Economy stinks, but golf at Ritz a 'blessed' event

A total of 65,960 fans packed into the new $60 million Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, for seven days of match play golf featuring the world's top 64 players.

The weather was in the 80s all week, and fan interest — stoked by Woods' return from reconstructive knee surgery — was at an all-time high.

Though the final numbers aren't official yet, the tournament is expected to bring in about $1.3 million for local charities.

"It all came together. The stars kind of lined up," Wade Dunagan, the tournament's executive director, said Monday. "For the first time ever, we had Nos. 1-64 playing. We had our defending champion back and a lot of other interesting things on the table. And the weather was just about perfect."

Judy McDermott, the executive director of the Tucson Conquistadores, said, "We believe we're blessed."

Woods' much-hyped return from knee surgery brought fans and much-needed national attention to Dove Mountain. He played a practice round Tuesday, and the tournament drew 27,740 during Woods' two days of competition, each day of which was a record high for attendance.

Geoff Ogilvy dispatched Paul Casey 4 and 3 in Sunday's final in front of 6,270 fans — 1,300 fewer than in 2008.

Still, attendance was above Match Play's totals in 2008, when capacity was 12,500. Given the economic slowdown that's affecting everyone from advertisers to fans, it's an important statistic.

"The 'Tiger effect' generated a lot of interest, and the attention obviously helped in terms of ticket sales," McDermott said. "People heard how close the Walter Hagen Club was to the green, and so they wanted to check that out. It was a combination of things."

Still, McDermott said, "we still left money on the table."

With that in mind, Match Play officials are meeting already to discuss improvements for 2010. Dunagan said he hopes to add a deck and more square-footage to both the Walter Hagen Club — the rambunctious party spot located off the 13th hole — and the posh Canyon Club. Parking will be streamlined, and more efforts will be made to lure spectators on lower-attendance days.

Match Play officials will continue to court their corporate clients; high-end sales were down this year, in part because of the sagging economy.

"I'll be honest: I'm a perfectionist," Dunagan said. "The bumps in the road this year were small, but they were still bumps. We're going to make improvements."

Logistically, things should only get better. The Ritz-Carlton resort will be open for the start of the 2010 tournament, giving players and Accenture bigwigs a place to stay during tournament week — and making Dove Mountain the hub of action all week. Woods and other players stayed at the Westin La Paloma the past few years. Accenture executives commuted the 40 minutes from the J.W. Marriott Starr Pass to Dove Mountain every day.

"Its tremendous for those two factions," Dunagan said. "It will be a real asset for us."

Southern Arizona needs it. Match Play's four-year contract with Southern Arizona is scheduled to expire following the 2010 tournament. Officials can choose to either extend the deal through 2014 or move the tournament to another city.

Though tournament officials are mum on the future of the tournament in Southern Arizona — "that's one of the meetings we didn't have," Dunagan said — there appears to be hope. Accenture renewed its contract with the PGA Tour last week, ensuring the global management consulting firm remains the title sponsor of the tournament through 2014.

"It really is a perfect partnership," McDermott said. "Nobody knows what's going to happen long term, but we're all going to work together to stay here for the long term."

Match Play attendance

Though Tiger Woods stuck around for only three days, attendance was higher than last year.

2008 2009

Monday 5,000 5,570

Tuesday 7,500 7,610

Wednesday 12,500 13,620

Thursday 12,500 14,120

Friday 12,500 11,130

Saturday 7,500 7,640

Sunday 7,500 6,270

Total 65,000 65,960