2011 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship TV Schedule and Tournament Notes

Tiger made a clutch birdie on 18 to square his match
with Thomas Bjorn, and then lost on the 19th hole.

THE 2011 WGC-ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY Championship is underway at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, in Marana, Arizona. The field of 64 sliced in half. Early high-seed exits: Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Ian Poulter, Dustin Johnson and Retief Goosen. This is match play, folks. Anything can happen.

Purse: $8.5 million
Winner’s share: $1.4 million
Defending champion: Ian Poulter

The brackets
The course
Tournament overview
Tournament news
Video
Interviews
WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship website


2011 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship Live Scoring


TV SCHEDULE

TV coverage of the 2011 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship is on Golf Channel and NBC. All times Eastern.

GOLF
Wed 12 – 6 pm
Thu 2 – 6 pm
Fri 2 – 6 pm
Sat 12 – 2 pm
Sun 9 – 1 pm

NBC
Sat 2 – 6 pm
Sun 2 – 6 pm

−The Armchair Golfer

Miguel Angel Jimenez: Putting Without a Putter

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ MISSED a three-footer last week at The Royal Golf Club in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The cigar-chomping veteran momentarily lost his pony-tailed head. He tossed the guilty putter at his golf bag. It broke.

Putter-less, Jimenez faced five more holes with 13 clubs in his bag. Which club did he put into service on those last five greens? The lob wedge. How did he finish? He birdied three out of the last four holes to shoot 65, giving him a share of the second-round lead at the Volvo Golf Champions. He went on to finish second.

That, my friends, is another reason why Jimenez and his tour comrades have their names on their golf bags and I don’t. If Miguel can birdie three of four holes putting with a wedge, I wonder why he even bothers with a putter.

The last time I broke a putter mid-round was a couple of years ago. It was an accident. My 20-year-old Slotline simply gave out, a case of metal fatigue. I was on the 1st hole. I putted with a long iron, but soon decided it was a poor choice. I ended up using my 3 metal. That worked OK. But I made no birdies like “The Mechanic.” And I couldn’t shoot 65 in my dreams.

I didn’t see Jimenez in action without his putter, so I wondered how he did it until I read his quote: “This is not the first time I putt with a lob wedge.”

Jimenez and a stellar European Tour field tee off this week at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters. Eight of the world’s top 20 players will be in action, including defending champion Robert Karlsson, Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, Paul Casey, Steve Stricker, Ian Poulter, Retief Goosen and Louis Oosthuizen.

Someone may have to putt without a putter—and could still go low.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo credit: Perez, Flickr, Creative Commons license)

Ian Poulter Visits ‘Fat Booth’

IAN POULTER HAD SOME FUN yesterday with the Fat Booth application and posted links to the photos on Twitter. It got a little crazy. Fat pics of Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell, Bubba Watson, Tiger Woods, Colin Montgomerie, Camilo Villegas, Rory McIlroy, LeBron James, Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson turned up. Poults couldn’t stop himself. He was laughing his fat head off.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Visor tip to Golf.com.)

Poulter Blunder Overshadows Karlsson Win

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a regular contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece is excerpted from his blog, Irish Golf Desk. 

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

IT WASN’T QUITE DECIDED by the flip of a coin, but it will feel that way to Ian Poulter after he bizarrely lost the Dubai World Championship to Robert Karlsson on the second play-off hole. The flamboyant Englishman potentially lost more than €416,000—€303,452 in event prize money plus another €113,000 from the Race to Dubai Bonus Pool—when he marked his ball and then dropped it onto his “lucky” marker.

The “coin”—a custom-made platinum token inscribed with the names of his children—flipped over. And as a result, Poulter was penalised a vital stroke under one of golf’s most arcane rules, effectively turning a thrilling finish to the European Tour season into a crushing anti-climax. Instead of sizing up a birdie putt of over 30 feet that would have force the Swede to hole his four footer for the win, Poulter was left putting for a par five. Understandably, he left it short, and with the pressure off Karlsson needed only one putt to claim the €910,349 top prize and his 11th European Tour title.

Germany’s Martin Kaymer claimed the Race to Dubai from Graeme McDowell and a bonus of $1.5m as he finished tied for 13th with the Ulsterman on six under par.

