Matt Kuchar wins the Accenture tournament

Match play is a scoring system in which a game is won by winning the most holes

The World Golf Championship Accenture Match Play tournament was played at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Course at Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona, northwest of Tucson. The Official World Golf Rankings Association, which is endorsed by the four major tournaments and the six leading professional tours, ranks the top 200 golfers from around the world. The top 64 players compete over six rounds for the Walter Hagen Cup, with $1.5 million going to the winner and $875,000 for second place. The tournament also donates $1.2 million to charity.

Dove Mountain Resort

The Dove Mountain Resort is a residential community with three golf courses and 81 holes. The three courses are Ritz-Carlton on Dove Mountain, The Gallery and The Highlands. The Ritz-Carlton at Dove Mountain has three nine-hole courses, with the tournament played on the Saguaro front nine and the Tortolita back nine. These two PGA courses were specifically designed for the pros by Jack Nicklaus, although the large, undulating greens are a source of irritation for most pros. The course is Par 72 at 7,317 yards, CR 73.9, slope 146.

Match play

Match play is a scoring system in which a game is won by winning the most holes. Almost all PGA tournaments use stroke play or total score to determine the winner. In 2012, Hunter  Mahan of the U.S. defeated Rory McILroy of Northern Ireland 2 to 1, meaning that Mahan was up two holes with only one hole left to play. Match play is single elimination, meaning one loss and the tournament is over. Sergio Garcia of Spain said “the golfers who don’t like match play are usually the golfers who don’t qualify for this week.” Jason Day (Australia) felt that “match play was very stressful and every match felt like a Sunday.”

The 2013 tournament

The 2013 edition of the Accenture once again featured most of the best golfers in the world, with 64 of the top 66 players participating from 17 countries—but no Canadians. Only Phil Mickelson and Brandt Snedeker did not participate.
The tournament would answer four questions:  1. Can Hunter Mahan repeat as champion? Only Tiger Woods has won this tournament three times. 2. Can Tiger Woods survive the first round?   3. Will Rory McILroy remain the number one golfer in the world playing with his new Nike clubs?  4. Will the weather play a factor? 

The Monday and Tuesday practice rounds were played in sunshine, although Tiger was still in Florida playing golf with President Obama, arriving late on Tuesday for only four practice holes. 

Days one and two: Wednesday and Thursday

The Dove Mountain Resort is located in the Dove Mountains at an elevation of nearly 3,000 feet above sea level. That translates into cooler temperatures, especially in the morning. The first day of the tournament brought four inches of snow, with a snowman becoming the unofficial mascot. Rory McILory and Bubba Watson even had a snowball fight in the parking lot. Players who had their families with them retreated to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and the water slide. 

The second day was cool, with clear skies and all 64 players teeing off.

Match play is very unpredictable and most anything can (and did) happen. The first round was a train wreck, a disaster with 15 colossal upsets. Gone were some of the biggest names in golf, including Rory McILroy (1), Tiger Woods (2), Keegan Bradley (13), Carl Schwartzel (14), Dustin Johnson (15), Graeme McDowell (17), Ernie Els (22), Zach Johnson (23), Rickie Fowler (31), David Toms (45), Padraig Harrington (46) and K.J. Choi (60).

Tiger Woods’ comment after his loss to Charles Howell 111 was, “I played well, I really did. I didn’t make a bogey. Unfortunately, it’s the nature of the format.” 

Many golfers echoed Tiger’s sentiment. Johnny Miller on the Golf Channel explained that upsets were caused because less than a two-stroke average separated the first ranked player from the 64th ranked player—so upsets might be the wrong word.

Day three: Friday

The third day of the tournament continued with the same theme. By the end of 32 matches, the four number one seeds (Woods, McILroy, Donald and Oosthuizen) were all eliminated. Only two of the top ten players, Bubba Watson (8) and Ian Poulter (9) were still alive. Shane Lowry (63) continued to win and play the role of Cinderella.

Day four: Saturday

Following the snowfall and frost delays, it was necessary to play two rounds on Saturday. The bracket of 16 unfolded as predicted. Bubba Watson and Shane Lowry conceded defeat by the 15th hole, while Steve Stricker slipped by Scott Piercy. All the matches produced excellent golf.  For example, Scott Piercy lost his match despite being seven under par. 

The quarter-finals or eights were all competitive matches played under excellent conditions.  Hunter Mahan defeated Webb Simpson one-up, Ian Poulter defeated Steve Stricker three to two, Jason Day defeated Graeme McDowell one-up and Matt Kuchar defeated Robert Garrigus three to two.

Day five: Sunday

The final four featured Jason Day vs. Matt Kuchar and Hunter Mahan vs. Ian Poulter. The day almost never came off because of an early power outage on Dove Mountain. On the first tee, golfers needed ski gloves and toques, as the temperature was 40 degrees F, accompanied by a stiff cold wind. Golf Channel’s Kelly Tilghman had the best line when she said Poulter’s hat, shoes and driver matched his red cheeks.

It was not picture perfect golf but bogey golf, with the wind causing havoc all day. By the time Jason Day reached the 15th hole, he was already six over par. Both matches ended on the 15th green, with Mahan up four (four to three) on Poulter and Kuchar up four (four to three) on Jason Day.

Championship matches  

In the battle for the consolation prize or third place, Jason Day got off to a slow start but rallied to beat Ian Poulter one-up and collect $615,000, a nice win for a crowd favorite. First place would be between Matt Kuchar (20) vs. Hunter Mahan (24), an all-American final. Mahan got off to a slow start with four straight bogeys and after nine holes Kuchar was up four and appeared to be sailing to an easy victory. Mahan fought back by winning holes 10, 11, 14 and 16. The momentum had changed. Going into the 17th hole, Kuchar was only up one when both golfers put their tee shots into a fairway bunker. Kuchar put his second on the green while Mahan hit his ball into a waste area. Mahan conceded the match. It had taken Kuchar only 12 putts over 17 holes to win, with key one-putts on the 12th and 15th holes. 

Matt Kuchar said it best: “To come out on top after six matches of playing the top 64 guys in the world... It’s an incredible feeling.” 
The questions had all been answered. No, Hunter Mahan would not win a second consecutive title. Tiger Woods would again be eliminated in the first round. Rory McILroy would probably lose his number one ranking. As for the weather, it remained a factor causing caused considerable problems for players, organizers and fans. The tournament was over for another year.