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The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Dove Mountain is the venue for the first World Golf Championship of the year, the Accenture World Match Play Championship. Here’s who our “experts” picked, out of the #TeamCallaway staff players taking part, to go furthest in the tournament.

Dominic Warne (Senior Marketing Manager, EMEA)
Dom’s picks: Alex Noren & Branden Grace.

So just the 2 picks this week. For me, this format is all about winning the first match and building momentum.

Pick #1: Alex Noren
Because DJ’s not at his best right now (hexed myself), if Alex can get through that match (putter dependent), who knows? He’s in a tough bracket though.

Pick #2: Branden Grace
The quality of his game should be able to overcome Garrigus’ length in Round 1 and then he could go all the way and with some top draw opponents to knock over.

Whilst a Callaway player may not win it, I’ve very confident that an Odyssey putter will!

Elliott Platts (PR & Events – UK & Northern Europe)
Platts’ picks: Nicolas Colsaerts & Thomas Bjorn.

Pick #1: Nicolas Colsaerts
The “Belgium Bomber” won last year’s Volvo World Matchplay at Finca Cortesin and was a sensation at the Ryder Cup. His aggressive game is clearly suited to matchplay and his length off the tee will give him an advantage this week at Dove Mountain.

Pick #2: Thomas Bjorn
When Thomas is on his game he is a really tough competitor to beat. With the media spotlight on a number of other players – the pressure is off him this week. I think he will go out there with the intention to really enjoy himself on the course and this may cause the other players a problem or two!

Mike Clark (Custom Fit Supervisor – Europe)
Mike’s picks: Freddie Jacobson & Jim Furyk.

Pick #1: Freddie Jacobson
Jacobson is in great form at present and is really putting well with his new Versa putter. Looking at the draw and with Freddie’s game, I think he could have a great run this week.

Pick #2: Jim Furyk
Jim’s game is solid at the moment and is the complete opposite to Jacobson as a matchplay opponent. Solid in all areas of the game you know anyone that anyone who plays him will need to be firing lots of birdies to beat him. Again looking at the draw I feel he is a good bet to at least get to the quarter-finals and maybe further.

Cameron de Buck (Digital Marketing & Social Media – Europe)
Cam’s picks: Ernie Els & Thomas Bjorn .

Pick #1: Ernie Els
The Big Easy had a solid week last week, and although historically he hasn’t done well in the WGC Match Play events, he certainly knows how to win in this format of the game, having picked up a record 7 World Match Play titles. Plus with his new Odyssey Versa #7 Putter in the bag, a good putting week could just be the key.

Pick #2: Thomas Bjorn
I’ve gone for the Great Dane for two reasons. The first being that he is in a different bracket to the majority of other #TeamCallaway players, so doesn’t have to knock any out along the way. Secondly, he is a tough opponent - in fact, as tough as they get – so with little to no pressure on him, with the spotlight on so many other players this week, he could just sneak up under the radar and grab a well deserved WGC Title in the desert.

Match Play is always a difficult one to pick right, especially when the players are drawn against each other in the early rounds, thus guaranteeing some of them not making it through to the latter stages… Let’s hope a few Callaway players win their brackets to guarantee a Callaway win on Sunday.

Check out the official WGC website to follow the scores and to see how #TeamCallaway (and our Hot Picks) our doing. To learn more about our Staff Pros and the equipment they’re playing, please visit our Callaway Tour page.