I do.
Aside from the four majors and The Players, this might be my favourite tournament of the year. In fact, I like it so much that it could actually challenge some of the majors as far as my intrigue goes.
I really can't understand why there wouldn't be more match play events during the year. Having said that, I do know that once it gets toward the end of the event this format is tough on the broadcasters.
Take the '08 tournament, for example. In the 36-hole final Tiger Woods waxed Stewart Cink to the tune of 8&7. The event was so anti-climatic that by the time they got to a point where the action is normally picking up, the outcome was all but assured.
This year they've taken steps to combat that. Instead of playing the quarter-finals and semi finals on Saturday with a 36-hole final and 18-hole consolation match, participants will play an 18-hole semi final on Sunday morning with an 18-hole final to follow. Definitely better for TV viewing.
With all that said though, I think it's an extremely compelling format and as far as getting more match play on TV, to me, the answer is simple. Take the approach poker did.
Think about it. How often do you see poker on TV? All the time.
And how well do you know some of the players? I could make a legitimate argument that poker has done a better job of introducing their talent and personalities to the world than the PGA Tour has, outside of Tiger and Phil, that is.
So here's what you do: Take a few players (eight or 16, but really any variation of the standard playoff structure would work), mix some well known players with a few up and coming ones, throw them into foursomes, mic them up and have them play 18 holes of stroke play. This is a way to seed them for match play and serves as your first episode.
Yes, I'm advocating for the creation of a reality series.
You then get a few more episodes -- depending on how you want to drag things out, you could reasonably have one episode per match -- that is always riveting because of the editing process and could introduce the casual fan to some of the next generation of players.
You could find a few sponsors to throw a guaranteed pay day to the players or make it some sort of charity event but in either case, who says no?
Anyway, on to the tournament.
Course vitals
Yardage: 7,833
Par: 72
Designed by: Jack Nicklaus (2008).
Bunkers: 89
Water Hazards: 1
Green speeds: 10.5-feet.
2010 difficulty rank: N/A
Defending Champion: Ian Poulter
Interesting Tournament stats
Winners by overall seed (it can't be quite world ranking, since not all top 64 players always play): 1st (3), 8th (1), 9th (2), 14th (1), 19th (1), 24th (1), 52nd (1), 55th (1), 62nd (1).
Other than top seeds -- who hold a 36-10 overall mark -- the ninth overall seed has the best record at 26-10.
Key Back nine hole
Generally we have at least a couple key holes but with the unpredictability of how long a match will actually go, combined with how much this particular hole could impact the proceedings, we're only going with one.
343-yard par four 15th -- In stroke play you can still pretty well do whatever you're comfortable with -- think Zach Johnson's lay-up approach to every par five at Augusta National when he won in 2007 -- but match play is a slightly different animal. You may have to take some unnecessary risks in order to shift the balance of power. Last year, the 15th was the fifth easiest hole on the course playing just over a quarter of a stroke beneath par.
Foursome Picks
Rickie Fowler, 50-1. He's going to win sometime, why not here? He has a good pedigree in match play -- a 3-1 singles record at the Walker Cup -- and is good pressure putter, as evidenced by his comeback to salvage a half point against Edoardo Molinari in last year's Ryder Cup.
Charl Schwartzel, 50-1. In my opinion, Schwartzel is absolutely primed for a breakout. Let's look at the numbers. He made the cut in all four majors last year with no finish worse than 30th. He defeated Hunter Mahan and Jim Furyk last year before bowing out against Stewart Cink in this event last year. His results in the past three months: 4, 2, 4, win, 8.
Bill Haas, 50-1. You would be hard pressed to find anyone playing more consistently right now then Haas. His worst finish in five events so far is T29 and has legitimately been in the mix in three tournaments. He's also had only three rounds over par while also carding 15 rounds in the 60s in 21 rounds. And yes, I realize that have him sending Tiger Woods packing. The problem with Tiger in this tournament -- as it has been the past few months -- is very much the opposite of Haas: consistency.
Ross Fisher, 60-1. He may have been given an early departure last year, being bounced by Thongchai Jaidee in the first round. The year before he advanced to the semi finals before falling to Paul Casey. In that same year, he won the Volvo Match Play, the premier match play event on the European Tour.
Longshot -- Jeff Overton, 100-1. Another guy who is due for a victory. He played well at the Ryder Cup last year -- ironically beating Ross Fisher in Sunday singles -- and also held a 2-0 record in the Walker Cup in singles.
Other guys I think will be in the mix
Nick Watney -- In three starts this year his results: T6, T5, T6. He advanced to the third round last year before bowing out to Retief Goosen 1-up.
Rory McIlroy -- Despite turning pro when he was 18, McIlroy still has a lot of match play experience -- at the Walker Cup, Ryder Cup and by holding a 4-2 record in this event -- add to that a pair of top-10s to start the year and I like his chances.
Hunter Mahan -- Comes in with some forward momentum after his runner-up finish at Pebble Beach in addition to a T6 at Torrey Pines at the end of January. He doesn't have the best record in this tournament -- a 2-3 overall record -- but he did advance to the semi finals of the '07 Volvo Match Play event on the European Tour and was the runner-up at the U.S. Amateur in 2002.
My full bracket
No comments:
Post a Comment