Golf fever starting early this year

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- The speculation started as soon as the seeds were final and the brackets were drawn.

Who's the dark horse? Who's most likely to get knocked out early? Who has the easiest road to the Final Four? The debate over No. 1 has been raging since January, so this might be a chance to settle it away from the rankings.

March Madness? , February Fever No, this is golf, normally quite sedate until the Masters in April.

The PGA Tour has never offered $1 million to the winner of an official tournament, but money isn't the only attraction to the top 64 players in the world. The tournament marks the return of match play to America.

Match play had been largely forgotten since the PGA Championship switched to stroke play in 1959, although interest has been growing in recent years because of the Ryder Cup.

"We play so many stroke-play events through the year that I think people have forgotten how exciting match play can be," Ernie Els said. "There are no easy matches. It will be a tough week, but it will be very satisfying if you win this kind of event."

Forget about birdies and bogeys, David Duval's 59 in the final round to win the Bob Hope Classic or Tiger Woods' 62 to zoom into contention and win in San Diego.

The Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship, which begins Wednesday at La Costa Resort, is a week's worth of Sunday singles in the Ryder Cup, the mission only to beat the opponent, whether that means a round of 75 or 65.

"You can play well and lose," Justin Leonard said, "and you can play poorly and win."

La Costa was where the PGA Tour used to begin its season and has been home to the Mercedes Championship since 1969. Now it's also the launching pad for the new World Golf Championships, three $5 million tournaments this year supported by the five major tours and designed to bring the world's best together somewhere other than a major championship.

"This recognises the globality of the game," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said. "It gives the fan and the players a sense that we recognise that in the way we organise our competitions."

They couldn't have found a better way to get things started.

"I can't wait," said Phil Mickelson, one of nine former U.S. Amateur champions in the field who understand that patience and perseverance are two of the most important clubs in the bag. "In a regular 72-hole event, we put a lot of emphasis on, 'Oh, it was a good tournament, I had a top 10.'

"What I think match play brings to the table is you either win or you lose, period."

The pairings were determined by the Official World Golf Ranking. The possibilities are endless.

Will Woods, the world's No. 1 player and three-time U.S. Amateur champion, make it to the finals?

He might be thrilled just to get by his first match, which won't be anything like Duke playing Coastal Carolina in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Woods gets Nick Faldo, the three-time Masters and British Open champion.

Faldo may be in one of the worst slumps of his career, but he also remains one of the most dangerous figures in this format, having won more Ryder Cup matches than anyone.

"It's anybody's game over 18 holes," said Faldo, sizing up the mystique of match play.

Davis Love III might have to face Couples, his long-time partner in team matches, in the third round, but only if they make it that far. If they do, the winner could find Mickelson or Greg Norman waiting for them.

Mark O'Meara might have to play José Maria Olazábal, the Ryder Cup stalwart from Spain, in the second round. And what to make of Shigeki Maruyama, who went 5-0 in his Presidents Cup matches?

"Match play is a very distinct arena in that a player who's not the favourite can become very dangerous," Steve Elkington said. "On any given day, you can probably take the top 64 players and throw them up in the air, and I think anyone could beat anyone.

"This has very exciting potential."

That's what Finchem had in mind when he formed a federation of the five world tours in 1996 and announced the creation of the World Golf Championships.

"I think fans want to see who is the best Matchplay player," Finchem said. "There will be a lot of matches, and a lot of golf from Wednesday to Sunday. It's a test of stamina and ability. I think it should have its place in the game."

Golf is rooted in match play, but its unpredictable nature made it less appealing when television arrived in the late 1950s. The best players didn't always make it to the final rounds (defending champion Ben Hogan lost in the first round of the 1947 PGA) and matches could end on the 14th hole, leaving television with an hour of dead time.

Lionel Hebert beat Dow Finsterwald in the 1958 PGA Championship in the final year of match play in a major. The Tucson Open experimented with match play in 1984 and 1985, the last time the format was an official event in the United States.

But the appetite for match play grew as the Ryder Cup became more intense. Then Woods brought even more attention to match play by winning three straight U.S. Amateur titles, twice coming from far behind in the finals.

Duval may be the hottest player in the world, but he's not the biggest fan of match play.

Among the favourites are Ernie Els, who has won the World Match Play Championship in England three times and is 2-0 in his Presidents Cup singles matches.

And then there's Woods, who is particularly tough in this format.

"You can almost put Tiger in the quarterfinals or semi-finals because of his record," Couples said. "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."

First up for Woods is Faldo, who may be this year's version of Princeton.