WGC Match Play
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Austin, Texas |
| Established | 1999 |
| Course(s) | Austin Country Club |
| Par | 71 |
| Length | 7,108 yards (6,500 m) |
| Organized by | International Federation of PGA Tours |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour European Tour |
| Format | Match play |
| Prize fund | US$20,000,000 |
| Month played | March |
| Final year | 2023 |
| Tournament record score | |
| Score | 18-hole match: 9 and 8Tiger Woods(2006) Championship: 8 and 7Tiger Woods(2008) |
| Final champion | |
 Sam Burns | |
 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play | |
| Location map | |
  Austin CC Location in theUnited States  Austin CC Location inTexas | |
TheWGC Match Play,titled in later years as theWGC-Dell Technologies Match Playfor sponsorship reasons, was a professional men'sgolftournament that had been held since 1999. It was the only one of theWorld Golf Championshipsto have been contested using thematch playformat. From 2016 until its final year in 2023, it was held at theAustin Country ClubinAustin, Texas,United States.
Previous names includeWGC-Dell Match Play(2015),WGC-Cadillac Match Play(2014),WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship(2001–2013), andWGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship(1999–2000). Before moving to Austin it had been hosted inArizonaeight times,Californiaeight times, andAustraliaonce. It is sanctioned and organized by theInternational Federation of PGA Toursand the prize money is official money on thePGA Tour,theEuropean Tourand theJapan Golf Tour.Tiger Woodshas the record number of wins with three.[1][2]The winner receives aWedgwoodtrophy named the Walter Hagen Cup.[3]
History
[edit]Match Play tournaments before 1999
[edit]Thematch playformat fell out of favor in professional individual golf tournaments with the growth of television. The two major match play tournaments in the pre TV era were thePGA Championship,which converted tostroke playformat in 1958,[4]and theBritish PGA Matchplay Championshipwhich faced a slow decline after the introduction of theBritish PGA Championshipin 1955 (which had a stroke play format), and eventually became defunct in 1979.[5]Match play became mainly associated with amateur tournaments, and team tournaments such as theRyder Cup.[6]
Despite not being popular with television companies, and often requiring more rounds to be played by a player than a stroke play event, the format was still respected as offering a different challenge than stroke play. At the end of the 1990s, there were two significant unofficial match play tournaments, the relatively newAndersen Consulting World Championship of Golf,which had a 32-man field with the finals played inArizona,[7]and the much olderWorld Match Play Championship,which had a field of 16 players or less and was played inEngland.[8]
Early years in southern California and briefly Australia (1999–2006)
[edit]When theWorld Golf Championshipswere formed in 1999, it was decided one of the events would be held in match play format, which meant the return of an official match play event on thePGA Tourand theEuropean Tour.The WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play was in effect the successor of the Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf, which was discontinued.[7]The World Match Play Championship in England continued, but lost prestige after the introduction of the WGC event, and eventually became defunct in 2014.[9]The format of the new WGC competition was a straight knock out tournament involving the top 64 players in theOfficial World Golf Ranking,with each match played over 18 holes, except the final which was played over 36 holes. The first two events were held in February 1999 and 2000 at theLa Costa Resort and Spain southernCalifornia,[1]which had hosted theTournament of Championsevent for the previous thirty seasons (1969–1998).
In 2001, the tournament sponsor was renamed, and the tournament followed suit, becoming known as the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. The tournament was held in early January by the highly regardedMetropolitan Golf ClubinMelbourne,Australia.Nearly forty players turned down their invitation, including six of the top ten. This was largely seen as because it was played very early in the year when some players have an off season, and for many players the travel time was too long when playing a single tournament where you could end up playing just a single round.[10]The following year the tournament returned toLa Costa Resort and Spain SouthernCaliforniawhere it remained until 2006.[1]
Hosting in the Tucson, Arizona area (2007–2014)
[edit]In2007and2008,it was played atThe Gallery Golf ClubatDove MountaininMarana, Arizona,and from 2009 to 2014 at the nearbyRitz-Carlton Golf Club(renamed as simply "The Golf Club at Dove Mountain" in 2013). Tiger Woods is the most successful player in the WGC Match Play, and he won his three titles in Arizona, although he was less dominant than he was in the other U.S.-basedWorld Golf Championshipevents.Geoff Ogilvybecame the second most successful player in the tournament's history after winning in2006and2009and finishing runner up in2007.Despite normal highs of 69 °F (21 °C) in Marana in February, the tournament was delayed by snow/hailstonesin2011,andsnowin2013.[11]Also in 2011, the format of the final was reduced to 18 holes instead of 36 holes, similar to the other rounds of the tournament.[12]
Format changes, a year in California, then Austin (2015 onwards)
[edit]As well as the intermittent weather issues in Dove Mountain, the performance of the WGC Match Play was a concern for other reasons, with Rex Hoggard of theGolf Channelremarking "Since 2007, when the Tour uprooted the Match Play from La Costa for the Tucson highlands, the galleries have been thin, the golf courses have been tolerated and the Sundays have been largely undistinguished".[13]In 2015 the tournament underwent a revamp, moving toTPC Harding Park,a municipal course owned by the city and county ofSan Francisco,and became sponsored byCadillac(who also sponsored theWGC Championship). The tournament moved from February to April 27 – May 3, the week prior toThe Players Championship.The structure was changed so the field was split into 16 four-player groups played on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with the player with the best record advancing. The four knockout rounds are then split over Saturday and Sunday. The format ensured that spectators could guarantee to see the entire field on the first three days, and some coverage would occur in primetime in theEast Coast of the United States.[14]
After one year in California, the tournament moved to March with a new long term home and sponsor, theAustin Country ClubinTexas,andDell(which is headquartered in greater Austin area).[15]The following year, as a result of the title sponsor's involvement in a merger the tournament became known as the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. In 2015,Jason Daybecame the third player to win multiple WGC Match Plays,[1]and in 2016Dustin Johnsonwon to become the only player to have won all fourWorld Golf Championships.[11]In early 2019, a deal was signed for Dell Technologies to remain the sponsor, and Austin Country Club the host, until at least 2023.[16]In March 2023, it was announced by thePGA Tourthat the event would end following the 2023 edition.[17]
Structure
[edit]Field
[edit]The tournament has a field of 64 players filled based upon the following criteria:
- Top 64 players from theOfficial World Golf Ranking(ten days prior to the event).