But the story of the week was completely overshadowed by Poulter’s mishap, which cost him the chance to continue his fight for back-to-back wins following his Hong Kong Open success. Had he beaten Karlsson he would have overtaken Lee Westwood and finished third in the final Race to Dubai standings.

“It’s a shame it’s just ended the way it has and it’s not a consolation for me that Robert holed the putt in any case,” Poulter said after a play-off that saw them brilliantly card matching birdie fours on the first extra hole. “It’s a strange rule because if I had dropped the ball on the middle of the marker and it had not moved there’s no penalty.

“But I should not drop my ball on it. It’s been my lucky marker since the start of the year and has got my kids’ names on. There are always positives, but right now I’m not seeing them.”

Poulter feared the worst after his faux pas and heard the bad news almost straight away when he called over Chief Referee Andy McFee and was informed that he was being penalised under Decision 20-1/15. Asked how frustrating it felt, he did little to hide his disgust as he lost 23 world ranking points and the chance to go to seventh in the world, instead of just eighth

“About 20 world ranking points, a lovely trophy and about $400,000—that much frustrating,” Poulter said.

At first, Rory McIlroy was sympathetic to Poulter’s plight as he informed the world on Twitter: “So gutted for @ianJamesPoulter !! What a crap rule! Still great playing for the last few weeks!” Minutes later, McIlroy tweeted again: “Poults may not have won the Dubai World Championship, but he could be in with a shout for tiddlywinks world championship!”

Ouch.

Karlsson was a worthy winner after a final round that saw him birdie the first two holes and then hole an eight iron from 172 yards for an eagle two at the third.

“These things happen in golf. It’s not the way you want to win,” Karlsson said. “The rules are there for a reason but some of them can be tough.”

Despite his failure to secure the top-three finish he needed to overhaul Kaymer in the Race to Dubai, McDowell was upbeat after closing with rounds of 69 and 68 to share 13th with his rival.

“Friday was the disappointing day for me because I lost my head, got impatient and got frustrated with myself,” he said. “To shoot seven under par and play as well as I have this weekend makes me very proud of what I’ve achieved this season. It was a nice way to finish.”

With Westwood finishing the year as world No. 1, McDowell now believes that he too has a chance to go on and become the best player in the world some day.

He said: “Of course, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think I could be world No. 1. I think a few years ago, Tiger Woods looked pretty untouchable, pretty invincible, and we were all playing for second really.

“Nowadays is a little different. When I look at one of my good friends and colleagues as the world’s No. 1 player, do I believe I can be world No. 1? Of course I do.”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

(Image: Harry Lime/Flickr)

Tiger Takes a Bow in Thailand

TIGER WOODS, SHOWN ABOVE with Thailand’s best golfer, Thongchai Jaidee (far right), was treated like a rock star during his early November visit to Thailand for a one-day charity skins game that raised 2.2 million baht ($75,000) for flood victims. It was Tiger’s first visit to Thailand in 10 years.

Apparently, Tiger messed up the greeting with the Prime Minister.

“The Thai people adore Tiger Woods because of this family connection to the country,” said Mark Siegel, managing director of Golfasian Co. Ltd.

“However, they must have been a bit disappointed that he shook hands with the Prime Minister instead of returning his ‘wai,’ the traditional Thai greeting of palms pressed together with a head bow that is a sign of humility and respect. Not the stuff of international incident, but I bet Tiger heard it from his mom.”

Ranked 85th in the Official World Golf Ranking. Jaidee is two shots behind leader Ian Poulter heading into the final round of the Dubai World Championship.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Photo courtesy of Mandarin Media)

Graeme McDowell in Four-Way Dubai Dogfight

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a regular contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece is excerpted from his blog, Irish Golf Desk. 

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

GRAEME MCDOWELL RECKONS THE Race to Dubai has become a four-way dogfight following Francesco Molinari’s wire-to-wire win in Shanghai. The Ulsterman goes into this week’s megabucks Barclays Singapore Open €531,806 adrift of German ace Martin Kaymer in the battle to become Europe’s No. 1.

But with Molinari seeing off Lee Westwood in the WGC-HSBC Champions to go fourth behind in the world No. 1 in the money list, McDowell knows he’s got a battle on his hands. Disappointed to finish in the pack in the WGC event in China, he’s hoping for better against Kaymer and the in-form Italian in this week’s $6m (€4.3m) battle at Serapong Golf Club.

