Matchplay vs Strokeplay

[RichF]

Found this on the BBC website sports-section with regards to the upcoming WGC MatchPlay tournament starting today at Dove Mountain, Tucson, Arizona:

"Want to know what the most popular pre-tournament quote will be this week? My money’s firmly on words to the effect of: “It makes a nice change from the usual grind.”
This is what professional golfers say when it is a matchplay week.

We have precious little head-to-head golf to savour and perhaps these players should be more emphatic. Maybe they are damning the format with faint praise. “Nice” has always been a bit wishy-washy.
What about “compelling” or “exciting”, “dramatic” and “thrilling”? They are words I’d happily attach to this week’s World Golf Championships Accenture Matchplay tournament in Arizona.

So this week provides for the top 64 golfers in the world going head-to-head through a seeded draw in the way that most tennis tournaments are played.
All bar one of the top 64 are playing; American Brett Wetterich has withdrawn with a shoulder injury letting in No.65, the FBR Open winner, J.B. Holmes.
It is a week when sports fans, not just golfy geeks, start talking about the game. This is what happens when you have a format that rewards aggressive play and creates an environment for upsets and comebacks.
Memorably last year Justin Rose took out Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington went into overtime to beat Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia edged out Darren Clarke at the first extra hole of their tussle.

Tiger Woods fell to Nick O’Hern at the second extra hole of a third round clash and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson went on to beat former US Open Champion Geoff Ogilvy in the final. Matchplay critics claim the format doesn’t identify the best golfer of the week. One player could shoot 64 in his match and lose while another could fire a 73 and still progress.

There is also the risk of losing your biggest names on the first day and leaving a field of relative unknowns for the rest of the tournament. But head-to-head sport is intrinsically attractive. Rose was the Barnsley to Mickelson’s Liverpool last year. The Englishman’s win set the tone for his stellar season and got people talking about golf.

After all, it is the form of the game that most of us prefer to play. If only the authorities would embrace it more, professional golf would surely gain in appeal.

Imagine if all three WGC tournaments were matchplay. A series could develop. Points for individual match wins could be awarded and a league table created. Then, say, the top 16 points scorers could play off in a season-ender. The Wentworth tournament (currently searching for a sponsor) would be ideal for this.
Plate competitions for early round losers should also be introduced to enable players to add to their matchplay points tallies and ensure no early big name departures.

It would surely generate more interest in golf away from the majors.

The concept of reaching a semi or a final means something. We saw this with abundant coverage of Andy Murray’s tennis in Marseille at the weekend. At the same time, almost unnoticed, Luke Donald and Padraig Harrington were finishing third in a far more lucrative tournament on the PGA Tour that featured 17 of the world's top 20.

Sadly the game doesn’t recognise this as being any kind of issue. The sponsor money still rolls in; the golfers get richer – what’s the problem?

Well, it is that an otherwise constant diet of adding up scorecards can at times become a grind. It doesn’t always present the game in its most attractive light, and golf attracts fewer fans than it might otherwise.

This won’t be the case in Arizona this week and, by the way, Britain can boast no fewer than eight men in the elite field that will share an $8m prize fund."


Views, thoughts, rants, etc?


BTW, the lineup is as follows:
1450: Sergio Garcia (Spa) v John Senden (Aus)
1459: Martin Kaymer (Ger) v Boo Weekley (US)
1508: Padraig Harrington (Ire) v Jerry Kelly (US)
1517: Stewart Cink (US) v Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa)
1526: KJ Choi (Kor) v Camilo Villegas (Col)
1535: Ian Poulter (Eng) v Soren Hansen (Den)
1544: Vijay Singh (Fij) v Peter Hanson (Swe)
1553: Niclas Fasth (Swe) v Richard Green (Aus)
1602: Adam Scott (Aus) v Brendan Jones (Aus)
1611: Toru Taniguchi (Jpn) v Woody Austin (US)
1620: Jim Furyk (US) v Colin Montgomerie (Sco)
1629: Stephen Ames (Can) v Charles Howell (US)
1638: Rory Sabbatini (SA) v Bradley Dredge (Wal)
1647: Paul Casey (Eng) v Robert Karlsson (Swe)
1656: Justin Rose (Eng) v Rod Pampling (Aus)
1705: Scott Verplank (US) v Nick O'Hern (Aus)
1714: Henrik Stenson (Swe) v Robert Allenby (Aus)
1723: Trevor Immelman (SA) v Shingo Katayama (Jpn)
1732: Angel Cabrera (Arg) v Anders Hansen (Den)
1741: Luke Donald (Eng) v Nick Dougherty (Eng)
1750: Zach Johnson (US) v David Toms (US)
1759: Aaron Baddeley (Aus) v Mark Calcavecchia (US)
1808: Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) v Justin Leonard (US)
1817: Lee Westwood (Eng) v Brandt Snedeker (US)
1826: Ernie Els (SA) v Jonathan Byrd (US)
1835: Retief Goosen (SA) v Andres Romero (Arg)
1844: Steve Stricker (US) v Daniel Chopra (Swe)
1853: Richard Sterne (SA) v Hunter Mahan (US)
1902: Tiger Woods (US) v JB Holmes (US)
1911: Mike Weir (Can) v Arron Oberholser (US)
1920: Phil Mickelson (US) v Pat Perez (US)
1929: Stuart Appleby (Aus) v Tim Clark (SA)

[Monsieurgolf]

I enjoy playing a round of match play with my golfing buddies. It places a whole new strategy on your round...and when a Big Gulp is on the line, the pressure can get real intense!

[geezer]

I absolutley love matchplay. Prefer it to strokeplay, actually.

I gather it is played over here more regularly than in America.

[Shindig]

I absolutley love matchplay. Prefer it to strokeplay, actually.

I've never seen matchplay being played in the states, other than the professional match-play events. I'd love to play it at some point.

[marpr]

Found this on the

I think besides the Woods/Holmes matchup, the Ogilvy/Leonard Kaymer/Weekley pairings will be great!!

[Steaksauce]

I think the Fedex Cup would be much more enjoyable and easier to understand if they did a matchplay format like this and the US Amateur.

[Crafty]

I've never seen matchplay being played in the states, other than the professional match-play events. I'd love to play it at some point.

THe U.S. Amateur and Junior Amateur are match play format after a qualifying round.

I love matchplay because the cost of a big mistake is one hole, whereas that cost could be the tournament in strokeplay.

[marpr]

THe U.S. Amateur and Junior Amateur are match play format after a qualifying round.

i agree totally.

it is great to watch. It promotes aggressive play too.

[Everardo]

i agree totally.

Yeah I'm with ya here....mano a mano!

[Shindig]

The U.S. Amateur and Junior Amateur are match play format after a qualifying round.

Yep! I totally forgot. I think all the USGA Amateur competitions do this.

Man, I was following some of those matches this summer. How could I have forgotten?

[rudygu]

I agree with the article that it would attract more fans to pro golf. My wife normally can't stand watching a golf tournament for more than 30 seconds. But today she watched a good half hour of the Accenture and was actuallly interested (And that was with J.B. Holmes taking a dozen practice swings before each shot...She may have made it a full hour if Tiger had been facing someone that played faster).