Oh golf gods in the sky ... please make it happen on Saturday ...
Well this isn't half bad, is it? We've got 64 of the world's top 65 ranked players gathered in one little corner of Tucson, Arizona for what can only be branded as a mano-a-mano shootout until the last man is standing. Oh yeah, and Tiger is here as well ...
Call it the season's first "mini-major", call it a intriguing test of will, call it an endurance test (as Henrik Stenson, the defending champ who played 120 holes last year, will attest), call it the luck of the draw ... the WCG-Accenture Match Play is our first marquee event on the golf calendar.
Recent versions of the Match Play have gone fairly well according to form, and we can only hope there's no repeat of Black Friday (February 26, 2005) when Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh all crashed out of the tournament in the third round.
To fill in your own predictions, you can
download the tournament's handy bracket sheet, or follow along with us. Or both! We're not moving from the sofa often and the missus is fetching the Stellas from the fridge (just kidding, dear) ...:
Best opening matches:
This tournament's draw usually serves up some intriguing first-round matches and an equal measure of yawners. We're lucky this year: Plenty of good reasons to tune in on Wednesday. Here's why:
Tiger Woods v. JB Holmes: On the surface, a mismatch, but the absurdly long Holmes, who drew the short straw (ie, Tiger), has the booming drives and the courage to put a scare into the world No. 1, who will have to play well right out of the chute and remember that this is not stroke play. And Holmes beat Phil Mickelson in a playoff in Scottsdale, remember, and that's essentially match play.
KJ Choi v. Camilo Villegas: An interesting chance to see if Camilo can string enough birdies together to shock the world's steadiest Eddie.
Rory Sabbatini v. Bradley Dredge: Sorry, Bradley, but we've got to root for Sabbatini to win through at least until Saturday. You'll see why later.
Ernie Els v. Jonathan Byrd: There will be few nerves on display in this battle between two of golf's calmest players. Byrd can pull off an upset, and Ernie looks vulnerable.
Retief Goosen v. Andres Romero: Another one that looks like a mismatch, and not in the way you might think. Goosen's game is an absolute mess right now, and Romero will be keen to take a major-winner's scalp.
Martin Kaymer v. Boo Weekley: The 23-year-old German is the class player, but Boo, the loveable hillbilly from Florida, will have the crowds behind him and has the willpower to beat Kaymer.
Stewart Cink v. Miguel Angel Jimenez: Neither one of these guys is going to give in. An interesting match that could go well beyond 18 holes.
Charles Howell III v. Stephen Ames: Another match in which the popular stickman Howell will have no problem in finding support from the gallery against the ... ermm, there's no nice way to say this ... guy with the funny teeth.
Colin Montgomerie v. Jim Furyk: Probably the best match of the first round, featuring Monty, the world's most feared match player, against the dead-accurate American with the funky swing.
Luke Donald v. Nick Dougherty: Another very attractive matchup pairing two of England's brightest young talents, and it's a shame one of them will be making a quick trip back to Blighty.
Steve Stricker v. Daniel Chopra: Either one of these guys could be considered darkhorses, and despite their disparate seedings, Chopra got the better of Stricker in a playoff to win at Kapalua in last month.
Geoff Ogilvy v. Justin Leonard: The Aussie Ogilvy has featured in the last two finals of this event, beating Davis Love III in 2006 and losing to Henrik Stenson last year. He faces a suddenly reborn Justin Leonard, who if you remember Brookline, is good at match play.
Our dream matchups:
Well, we can only hope, really, but here are the pairings we would love to see (this of course, requires the survival of the players along the way):
Thursday, February 21:Tiger Woods v. Mike Weir: A potential rematch of their tangle in the singles in the 2007 Presidents Cup, which the Canada lefty Weir won 1-up in front of thousands of his giddy countrymen.
Camilo Villegas v. Ian Poulter: Golf's No. 1 young stud against the cocky English self-proclaimed "world No. 2" in a battle of fashion horses.
Ernie Els v. Andres Romero: The young Argentinian sharpshooter has the game to pull off an upset over the flagging South African star, who committed to the tournament at the last minute.
Padraig Harrington v. Miguel Angel Jimenez: A could-be duel between two veteran European Ryder Cup warhorses in which no quarter would be given.
Friday, February 22:Tiger Woods v. Zach Johnson or Aaron Baddeley: An exercise in seeing how the power of prayer can help either of the devout Christians against you-know-who.
Eduardo Romero v. Henrik Stenson: Stenson's raw power against Romero's ability to rattle off streaks of birdies would make great theatre. Go low, young men ...
Adam Scott v. Martin Kaymer: A battle between the young German hotshot, who might be the best young player in the world, against the Aussie who Butch Harmon says is the best young player in the world. We'd pay big money to see this one.
Phil Mickelson v. Lee Westwood: A fight to the finish between two sort-of-soft-in-the-middle Ryder Cup veterans who both hate to lose.
Saturday morning quarterfinals, February 23:Tiger Woods v. Rory Sabbatini or Ian Poulter: Oh, the delicious irony should any of these combinations play out. A Tiger-Rory pairing could be (shall we say) a tad uncomfortable (keep an eye on several trips to the Portaloo for Rory) whilst Woods v. Poulter would simply be comic justice. Please, golf gods, make it happen. (Sabbatini's recent form suggests he should make it to Saturday; would he dare take a dive to duck Tiger? ... at least we know that Poulter would show up on the tee, cap in hand ...)
Andres Romero or Henrik Stenson v. Adam Scott or Martin Kaymer: Again, any combination of these possible survivors of the Hogan Flight would be like watching two young boxing stars punch it out in the early years of glorious careers. Awesome. Another prayer goes aloft to the golf gods.
Phil Mickelson v. Vijay Singh: Vijay beat Lefty 5&4 in the Presidents Cup singles in 2007, so this could be a doozy.
Saturday afternoon semifinals, February 23:Tiger Woods v. Adam Scott: We're going to bet that we're not the only ones hoping to see this match; on the other hand we'd also take Woods v. Kaymer.
Sunday 36-hole final, February 24:Rod Pampling v. Shingo Katayama: OK, we're kidding, sort of. We really meant Woods v. Mickelson, but we probably know there's a snowball's chance in hell of that happening what with all that 18-hole match play leading to the final. But don't say we didn't warn you if it is Rod and Shingo ...