When: February 24-28 (3rd round and quarterfinals on February 26).

Venue: La Costa Resort and Spa.

Format: Single-elimination match play for 18 holes. Championship match scheduled for 36 holes.

Qualifications: Top 64 in the Official World Golf Ranking as of Feb. 15. Alternates also based on ranking. Field will be final at 8 p.m. February 22..

Top four seeds: Tiger Woods, David Duval, Mark O'Meara, Davis Love III.

Key pairings: Tiger Woods vs. Nick Faldo, Craig Stadler vs. Colin Montgomerie, Ernie Els vs. Paul Azinger, Greg Norman vs. John Cook.

Quote: ``He's the guy to beat -- not Greg Norman, not Ernie Els, not anyone. Tiger Woods would have to be licking his chops when he gets to La Costa." -- Fred Couples.

Event Overview

Of all the World Golf Championship events, the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., could be the most interesting.

Sixty-four of the best players in the world will go head-to-head in a Matchplay format. From 32 first-round matches, the field will be reduced to the Championship Match, which will be played over 36 holes.

Fans will have the opportunity to witness the kind of matchups normally reserved for hypothetical arguments.

"When I first heard about the event, I was very excited," said PGA Tour player Justin Leonard. "From a player’s standpoint, there is nothing more exciting than match play. Going head-to-head with a person for 18 or 36 holes -- it’s funny because you can play well and lose, and you can play poorly and win. There are the little nuances of the game.

"It’s a different type of excitement. If you want to see your favourite two players play against each other, there’s a great chance of that happening. You’re going to have so many different kind of players and matches going on that there’s going to be something for everybody."

This is not Andersen Consulting’s first venture into match play. In 1994, the company sponsored the Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf. Fan interest increased over the next three years, and it was a natural fit for the event to expand and evolve into a World Golf Championship event.

In March of 1996 five of the world’s leading professional golf organisations -- the PGA Tour, PGA Tour of Japan, European PGA Tour, Southern Africa PGA and PGA Tour of Australasia -- announced the formation of the International Federation of PGA Tours.

One of the most significant initiatives of the new Federation was the creation and joint sanctioning of world championship-level competition for the game’s foremost players.

Rather than create three or four more 72-hole, medal-play tournaments, the Federation decided to do something special, unique and different -- bring back match play. The 64 players will vie for shares of a $5-million purse in an intense, week-long competition.

To make the concept complete, the beautiful La Costa Resort and Spa was selected as the venue. The resort, which had been host to the Mercedes Championships since 1971, will provide a perfect setting for the event.

 "I think the course is better suited for match play than stroke play," said Leonard. "This golf course is very versatile. There’s not a lot of risk-reward here. You’re not going to see that kind of match play. But I think it’s a very solid golf course. There aren’t any weak holes.

"The guy who plays the best here should win the match. You know, a lot of golf courses are more risk-reward, where guys are going to get away with things. I think this course is going to test the best players in the world. They are really going to need to be on their game to win those matches."

The event will be held at La Costa Resort and Spa in 1999 and 2000. It will move to Australia in 2001 and return to La Costa in 2002.