A poor 34th last week, McDowell groaned: “World Golf Championships are massive events and unfortunately I didn’t take advantage of that with a good week in Shanghai. I hoped to catch Martin a bit more but it wasn’t to be. And with the excellent performances from Francesco and Lee we have a real race on our hands.”

The top four in the Race to Dubai are separated by just €1m with an incredible €11.5m in prize money up for grabs at the last three events in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai. The winner of the season-ending Dubai World Championship will take home more than €800,000. But with the runner up set to pocket over €550,000, McDowell knows he will have to cut Kaymer’s half a million euro lead in half over the next two weeks.

GMac said: “There is still a lot of money to play for so anything can happen. All I can do is try and play my best and if that means I still have a shot at winning the Order of Merit, great. I want to get to the Dubai World Championship knowing that if I were to win that tournament I can also win the Race—that’s the chance I want to give myself.”

While Westwood is resting this week, McDowell will be keeping a close eye on playing partner and world No. 14 Molinari. But there are other big fish looking to gobble up the €713,165 top prize with Masters winner Phil Mickelson and defending champion Ian Poulter also teeing it up.

Ireland has 10 men in action with Padraig Harrington gunning for his second win in the space of a month after ending his two-year drought in Malaysia just three weeks ago.

Harrington said: “The form is good. I’m looking to win. If I hole the putts, I’ll be competing on Sunday.”

The Race to Dubai - Top 4

1. Martin Kaymer €3,207,229

2. Graeme McDowell €2,675,423

3. Lee Westwood €2,362,143

4. Francesco Molinari €2,201,614

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

Ian Poulter Debuts White Driver

COLORFUL ENGLISHMAN IAN POULTER has put a white driver in his golf bag. The novel stick is a Cobra Limited Edition ZL Driver. There will only be 500 ZL Drivers, each white in color and marked with a production serial number.

The driver has an adjustable hosel, and when Cobra (now owned by PUMA) says white, they mean 100 percent white. The club features an all-white Fujikura’s Motore Speeder shaft and an all-white Golf Pride Tour Wrap 2G grip. It retails for $625.

Poulter tweeted this to his 1,047,970 followers: “Played lovely today game is in great shape for the weekend. I hope you all like my New Cobra Limited Edition White ZL driver. It’s awesome”

Ian is playing in the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, where he’s carded a pair of 70s. He’s tied for ninth at the halfway point along with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Robert Allenby, Nick Watney and a few others.

2010 WGC-HSBC Champions TV schedule

−The Armchair Golfer

Whistling or Dire Straits for Harrington’s Ryder Cup Hopes

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh, a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a regular contributor to The Irish Times and Golf Digest Ireland, writes about the dilemma of five-time Ryder Cupper Padraig Harrington.

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

PADRAIG HARRINGTON ADMITS THAT this week’s US PGA is his last chance to avoid the need for a Ryder Cup pick. The Dubliner plans to skip the final qualifying event at Gleneagles to play in the clashing FedExCup play-off tournament in New Jersey in two weeks’ time. And that means he must grab a top-four finish at Whistling Straits to ensure that he is not relying on one of skipper Colin Montgomerie’s three wild cards on August 29.

Confessing he could be in dire straits instead of Whistling Straits on Sunday night, Harrington said: “It’s very precarious. No one who doesn’t qualify automatically deserves to be in the team. If you don’t make it on merit, you are asking for a little bit of a favour.”

Ian Poulter sparked a massive controversy two years ago when he decided not to travel to Gleneagles despite the fact that he could still qualify for the team. It was alleged that Poulter had been given “the nod” by skipper Nick Faldo, who later handed him a captain’s pick.

But Harrington will have safety in numbers this time as Paul Casey and Justin Rose, who are also outside the qualifying places, also intend to skip the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in favour of The Barclays.

Harrington said: “It is a very awkward situation, there’s no doubt about it. I saw the last time round that one of the players [Poulter] didn’t come to play the last event and I thought he should have. Now I am in the same situation because I have a Special Olympics clinic at The Barclays and I don’t want to let them down.

