• Betting Bunker

Tiger to tame the Blue Monster

After a spell in the wilderness, Tiger Woods is poised to strike © PA Photos

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Click here to bet on the Cadillac Championship at bet365

Strap yourselves in as punters look set for a bumpy ride at the second WGC event of the year: the Cadillac Championship at Doral.

The game's big guns are in action, with new world No. 1 Rory McIlroy looking to back up his win at the Honda Classic. The Ulsterman will face no easy task as the man who he deposed as No. 1, Luke Donald tees it up, as does a resurgent Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood and Phil Mickelson.

McIlroy won the Honda Classic with real authority, the spring was in his step as he stood tall in the face of pressure on the closing holes. A punch of the air and roar of delight at sinking the winning putt showed how important it was to him to win the title and get to No. 1.

Not for a minute do we expect McIlroy to take his eye off the ball, he now has top spot to defend and is too focused to let things slide, but we feel he could well suffer the metaphorical hangover (he's been in New York this week playing tennis with Maria Sharapova). It's unlikely he will bomb out, he's not finished outside of the top five since last August, but we don't feel he's punting material for back-to-back wins - especially at odds of 6/1.

Betting Bullets

• Tiger Woods E/W - 7/1 at bet365
  Nick Watney E/W 28/1
  

So where do we turn? With the top 50 in the world committing to play, there's no shortage of quality for you to throw your money at. Florida courses take some knowing, with the fast-running Bermuda greens often baffling the untrained eye. As such it is often advisable to look to those players who have a history of performing well on these types of tracks.

Defending champion Nick Watney fits the bill. Aside from winning last year, he finished second in 2009 and 26th in 2010. The American is in decent form, he's made all five cuts this season and has one top-ten finish, making him an attractive each-way proposition at 28/1.

Each-way is fine, but we'd much prefer to find the winner and for that starring role step forward Tiger Woods. Down the years Woods has made fortunes for ardent golf betting fans, in recent months he has sent them spinning towards the poor hours. There have been false dawns, and the Bunker has fallen for a couple of them, but we really do feel he is now on the right track.

Yet another swing revamp has had Woods scratching his head wondering where the ball is going, but that now looks a thing of the past. He has so far failed to string things together for four rounds, but he looked much more like his old, Tiger self when closing with a 62 to get within two shots of McIlroy at the Honda Classic.

"I just have to stick with the process, and it's coming," he somewhat ominously said. "Each tournament, it's getting better. I'm hitting more good shots, more quality misses. They are not what they used to be. Each tournament I've progressed, I've gotten better. And it's just a matter of time before I put it all together for an entire tournament."

We do feel that this is the week. In its various guises and on a range of courses, Woods has racked up six wins at the Cadillac Championship. The most recent of which was in 2007, the first year it was held on Doral's Blue Monster. He has two other top-ten finishes to his name on the course and the 7/1 on offer by bet365 has swayed us to unload on the former world No. 1.

Please note that odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change.

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