World Cup

FINAL RESULT: 1-1; +7.50pts

England 1st
Argentina 19th

Donald and Casey certainly made us sweat after coasting to a five-shot lead after 36 holes, but the compatibility of their games told as they shot the lowest score on each of the foursomes rounds and that is where this tournament gets decided.

Outright plays (1.5pts):

England to win 6/1 @ BetDirect
England’s combination of Paul Casey and Luke Donald look a very good match for each other in team golf as they showed when they formed a very successful Walker Cup partnership. Casey, at his best, is one of Europe’s finest golfers, while Donald has been widely cited as England’s heir-apparent to Nick Faldo. This looks a very strong team that should certainly be a match for the tournament favourites, Spain.

Argentina to win 12/1 e.w. @ available generally
Initially I had looked to double up the England selection with one on Spain as these two teams are well ahead of the pack, but 3/1 is at least a point too short. Instead, Argentina look one of the best of the rest. The pairing of Angel Cabrera and Eduardo Romero has represented this country in each of the five years that this has been a WGC event and have finished in the places (top-4) on two of those five occasions. Romero's straight driving and Cabrera's length off the tee mean that they should be a good foil for each other and having played as a team so often, they could certainly fill one of the places again. It will also help their motivation that their compatriot, Ricardo Gonzalez, won the inaugural European Tour event on this course in April.