When PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem hands over the Walter Hagen Cup to the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship winner next Sunday, the natural question on Dove Mountain will be: Is this it?
Has Southern Arizona seen its last of 64 of the world’s best golfers?
It’s a question that will likely go unanswered until a couple months after the completion of the tournament.
But there’s a very good chance the tournament is on its way out of Arizona, and perhaps headed for a new location on the East Coast.
If this is indeed it, the 2014 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship will certainly have some extra significance.
But before that happens, here’s a look back at the seven previous Match Play tournaments in Southern Arizona.
2013
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Winner: Matt Kuchar topped 2012 champion Hunter Mahan 2 and 1 in blustery conditions. Kuchar, the No. 6 seed in the Ben Hogan bracket, beat Hiroyuki Fujita, Sergio Garcia, Nicolas Colsaerts, Robert Garrigus and Jason Day before beating Mahan in the finals.
Longest match: Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Bubba Watson all needed 20 holes to post victories. Garcia’s came in the first round and McDowell’s and Watson’s in the second.
Shortest match: American Scott Piercy beat Luke Donald in 12 holes in the second round.
Biggest upset: Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, both No. 1 seeds, fell in the first round. Shane Lowry beat McIlroy and Charles Howell III topped Woods.
Quotable: “I’m not sure I can explain how excited I am to have won this tournament. Match play, I find to be such an amazing, unique format, so much fun to play and so much pressure. To come out on top after six matches of playing the top 64 guys in the world — it’s an incredible feeling.” — Kuchar
2012
Winner: In one of the most star-studded finals on Dove Mountain, Mahan got by McIlroy 2 and 1 in the championship match. After needing 19 holes to beat Zach Johnson in the opening round, Mahan didn’t play the 18th hole the rest of the week.
Longest match: Brandt Snedeker, a No. 5 seed, held off Retief Goosen in 21 holes in the opening round.
Shortest match: Three matches went 13 holes. Dustin Johnson’s 7 and 5 win over Francesco Molinari in the second round was the most convincing.
Biggest upset: One year after winning the tournament, Donald, the No. 1 seed in the Bobby Jones bracket, lost to Ernie Els 5 and 4.
Quotable: “I didn’t realize how difficult it is to win this week, because it’s six matches and you’re playing against the best in the world. ... It feels good because you’re going against the game’s best. I played great from tee to green: Putting, chipping, driving, irons, everything was there. I needed everything to win. It feels good. I’m very proud of how I played.” — Mahan
2011
Winner: Donald never had to play the 18th hole, tearing through the Bobby Jones bracket and then cruising in the semifinals and finals. He finished off the championship with a 3 and 2 win over Martin Kaymer.
Longest match: Kuchar, who eventually beat Watson in the third-place match, went 22 holes in his opening-round match against Anders Hansen.
Shortest match: Several matches went just 13 holes, but Kaymer posted the largest margin, beating Noh Seung-yul 7 and 5 in the opening round.
Biggest upset: Woods, the No. 1 seed in the Sam Snead bracket, lost in 19 holes to Thomas Bjorn in the first round.
Quotable: “It’s been an amazing week. I had a lot of good things happen, made a bunch of birdies and never trailed in a match. It was kind of one of those weeks where a lot of things went my way.” — Donald
2010
Winner: Ian Poulter claimed his first Match Play title, beating Paul Casey 4 and 2 in the championship match. His toughest test came in the first round when he needed 19 holes to beat Justin Leonard.
Longest match: In his first-round match against Molinari, Zach Johnson won in 21 holes. He lost a round later to Brian Gay.
Shortest match: Canadian Mike Weir beat Alvaro Quiros 8 and 6 in the opening round. The dominating play didn’t help; he lost to Casey 5 and 4 in the next round.
Biggest upset: Steve Stricker, the No. 1 seed in the Bobby Jones bracket, lost to Ross McGowan in 19 holes in the opening round. McGown lost a round later to 18-year-old Ryo Ishikawa.
Quotable: “You know, I’ve never felt more comfortable on a golf course. I’ve been a lot more nervous than I was today in the past. With nine holes to play in previous wins, I would admit I’ve been nervous and I’ve been excited. But today I just felt calm and I felt that I could deliver whenever I needed to deliver.” — Poulter after his win
2009
Winner: Two years after losing to Henrik Stenson in the championship match, Geoff Ogilvy beat Casey 4 and 3 in the final match in the first year at Dove Mountain. Ogilvy needed 19 holes to win each of his first two matches, first against Kevin Sutherland and then against Shingo Katayama.
Longest match: Stewart Cink outlasted Lee Westwood in the second round, needing 23 holes. The win over Westwood came after a first-round win over Richard Sterne that lasted 19 holes.
Shortest match: Camilo Villegas, the ninth overall seed, beat Rod Pampling in 12 holes in the opening round.
Biggest upset: Charl Schwartzel, seeded No. 63 overall, took down the second overall seed, Garcia, in the first round 1-up. He lost one round later to Poulter.
Quotable: “This tournament’s been pretty good to me. ... I’m obviously one of the better match players.” — Ogilvy after winning his second Match Play title and reaching the championship match for the third time
2008
Winner: The fans got what they wanted when Woods, the world’s No. 1, stomped Stewart Cink 8 and 7 in the championship match to win the Match Play title at The Gallery Golf Club. Before beating Cink, Woods beat J.B. Holmes, Arron Oberholser, Aaron Baddeley, K.J. Choi and Stenson.
Longest match: Stenson needed 25 holes to beat Jonathan Byrd in the third round.
Shortest match: Tiger’s win over Cink in the finals was not the quickest match of the tournament — the final was 36 holes, not 18 — but it was the most lopsided. Woods was done with Cink after the 11th hole of the day’s second round.
Biggest upset: Byrd, the 61st overall seed, had no problem beating the fourth overall seed, Ernie Els, in the opening round, getting by the South African 6 and 5.
Quotable: “He just has this — such a strong sense of belief in himself that he’s just never out of it. He’s never going to mess up. He’s just always in control. He never loses his composure.” — Cink, after losing to Woods in the championship match
2007
Winner: Seeded No. 9 overall, Stenson beat Zach Johnson, Choi, Baddeley, Nick O’Hern and Trevor Immelman before dispatching of Ogilvy in the final match 2 and 1. His closest calls came in the first round against Johnson and in the quarterfinals against O’Hern, winning both matches 1-up.
Longest match: Shaun Micheel, the 2003 PGA Championship winner, was seeded No. 62 overall and knocked off Adam Scott, the No. 3 overall seed in 21 holes in the opening round.
Shortest match: Stephen Ames needed just 11 holes to beat Robert Karlsson in the opening round. He won eight of the first 11 holes of the match before it was called.
Biggest upset: Micheel’s win over Scott was the biggest upset of the tournament. Micheel beat Pampling in the next round, but fell to Casey in the third round 2-up.
Quotable: “It’s been a long week and a good week for me, and now I’m just exhausted. I don’t really know what’s up and down and back and forth, really. My feet are aching, my head is aching, my wallet’s aching.” — Stenson, after his championship win