“I have talked to some of the other guys who will be looking for a pick and they are all saying they will be playing The Barclays. So at the moment I am committing to the Special Olympics and I’m going to try and qualify this week and have nothing to worry about.”

Seventh in the race for four places from the World Points List and just over €13,245 behind Miguel Angel Jimenez in the battle for the other five places from the European Points List, Harrington knows he needs a massive week in Wisconsin.

“The goal is to get in on the world ranking points because that ends in a week’s time. Even if I pass Jimenez in the money, he can jump by me in the last event in Gleneagles so the goal is to play well this week and sort it out.”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

(Image: Mike Davis/Flickr)

Justin Rose Can Win Jack

2010 Memorial Tournament Recap
Winner: Justin Rose
Score: 18 under, 270 (65, 69, 70, 66)
Quote: “Until you win over here, you don’t feel like you’ve really achieved all you want to in the game.”
Fact: Played with plastic club at 11 months old. Now plays TaylorMade.
Thought: Brits are on a serious roll.

SCRATCH JUSTIN ROSE OFF the list of Brits who haven’t won on the PGA Tour. Who’s next? I would say Lee Westwood, but I keep saying Lee will win in America (he won at New Orleans early in his career, as a commenter reminded me), or win a major, and it hasn’t happened. Close at the Masters and the Players, but no victory cigar. But the Brits (and South Africans, as my friend Mike says) are definitely trending on the PGA Tour. First, Ian Poulter, then Rory McIlroy, and now Justin Rose.

Rose just went out to Muirfield Village on Sunday and took it away from Rickie Fowler. Sure, Fowler helped him a lot by dunking one at the par-3 12th, but Justin charged home with birdies at 14 and 16 to post a 66 and have his “Jack” moment beside the 18th green. Even his 1-year-old boy broke out in applause.

Apparently, Mr. Nicklaus, as Rickie Fowler addressed the legend, is fond of the 29-year-old Englishman. “I just always liked his golf game,” Jack said in a joint press conference with Rose.

About Phil Mickelson’s 3-metal or whatever it was off the asphalt at the 15th, I was not surprised. Entertained, yes. Surprised, no. There is no shot that Phil won’t try. We know that. Besides, I’ll bet half of you have hit one off the pavement or cart path somewhere down the line. I have. You don’t want to catch it fat. Phil caught it perfect, but still made a double. And he would do it all over again.

Tiger Woods made the cut and finished in a tie for 19th. When you consider everything, that’s not bad. I have no idea what to expect from Tiger at Pebble in the U.S. Open. Not a win. But stranger things have happened, haven’t they?

Tour Notes

• European Tour: Graeme McDowell won the Wales Open.
• PGA Tour: Brian Gay defends this week at the St. Jude Classic in Memphis.
• LPGA Tour: The ladies tee it up at the LPGA State Farm Classic in Springfield, Illinois.

−The Armchair Golfer

Name the Player Based on the Shoes and Footwork

NOTE THE SHOES. NOTE the footwork. You can even note the snazzy britches, if you like. Who is the player?

I know this is not an easy assignment so I will give you a couple of hints that may or may not be helpful. The player is not an American. Nor is it Ian Poulter. (But the footwork tells you that, right?)

The photo was snapped on the practice range at the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: rgusick/Flickr)

The Brits Are Coming

Jerry Kelly had harsh words about the “spongy” condition of the greens at TPC Sawgrass. (nsaplayer/Flickr)

LEE WESTWOOD WILL WIN the Players Championship on Sunday. He’s leading, he’s playing well, he’s more due than the rent.

But here’s another theory. The Brits are on a roll. Englishman Ian Poulter won earlier this year at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Englishman Brian Davis very nearly won at the Verizon Heritage. Then, last week, Irishman Rory McIlroy broke through at the Quail Hollow Championship. Here we go. Tomorrow it’s Westwood’s turn. Next week at the Valero Texas Open, Englishman Greg Owen will win. The following week, Davis will return to win the Byron Nelson.

I don’t have a pick yet for the Crowne Plaza Invitational. Stay tuned.

−The Armchair Golfer

Of Poulter, Pin Placements and Pairings

WHAT LOOKS GOOD WITH a Green Jacket? That’s a question that was posed to Ian Poulter after he finished his second round at the Masters. “Anything,” he said. Poulter shot 68 and is tied for the 36-hole lead at 8 under with fellow countryman Lee Westwood who had a 69.