- If anyone within the top 64 is not available the field is filled by the next highest ranked player in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Format
[edit]The tournament is split into two phases:
- The players are split into 16 groups of four players (each group has a player seeded 1–16, 17–32, 33–48, 49–64). Each group plays in around-robinformat over Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. One point is awarded for a win, and one-half point for a tie, with only the group winner qualifying to the next round. If two or more players are tied at the top of the group, there is a sudden death stroke play tie-breaker played to decide who progresses.
- The second phase is played as a knock out tournament, with the round of 16 and quarterfinals played on Saturday, and the semifinal, third-place playoff and final played on Sunday.
All matches are played over 18 holes.
Winners
[edit]| Year | Winner | Seed[a] | Runner-up | Seed[a] | Score | Purse ($) |
Winner's share ($) |
Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play | |||||||||
| 2023 | Sam Burns |
13 | Cameron Young |
15 | 6 and 5 | 20,000,000 | 3,500,000 | Austin,Texas | |
| 2022 | Scottie Scheffler |
5 | Kevin Kisner |
29 | 4 and 3 | 12,000,000 | 2,100,000 | Austin,Texas | |
| 2021 | Billy Horschel |
32 | Scottie Scheffler |
30 | 2 and 1 | 10,500,000 | 1,820,000 | Austin,Texas | |
| 2020 | Canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic[18] | ||||||||
| 2019 | Kevin Kisner |
48 | Matt Kuchar |
23 | 3 and 2 | 10,250,000 | 1,745,000 | Austin,Texas | |
| 2018 | Bubba Watson |
35 | Kevin Kisner |
32 | 7 and 6 | 10,000,000 | 1,700,000 | Austin,Texas | |
| 2017 | Dustin Johnson |
1 |  Jon Rahm |
21 | 1 up | 9,750,000 | 1,660,000 | Austin,Texas | |
| WGC-Dell Match Play | |||||||||
| 2016 |  Jason Day(2) |
2 |  Louis Oosthuizen |
16 | 5 and 4 | 9,500,000 | 1,620,000 | Austin,Texas | |
| WGC-Cadillac Match Play | |||||||||
| 2015 |  Rory McIlroy |
1 | Gary Woodland |
50 | 4 and 2 | 9,250,000 | 1,570,000 | Harding Park,California | |
| WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship | |||||||||
| 2014 | Jason Day |
8 |  Victor Dubuisson |
27 | 23 holes | 9,000,000 | 1,530,000 | Dove Mountain,Arizona | |
| 2013 | Matt Kuchar |
21 | Hunter Mahan |
23 | 2 and 1 | 8,750,000 | 1,500,000 | Dove Mountain,Arizona | |
| 2012 | Hunter Mahan |
21 | Rory McIlroy |
2 | 2 and 1 | 8,500,000 | 1,400,000 | Dove Mountain,Arizona | |
| 2011 |  Luke Donald |
9 |  Martin Kaymer |
2 | 3 and 2 | 8,500,000 | 1,400,000 | Dove Mountain,Arizona | |
| 2010 | Ian Poulter |
9 | Paul Casey |
6 | 4 and 2 | 8,500,000 | 1,400,000 | Dove Mountain,Arizona | |
| 2009 | Geoff Ogilvy(2) |
8 | Paul Casey |
23 | 4 and 3 | 8,500,000 | 1,400,000 | Dove Mountain,Arizona | |
| 2008 | Tiger Woods(3) |
1 | Stewart Cink |
22 | 8 and 7 | 8,000,000 | 1,350,000 | The Gallery,Arizona | |
| 2007 |  Henrik Stenson |
9 | Geoff Ogilvy |
11 | 2 and 1 | 8,000,000 | 1,350,000 | The Gallery,Arizona | |
| 2006 | Geoff Ogilvy |
52 | Davis Love III |
23 | 3 and 2 | 7,500,000 | 1,300,000 | La Costa,California | |
| 2005 | David Toms |
14 | Chris DiMarco |
16 | 6 and 5 | 7,500,000 | 1,300,000 | La Costa,California | |
| 2004 | Tiger Woods(2) |
1 | Davis Love III |
3 | 3 and 2 | 7,000,000 | 1,200,000 | La Costa,California | |
| 2003 | Tiger Woods |
1 | David Toms |
6 | 2 and 1 | 6,000,000 | 1,050,000 | La Costa,California | |
| 2002 | Kevin Sutherland |
62 | Scott McCarron |
45 | 1 up | 5,500,000 | 1,000,000 | La Costa,California | |
| 2001 | Steve Stricker |
55 | Pierre Fulke |
21 | 2 and 1 | 5,000,000 | 1,000,000 | Metropolitan,Australia | |
| WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship | |||||||||
| 2000 | Darren Clarke |
19 | Tiger Woods |
1 | 4 and 3 | 5,000,000 | 1,000,000 | La Costa,California | |
| 1999 | Jeff Maggert |
24 | Andrew Magee |
50 | 38 holes | 5,000,000 | 1,000,000 | La Costa,California | |
- The championship match was originally 36 holes (1999–2010); 18 holes since 2011.
