World Matchplay

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4-7; -13.60pts 

Round 1 plays (4pts):

Vijay Singh to beat Ryo Ishikawa -125 @ 5Dimes, Bet365 and Stan James  LOST by 2
There can be no better preparation for an event than to have played in a Tour event at the venue the previous week ... that is the case with Vijay Singh who finished 3rd in last week's Talisker Masters and so looks set for a good week this week. Ishikawa has shown better form recently, but he had been forced to go to the Web.com Tour Finals to earn his playing rights on the PGA Tour for next week. A debutant in this event and having never previously played in a Tour event in Australia, he is a deserved underdog in this matchup.

Michael Hendry to beat Mikko Korhonen -110 @ 5Dimes  LOST by 5
Hendry is another who played in the Talisker Masters last week, finishing 16th. Unlike Ishikawa, Korhonen has played in a Tour in Australia once before - the 2013 Perth International - when he finished 51st. I'll side with a regular on this Tour - he won the New Zealand PGA Championship earlier this year - who has also had a number of top-10 finishes in Japan as well in 2013.

Round 2 plays (4pts):

Robert-Jan Derksen to beat Mikko Korhonen +100 @ 5Dimes  TIED
Derksen has been in good form recently - 8th and 18th in his last two events - and he has a good record in this event, finishing 5th, 6th, 6th, and 4th in his last four attempts. He may have hda a poor 1st round, but he shouldn't be the underdog against Korhonen.

Peter Hanson to beat Thomas Bjorn +100 @ Bet365 [also available @ 5Dimes and Stan James]  LOST by 3
Bjorn holds a share of the lead after rd1, just as he did in the Turkish Airlines Open two weeks ago. On that occasion, he dropped to 26th over the next two rounds, so continued a run of not winning an event from a rd1 lead for over 12 years. I don't exepct that run to end this week.

Gregory Bourdy to beat Prayad Marksaeng -140 @ 5Dimes  WON by 3
Bourdy's position alongside Marksaeng on the leaderboard is not a true reflection of his play in rd1 ... he had been up with the leaders until finishing bogey-bogey-double bogey on the last three holes. I expect himm to bounce back in this team competition tomorrow.

Vijay Singh to beat Ryo Ishikawa +105 @ 5Dimes [also available @ Bet365 and Stan James]  WON by 2
A repeat of the first round matchup with the sme reasonings but at a better price. 

Francesco Molinari to beat Miguel Angel Jimenez -110 @ 5Dimes  WON by 2
Molinari is a former winner of this event with his brother in 2009 and comes into this event in very good form - top-25 finishes in each of his last six starts. That contrasts sharply with Jimenez who has one top-50 finish in his last five starts.

Round 3 plays (4pts):

K.J. Choi to beat Kiradech Aphibarnrat +100 @ Bet365 [also available @ Stan James]  LOST by 1
Aphibarnrat has a couple of top-5 finishes on the Asian PGA Tour recently, but he is one to oppose in this company. He has started well, but buckled under the pressure in these bigger event. In November alone, he was 8th after rd1 in the HSBC Champions, but finished 55th (of 78); he was 5th after rd1 in the Turkish Airlines Open, but finished 54th (of 78); and he was 2nd after rd1 of the DP World Tour Championship, but finished 29th (of 56). He is currently 9th and expected to drop down the leaderboard over the weekend.

Francesco Molinari to beat Berndt Wiesberger -110 @ 5Dimes  WON by 3
A much better round from Molinari today and I expect him to kick-on and get himself back into contention in the 3rd round. He should beat a player who has yet to break par in either round this week.

Vijay Singh to beat Ryo Ishikawa -110 @ 5Dimes [also available @ Bet365 and Stan James]  LOST by 5
Same play for the third day in a row. Little more to add other than I still expect Vijay to be well ahead of his opponent by the end of the week.

Round 4 plays (4pts):

Matt Kuchar to beat Jason Day +100 @ Bet365 [also available @ Stan James]  LOST by 1
Third against first in this matchup and I'll take these odds to oppose a player who hasn't held a 54-hole lead for over three years. He fell from one shot ahead to five shots behind in the last occasion (2010 Deutsche Bank Championship). All the more reason to back Kuchar who was part of the winning American team in the last World Cup and finished 2nd last week at this venue.

Grame McDowell to beat Kevin Streelman +110 @ Stan James [available generally]  LOST by 1
The pressure is on Kuchar's partner, Streelman, as they start the day one shot behind the home team. It has been over six months since his last top-10 finish, so I'll oppose him in this position.McDowell has shown enough form recently - 3rd in the HSBC Champions - to show that he should perform better in today's final round.