Geoff Ogilvy certainly loves the last week of February – of that there is no doubt. Last year, he ended the second month of 2005 with victory in the Chrysler Classic of Tucson on the US PGA Tour and, 12 months later, he won again, albeit in the more salubrious surroundings of the World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play. The 28 year old Australian defeated American Davis Love III 3 and 2 in the 36 hole final at La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, after having been one hole ahead at lunch, to pick up the bumper first prize of €1,091,886 (£746,997).
Youth will meet experience in the 36 hole final of the World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play at La Costa Resort & Spa when tournament debutant Geoff Ogilvy of Australia goes head to head with American veteran Davis Love III in the battle for the €1,091,886 first prize. Both booked their places in the showdown after relatively comfortable semi-final assignments, Ogilvy seeing off US Ryder Cup Captain Tom Lehman 4 and 3, while Love – who lost to Tiger Woods in the 2004 final - accounted for his young compatriot Zach Johnson 4 and 2.
Hopes of crowning a European Tour Member as champion in the World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play ended at La Costa Resort & Spa when Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington and David Howell all departed the tournament at the quarter-final stage. Goosen went down 3 and 2 to American youngster Zach Johnson, Harrington fell at the hands of American Ryder Cup stalwart Davis Love III on the final green, while Howell saw his hopes extinguished by Geoff Ogilvy, the Australian taking his place in the semi-finals after closing out the match on the 19th green.
He made the world sit up and take notice when he went head to head with Tiger Woods in the HSBC Champions in Shanghai last November and beat him, and David Howell continued to give notice that he deserves his place at golf’s top table with a stunning victory over Phil Mickelson in the third round of the World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play in California. Despite being very much the underdog in the eyes of the bookmakers and second favourite to the majority of the crowd who had made the short trip to the La Costa Resort & Spa from Mickelson’s home town of San Diego, Howell showed his class and true golfing pedigree with a 3 and 1 victory to move into the quarter-finals.
It is one of the oldest idioms in match play golf, namely that two up with five to play never wins, and Padraig Harrington proved its authenticity once again at the La Costa Resort & Spa, eroding that precise lead held by opponent Angel Cabrera to progress through to the third round of the World Golf Championships – Accenture Match Play. The 34 year old Irishman looked in trouble at the hands last year’s BMW Championship winner, but produced a stunning finish at the Carlsbad course to move into the last 16 alongside four of his European Tour colleagues – Luke Donald, Retief Goosen, David Howell and Vijay Singh.
Twenty years ago Bernhard Langer might have encountered flames of a different nature at La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, but in the first round of the 2006 WGC – Accenture Match Play it was the German’s own game which was on fire as he produced one of the performances of the day to oust Number Four seed Ernie Els from the tournament.
Europe has already tasted success in team match play this year with victory over Asia in The Royal Trophy in Bangkok, but it is in the individual realm that Members will turn their attention to this week with the staging of the first of the World Golf Championships of the season, the WGC – Accenture Match Play in California.
The field for next week’s World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship was announced on Friday and will feature Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els as the top seeds in each of the tournament’s four brackets. The WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship will begin Wednesday, February 22 at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California, USA.
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell is set to play Tiger Woods in the first round of the World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championship at La Costa Resort & Spa, Carlsbad, California, next week, subject to no further withdrawals.
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Geoff Ogilvy©Getty Images
Davis Love III©Getty Images
Davis Love III & Padraig Harrington©Getty Images
David Howell©2006 Getty Images
Padraig Harrington©Getty Images
Bernhard Langer©Getty Images
Colin Montgomerie©2006 Getty Images
Vijay Singh©2006 Getty Images
Graeme McDowell©Getty Images