Multiple winners
[edit]Three players have won the tournament more than once:
- 3 wins:
- Tiger Woods:2003, 2004, 2008
- 2 wins:
- Geoff Ogilvy:2006, 2009
- Jason Day:2014, 2016
The title has been successfully defended only once, by Woods in 2004.
Records
[edit]- Most consecutive matches won – 13,Tiger Woods(2003–2005)
- Biggest winning margin: Championship match – 8 & 7,Tiger WoodsoverStewart Cink(2008) (36 holes)
- Biggest winning margin: Other matches – 9 & 8,Tiger WoodsoverStephen Ames(2006,1st round)
- Longest championship match – 38 holes,Jeff MaggertoverAndrew Magee(1999)
- Longest match (18 holes) – 26 holes,Scott VerplankoverLee Westwood(2006,1st round),Mike WeiroverLoren Roberts(2003, 1st round)
- Source:[19]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcd"Tournament History".European Tour.RetrievedMarch 20,2019.
- ^"PGA Tour Media Guide".PGA Tour.RetrievedMarch 20,2019.
- ^Heath, Elliott (August 7, 2017)."The Best Trophies In Golf".Golf Monthly.RetrievedFebruary 22,2019.
- ^Barkow, Al(1974).Golf's Golden Grind: A History of the PGA Tour.Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.ISBN978-0151908851.
- ^"The British Match Play".Where2Golf.RetrievedApril 28,2019.
- ^Tremlett, Sam (September 20, 2018)."What Is Match Play?".Golf Monthly.RetrievedApril 28,2019.
- ^ab"WGC Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship Media Conference".ASAP Sports.October 19, 1999.RetrievedMay 2,2019.
- ^Narey, Alex (January 30, 2015)."Remembering the Suntory World Match Play".Golf Monthly.RetrievedMay 4,2019.
- ^"Tournament History".European Tour.RetrievedMay 4,2019.
- ^"Stricker strikes gold with Match Play title".ESPN.Associated Press. January 9, 2001.RetrievedMay 2,2019.
- ^ab"Official 2018–19 Media Guide – Tournaments".PGA Tour.RetrievedMay 2,2019.
- ^"WGC-Accenture Match Play final to be reduced to 18-hole match for TV".PGA of America. December 2, 2010.RetrievedMay 2,2019.
- ^Hoggard, Rex (February 20, 2013)."WGC-Match Play needs to abandon Dove Mountain".Golf Channel.RetrievedMay 2,2019.
- ^"Cadillac new title sponsor of WGC-Match Play".PGA Tour. September 30, 2014.RetrievedMay 2,2019.
- ^"WGC-Match Play to move to Austin in 2016".Fox News.Sports Network. May 3, 2015.RetrievedMay 2,2019.
- ^"Dell Technologies extends sponsorship of WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play".PGA Tour. March 26, 2019.RetrievedMay 2,2019.
- ^Romine, Brentley (March 7, 2023)."WGC era over: Match Play out, though Monahan doesn't rule out return".Golf Channel.RetrievedMarch 14,2023.
- ^Lavner, Ryan (March 12, 2020)."PGA Tour cancels Players and other events thru April 5th".Golf Channel.RetrievedMarch 12,2020.
- ^Facts and Figures - WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship
External links
[edit]- WGC Match Play
- World Golf Championships
- PGA Tour events
- European Tour events
- Golf tournaments in Texas
- Sports competitions in Austin, Texas
- Annual sporting events in the United States
- Defunct golf tournaments
- Recurring sporting events established in 1999
- Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2023
- 1999 establishments in California
- 2023 disestablishments in Texas