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Golf

Opinion by Greg Hansen : Magnetic field

Match Play brings impressive roster of golfing greats
Opinion by Greg Hansen
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 02.12.2007
John Fought, architect of the Gallery Golf Club's south course and a former PGA Tour pro, suggests that next week's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship will go beyond any golf tournament in Arizona history.
Beyond Arnold Palmer winning at Tucson National in 1967.
Beyond four Tucson Open victories by Johnny Miller, three by Phil Mickelson, two by Lee Trevino and classic, in-their-prime championships by Tom Watson and David Duval.
"Here's one thing I can guarantee,'' Fought said last week. "This event will be unlike anything that has been in the state of Arizona when it comes to golf. This is unequivocally the best field ever to step into the state."
The field of 64 players who qualify for the Match Play championship was made final Sunday night. Nobody squeezed into the field on the final day of qualifying. Nobody was bumped.
Brett Quigley, ranked 64th last week, held onto that position. Only some mild shuffling within the ranks of 64 occurred. How mild? Phil Mickelson, winner of Sunday's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, climbed from No. 6 to No. 4.
It's possible someone will withdraw. Sergio Garcia did so last year, enabling the 65th-ranked player to get a guaranteed $35,000 payday. (That's last-place money here these days. Total purse: $8 million.)
According to Michael Garten, executive director of the Match Play event, the event has never had to go beyond the 67th-ranked player since the championship began in 1999.
Top-ranked Tiger Woods, a two-time Match Play champion, has confirmed he will play here. He will open against Quigley unless injured Arron Oberholser is unable to play. But Oberholser on Sunday said he expects to be at the Gallery Golf Club next week. If someone withdraws, 65th-ranked J.J. Henry gets in.
The setup parallels the structure of the NCAA basketball tournament. Four pods of 16 players, each seeded 1 through 16. No. 1 plays No. 16, No. 2 meets No. 15 and so on. The first man to win six matches is the champion, earning $1.3 million.
Play begins Feb. 21 at the Gallery. Single-elimination. NBC and The Golf Channel will combine to broadcast 24 hours of competition.
1. Tiger Woods — Won WGC-Match Play titles in 2003 and 2004 among his 55 tour victories and $66.7 million in official earnings.
2. Jim Furyk — Ex-Wildcat has 12 wins on tour, including 2003 U.S. Open for $31.5 million in career money.
3. Adam Scott — Hasn't won in America but the Aussie has earned $13 million and has four international tour wins.
4. Phil Mickelson — Won the Tucson Open in 1991, while at Arizona State. Also won here in 1995 and 1996. Has 30 tour victories, $40 million in money.
5. Ernie Els — South Africa's "Big Easy" won the 1994 and 1997 U.S. Opens and has 15 wins in the U.S. for $28 million.
6. Retief Goosen — Two-time U.S. Open champ (2001 and 2004) has six wins in America since leaving South Africa.
7. Vijay Singh – At 43, Singh has 30 tour victories and $50 million as he attempts to return to No. 1 ranking.
8. Luke Donald — From England, 2002 PGA Tour Rookie of Year has two tour victories and $9.8 million in career earnings.
9. Henrik Stenson — Swedish golfer has won seven European events and was on the 2006 Ryder Cup team.
10. Padraig Harrington — The 2006 Ryder Cupper has won twice on the PGA Tour and 10 times internationally.
11. Geoff Ogilvy — Aussie golfer won the Tucson Open in 2005 and the Match Play and U.S. Open championships in epic 2006 season.
12. Trevor Immelman — South African has emerged as a star, with four international wins and the 2006 Western Open title.
13. Sergio Garcia — One-time young phenom skipped Match Play last year; has six tour wins but only one since 2004.
14. Paul Casey — Arizona State alumnus won Pac-10 championships in 1998, 1999 and 2000. He is from England.
15. Davis Love III — With 19 tour victories, Love has earned $35 million in his career, including a PGA Championship.
16. Nick O'Hern — Won the 2006 Australian PGA title. Eliminated Tiger Woods and finished fifth in 1999 Match Play showdown.
17. David Howell — Englishman hasn't won in U.S. but was fifth at last year's WGC-Match Play event in California.
18. David Toms — Breakout win was 2001 PGA Championship; he has won 11 other tour events.
19. Colin Montgomerie — No wins in the U.S., but Scottish-born Monty has 23 Top 10 finishes here.
20. Stuart Appleby — Australian has won eight PGA Tour events and $19 million with three titles at Mercedes Championships.
21. Chris DiMarco — Florida Gators fan has won $18.7 million on tour with three victories and runner-up finish to Tiger Woods at 2005 Masters.