Poulter could do it. So could Westwood. But even though they’re battle tested and formidable Ryder Cuppers, neither of the Brits has won a major, much less a Green Jacket. There’s nothing they would like more. They’re halfway home, but the tougher half starts on Saturday and the owners of six Green Jackets—Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson—are in close pursuit. Woods is apparently rust-proof and Phil hearts Augusta.

The group of five golfers two strokes behind Poulter and Westwood at 6 under are: K.J. Choi (71), Woods (70), Anthony Kim (70), Ricky Barnes (70) and Mickelson (71). Y.E. Yang (72) is at 5 under. First-round leader Fred Couples and Tom Watson, who both struggled on Friday, are five off the lead at 3 under.

The weekend weather is supposed to be lovely, so the men who pull the levers at the Masters and Augusta National will have maximum control of the course setup. The course will play more difficult on Saturday—firmer and faster with harder-to-get-to pin placements. The greens will be slicker and not hold as well. It should make for a typical Masters moving day. There will be few scores in the 60s. (There were only three scores in the 60s today. Poulter’s 68 was Friday’s best.)

When Phil nearly slam dunked his long birdie putt on the 18th green, CBS’s Jim Nantz mentioned that Phil would have been paired with Tiger had the putt dropped. I think it works out better for Tiger. He doesn’t need fan-favorite Phil as a distraction, although it would have been great for fan interest and TV ratings. Instead, Tiger will make his third consecutive trip around Augusta with Choi, which strikes me as a comfortable pairing for both golfers. The Poulter-Westwood pairing is also fortuitous. The two are friends and that’s bound to help as the pressure builds. I expect one or both of the Englishmen to still be at or near the top of the leaderboard on Saturday night.

Whether or not you picked someone to win before the tournament started, who do you like now?

−The Armchair Golfer

(Image: John Trainor/Flickr)

Poulter Wins All-English Match Play Final

2010 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship Recap
Winner: Ian Poulter
Score: 4 and 2 over Paul Casey in 36-hole final
Quote: “It’s been a long time coming.”
Fact: Moved up to No. 5 in Official World Golf Rankings.
Thought: Is a major in Poulter’s future?

YOU KNEW HE HAD game. Ian Poulter sold me at the 2008 Ryder Cup when as a controversial captain’s pick he pretty much outplayed everyone on either team. On Sunday “Poults” broke out in an even bigger way with his first win on American soil (actually, on American sand, the Sonoran Desert), a 4 and 2 victory over fellow Englishman Paul Casey in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

The color pink hasn’t had a better day on the golf course in quite some time. Which got me thinking: If Paula Creamer is the Pink Panther, can we call Ian the Pink Poulter? Probably not, I suppose. Too limiting. It’s just one fave in his rainbow-hued wardrobe.

I didn’t see much of the 36-hole match, but I did watch most of the final holes. Casey cut Poulter’s four-hole lead in half early on the final nine. Just when I thought it might get interesting, the Pink Poulter converted some exquisite par saves to stall Casey’s comeback. I guess that’s the way he played all week. About his short game, Poulter said, “The last 12 months, it’s been up there with the best of them.”

Poulter has won nine times on the European Tour, including the Barclays Singapore Open last November. But Sunday’s victory was by far the biggest moment of his career, and vaulted him to number five in the world rankings.

It was the second year in a row that Casey lost in the finals. Last year he ran into a match-play buzzsaw named Geoff Ogilvy. “He [Poulter] did a fantastic job of making putts and keeping the ball in play,” Casey said, “and he kept the pressure on.” Finishing second again must sting, but reaching the finals two years in a row is an impressive accomplishment. Don’t be surprised if Casey someday wins one of these. In the meantime, a runner-up check for $850,000 is a nice way to pad the bankroll, no?

Tour Notes

• LPGA Tour: Ai Miyazato won the season opener in Thailand.
• PGA Tour: Cameron Beckman took the Mayakoba Golf Classic.
• Champions Tour: Bernhard Langer won the Allianz Championship.
• ARMCHAIR GOLF plans to attend the Puerto Rico Open in March.

−The Armchair Golfer