mahan
Final Four:
Adam Scott over K.J. Choi
Geoff Ogilvy over Padraig Harrington
Championship:
Adam Scott* over Geoff Ogilvy
*Not allowing Tiger Woods to be picked past the Elite Eight. Otherwise, Tiger Woods would be my winner. Hence, the title.
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