22. Jose M. Olazabal — Winner of the Masters in 1994 and 1999, the Spaniard has six U.S. victories.
23. Stewart Cink — Georgia Tech grad has four victories on tour and $18.7 million in career money.
24. K.J. Choi — First South Korean on PGA Tour has four wins in U.S. and $11.9 million in career earnings.
25. Shingo Katayama — Four-time winner on Asian Tour, Katayama was fourth in the 2001 PGA Championship.
26. Robert Karlsson — Swedish golfer is coming off a Ryder Cup year and looking for a U.S. win to go with seven international titles.
27. Joe Durant — Former insurance salesman has won four times on tour with $10 million in the bank.
28. Ian Poulter — English golfer with seven European titles was a 2004 Ryder Cup member.
29. Michael Campbell — 2005 U.S. Open champion is a New Zealand native who won Europe's Match Play title last fall.
30. Yong-Eun Yang — South Korea-born golfer has won twice in Japan and was 2006 Korean Open champ.
31. Angel Cabrera — Argentina native has 15 international wins but none in U.S. Finished fifth in 2006 Masters.
32. Tim Clark — Diminutive South African hasn't won on U.S. soil but was second to Phil Mickelson in last year's Masters.
33. Robert Allenby — With four wins on PGA Tour, the Australian has won $13.8 million, not including 15 victories on European tours.
34. Chad Campbell — Second in the 2003 Tucson Open, Campbell has won three events and $12.5 million after college career at UNLV.
35. Rod Pampling — Won at Bay Hill in 2006, the second PGA Tour title for the Australian golfer.
36. Justin Rose — South Africa native was third at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic last month and has four international tour titles.
37. Bart Bryant — Not winning on tour until he was 42, the New Mexico State alumnus now has three tour victories.
38. Niclas Fasth — Swedish golfer won twice on European Tour in 2005 and was 18th in Order of Merit.
39. Stephen Ames — Only golfer on tour from Trinidad and Tobago, Ames won the TPC title last year and has $11.3 million in tour money.
40. Aaron Baddeley — Runner-up at 2004 Tucson Open. Baddeley got in this field by winning the FBR Open in Phoenix last week.
41. Carl Pettersson — Swedish golfer has won twice in U.S., including the 2006 Memorial.
42. Jeev M. Singh — Only PGA Tour golfer from India, Singh won the 2006 Volvo China Open. Played at Abilene Christian University.
43. Paul Goydos — UCLA alumnus won the Sony Open in Hawaii last month, his first tour victory.
44. Brett Wetterich — He went from 2005 Q-School to 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team after winning Byron Nelson championship.
45. Charles Howell III — Grew up in Augusta, Ga., but hasn't become big name with just one tour victory, in 2002.
46. Johan Edfors — Swedish golfer played at Texas-San Antonio in college and has won international titles in Scotland and Zambia.
47. Arron Oberholser — Winner of 2006 AT&T Pebble Beach event hopes back injury has healed so he can play in Tucson.
48. Rory Sabbatini — Arizona alumnus has three tour victories, most notable being 2006 Nissan Los Angeles Open and has $11.7 million in career money.
49. Lucas Glover — With 18 Top 10 finishes on the PGA Tour, Glover last won at Walt Disney in 2005.
50. Ben Crane — Known more for his slow play than his two tour wins, the Oregonian has won $7.3 million.
51. Mike Weir — Canadian golfer from BYU was never better than spring of 2003, winning in Los Angeles, Palm Springs and at the Masters.
52. Darren Clarke — Natty dresser from Northern Ireland won the 2000 WGC-Match Play title, his first of two tour victories.
53. Thomas Bjorn — European standout from Denmark won the 2006 Nissan Irish Open and the 2005 British Dunlop Masters.
54. Steve Stricker — He was the surprise winner of the 2001 Match Play title when it moved for one year to Australia.
55. Lee Westwood — English golfer won his only PGA Tour event in 1998 but has won 24 times on European Tour.
56. Zach Johnson — 2006 Ryder Cup player from Iowa, Johnson won the 2004 BellSouth Classic for his only tour win.
57. Miguel A. Jimenez — Spanish golfer has won 17 European titles and been on three Ryder Cup teams.
58. John Rollins — Was second in the Hope and at Phoenix already this year. Rollins has not won on the PGA Tour.
59. Scott Verplank — Made the U.S. Ryder Cup team last year, a highlight of his tour career that includes four championships.
60. Charl Schwartzel — South African golfer, only 22, was 18th in Europe's Order of Merit last year.
61. Bradley Dredge — Welshman won the 2006 European Masters.
62. Richard Green — Australian golfer is a left-hander with the 1997 Dubai Desert Classic title to his credit.
63. Shaun Micheel — PGA champ of 2003 added to his 15 minutes of fame by hanging out with the rock band Kiss.
64. Brett Quigley — The Massachusetts golfer hasn't won on tour but has finished second twice and pocketed $7.6 million.
On StarNet: Find more golf news including live leader boards for PGA and LPGA events at: azstarnet.com/golf
Match Play: An 18-page special section about the international golf event. Feb. 18
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