DID YOU KNOW – WGC – ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
• Matt Kuchar is trying to follow in the footsteps of Tiger Woods (2003-2004) and make a successful defence of the WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship. Should he win for the second consecutive season, he would join Tiger Woods (2003-04, 08)and Geoff Ogilvy (2006 and 2009) as the only players to win the event twice.
• This event will begin the 16th year of World Golf Championship events. The first one was the 1999 Accenture Match Play Championship and won by American Jeff Maggert. At the end of the 2013 season there had been 49 WGC individual tournaments played.
• This will be the 50th individual official WGC event. Previously there have been 15 WGC – Accenture Match Play Championships and 15 WGC – Bridgestone Invitationals, 14 WGC – Cadillac Championships and five WGC – Champions. (This figure does not include the 2001 WGC – Cadillac Championship which was cancelled and the WGC World Cup between 2007-11).
• Of all the WGC events, the WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship has been the most successful for European Tour Members, producing five different winners. They are: Darren Clarke (2000), Henrik Stenson (2007), Geoff Ogilvy (2009), Ian Poulter (2010) and Luke Donald (2011).
• There will be 33 European Tour Members competing at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club in 2014. Seven of the 33 will be making their Accenture debuts. They are: Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Jonas Blxt, Victor Dubuisson, Mikko Ilonen, Pablo Larrazábal, Joost Luiten and Bernd Wiesberger. This brings the total number of European Tour Members to have competed in the WGC – Accenture Match Play Championship since 1999 to 111. Of those seven, only Victor Dubuisson will be making their WGC debut.
• There are six champions competing. They are: Steve Stricker (2001), Henrik Stenson (2007), Ian Poulter (2010), Luke Donald (2011), Hunter Mahan (2012) and Matt Kuchar (2013).
