The WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship will return to Southern Arizona next year and will likely stay at least until its current contract expires in 2014, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said Tuesday.
Whether the tournament will continue to be played at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, remains up for debate.
"That's our plan," Finchem told the Star following Tuesday's practice rounds. "We never lock ourselves in too much in advance, but I can pretty much tell you we're going to be here next year. Our plan is to be here at least through '14.
"We've had a good experience here. You can't beat the weather, the crowds have been good. . . . We're always looking at options, but right now, our plan is to be here at least through 2014."
The news should come as a relief to the thousands of local fans, Tucson Conquistadores and volunteers who will converge on the Ritz's course this morning for the start of the sixth Match Play held in Southern Arizona.
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Match Play's six-round, single-elimination format is unique among the tournaments played in the United States. Sixty-four golfers will play their way through the brackets this week, with the semifinals and championship match held Sunday at the Ritz.
Luke Donald, the world's top-ranked golfer and Match Play's defending champion, enters the tournament as one of the odds-on favorites to win.
Tiger Woods is a three-time champion and leads the tourney in all-time matches won. Woods, a No. 5 seed in the Sam Snead bracket, will be paired against Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño.
Woods said Tuesday that he'd like to see the tournament stay in Southern Arizona.
"I see no reason why it can't," Woods said. "This is a wonderful venue here at Dove Mountain and the Ritz. Everybody enjoys the facilities, and I think that from a player's standpoint, it provides so many different options that it's wonderful for Match Play."
Woods' comments came a day after Ernie Els called the Ritz "a perfect venue" for Match Play.
The high-end hotel and Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course have hosted Match Play since 2009. Before that, the tournament was held at The Gallery Golf Club, two miles from the Ritz.
"I'm not sure what the situation is, but I'll look forward to it being played here for the next four or five years," Els said.
"I think this whole area is going to start growing soon and, with the economy changing hopefully in the future, I think this could be something we can look forward to."
The Ritz-Carlton is in the final year of its contract with the PGA. Finchem said the resort and course remain the tour's "priority focus" as it plans for future tournaments, but would not commit unequivocally to staying.
It's likely that the PGA Tour will take a wait-and-see approach with the site depending on what happens this week.
A handful of rules changes - fans can bring cell phones for the first time and will be allowed to walk inside the ropes with Sunday's final group - and mild weather has Match Play poised for larger crowds. Gerald Goodman, the tournament's executive director, has joked that "you never see them move a sellout."
Finchem put it this way: "We're going to do things a little bit differently on site this year, but we'll take a look at it and see. I wouldn't assume that we're going to make any changes."
The future of the Match Play has been an annual subject of speculation since the tournament moved to Southern Arizona from La Costa, Calif., in 2007.
The Conquistadores and Woods, the world's most popular golfer at the time, were credited for the move. While waiting out a weather delay at La Costa, Woods noted that "it isn't raining in Tucson."
In fact, today's forecast is sunny.
On StarNet: Keep up with our coverage of Match Play through Sunday's championship. azstarnet.com/sports/golf
TOday
• What: WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, first round
• Where: The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain
• Start time: 7:25 a.m.
• TV: Golf Channel at 10 a.m.
• Ticket info: Call 1-800-918-4653 or visit worldgolfchampionships.com
