In what could be considered golf's version of the NCAA's March Madness tournament, the Accenture match play event brings together the top 64 ranked golfer's in the world. Only this year, the top ranked golfer, Tiger Woods, as well as the third ranked golfer, Phil Mickelson, have opted to skip the event. Not having either in the field is surprising to many. Despite Tiger's current marital woes and his break from professional golf, speculation was that this could be the event he returns for. There were several reasons he would possibly do so. First, he has won the event three times, as well as finished runner-up. He seems to thrive in the one-on-one tournament atmosphere. Secondly, Accenture, who is hosting the tournament, is one of Woods' biggest sponsors. His reputation has been tarnished of late, and many of his sponsorships have decided to pull back. It would have seemed to be a smart public relations move to attend, but no one can be sure of the status of Woods' troubles in his personal life. Phil Mickelson, also missing the event, has a much more positive reason for doing do. Mickelson says that he will be taking his three children on vacation, a trip that was postponed due to his wife's breast cancer treatments. Her long-term prognosis is good, and Mickelson hopes that his schedule will no longer be affected after missing many rounds of golf of late. Although television ratings and corporate gains will certainly be affected, two people who won't mind are Chris Wood and Ross McGowan. The 65th and 66th ranked players in the world will be taking the place of Woods and Mickelson in this year's event. With an 8.5 million dollar purse, over one million of which will go to the winner, these two have hit the lottery in a sense. The only problem now is cashing in the ticket.
Match scheduled
Date : 23 Feb 2011
Start time : 19 : 00
WGC Accenture Match Play
Match scheduled
Date : 23 Feb 2011
Start time : 19 : 00
WGC Accenture Match Play
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