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WGC-CA Championship

Author: Brandon Barker
Date: 11/03/2009

The only thing that stands between Geoff Ogilvy and a successful defence of the WGC-CA Championship is the small matter of Tiger Woods.

Ogilvy should be the runaway golf betting favourite to win this week's event as the Australian world number four is the defending champion and arrives in Miami having won the previous WGC event - the Accenture World Match Play - two weeks ago in Arizona.

But despite Ogilvy's stellar form and his particular liking for this lucrative series of events - he has now won four - the sportsbooks still believe Woods is the favourite to triumph at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa.

The world number one blew hot and cold on his brief return to action at last month's Match Play as he followed up an impressive first round 3&2 victory over Brendan Jones with a second round exit at the hands of Tim Clark.

Afterwards Woods claimed he felt no ill-effects from the knee reconstruction surgery which caused him to miss the previous eight months and it seems that his upbeat opinion on the state of his health is enough to convince the bookies to get right back behind him.

To be fair to the odds makers, Woods does have an unbelievable record in this particular event. During the nine previous occasions it has been played, he has won six times - including the first time it was held at Doral in 2007.

Woods has won the CA Championship at Valderrama, Capital City, Harding Park and The Grove in England en route to amassing 14 career WGC titles and, prior to losing out to Ogilvy by two shots last year, he had triumphed on each of his latest three appearances at Doral.

Elsewhere in an event which most of the top-ranked players view as important preparation for the forthcoming Masters, there are plenty of other potential winners in a high-class field.

World number 15 Steve Stricker finished sixth last season, while Spain's Sergio Garcia was just outside the top ten.

Both players have the length off the tee and accuracy with their irons to fare well on a tricky layout which requires excellent course management due to the sheer number and position of its many water hazards.

Camilo Villegas of Colombia showed enough flashes of brilliance during his run to the latter stages of the Match Play to suggest he will figure in the final day shake-up.

He finished 26th last season but would have featured higher up the final leaderboard but for a slow start to the tournament.

At the other end of the scale, veteran Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez opened up with a best of the week seven-under-par round of 65 before falling away.

More consistency from the usually reliable Ryder Cup star could well see him challenging for the lead during what promises to be an exciting event contested by the cream of the world's players.

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