World’s Best Golfers to Compete in Accenture Match Play Championship Feb. 21-25
Arizona course to provide dramatic backdrop to World Golf Championships event
TUCSON, Ariz.; Feb. 13, 2007 – Sixty-four of the world’s best golfers, representing 18 countries across six continents, are set to tee it up at the 2007 World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championship, Feb. 21-25 on the South Course at The Gallery Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana, Ariz.
The sweeping desert and mountain vistas of The Gallery Golf Club at Dove Mountain, approximately 20 miles north of Tucson, will provide a dramatic new backdrop for the ninth playing of the Accenture Match Play Championship, which marks the first World Golf Championships event to be played in the Grand Canyon state. Seven of the previous eight Accenture Match Play Championship competitions were played at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., and one competition was played in Melbourne, Australia (2001).
The Accenture Match Play Championship is the cornerstone event of the World Golf Championships, a series of three global golf tournaments that traditionally attracts one of the strongest fields in golf. The match-play format of the Accenture Match Play Championship is unique among the World Golf Championships and delivers the most exciting and compelling golf that fans may see all season.
“Match play, with all of its unpredictability and uncertainty, is a head-to-head competition that typifies the global business world that we, and our clients, must compete in every day,” said James E. Murphy, Accenture’s chief marketing & communications officer. “The Accenture Match Play Championship reflects our culture of constantly bringing our best game and delivering high performance.”
Match play allows little room for error, and the format ensures an added measure of excitement. The world-class players competing must bring their best games and perform at their highest levels for five consecutive days to have a chance of winning the Accenture Match Play Championship. This global event captures the spirit and culture of Accenture – to continually achieve through high performance.
Sixty-four marquee players, as identified by the Official World Golf Ranking, will go head-to-head in five days of nail-biting, single-elimination competition for a $1.35 million winner’s share of the $8 million prize purse and the sought-after Walter Hagen Cup, named after golf’s greatest match-play competitor. Among those expected to compete this year are Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy, defending Accenture Match Play champion; Tiger Woods, winner of two consecutive Accenture Match-Play events (2003, 2004); and Vijay Singh, this year’s Mercedes-Benz Championship winner.
Unlike stroke play, which adds up all strokes from multiple days of play to produce a winner, match play is a hole-by-hole format that rigorously tests a golfer’s skill, strategy and nerves. At the 7,351 yard, par 72 South Course, players will match each other shot-for-shot and hole-for-hole, with a grueling 36-hole championship match on Sunday, Feb. 25.
The Accenture Match Play Championship is further distinguished by four 16-player brackets that were added in 2003. The 64 players are divided into four brackets of 16 players, each named in honor of one of golf’s greatest players: Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, Gary Player and Sam Snead. Players in each of the brackets are seeded No. 1 through No. 16, with the No. 1 seed playing the No. 16 seed in the first round, No. 2 pairing off with No. 15, No. 3 meeting No. 14, and so forth.
Viewed in more than 140 countries, the Accenture Match Play Championship will be telecast for a total of 27.5 hours over the five days. In the United States, The Golf Channel will lead off with 16 hours of live coverage, Wednesday-Friday, Feb. 21-23 from 2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. (with replays from 8:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m.) and on Saturday, Feb. 24 from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., followed by 3.5 hours of coverage on Sunday, Feb. 25 from 10:00 a.m.-1:30 p.m.. NBC will provide eight hours of weekend coverage, beginning Saturday, Feb. 24 from 2:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. and on Sunday, Feb. 25 from 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. All times are Eastern Standard (EST).
About The Accenture Match Play Championship
This year marks the ninth playing of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. The Accenture Match Play Championship is one of three World Golf Championships, which are sanctioned and organized by the International Federation of PGA Tours, which includes the Asian Tour, European Tour, Japan Golf Tour, PGA TOUR, PGA Tour of Australasia and Southern Africa Tour. The other World Golf Championships include the Bridgestone Invitational and the CA Championship. For more information, please visit www.worldgolfchampionships.com.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Committed to delivering innovation, Accenture collaborates with its clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With deep industry and business process expertise, broad global resources and a proven track record, Accenture can mobilize the right people, skills, and technologies to help clients improve their performance. With approximately 146,000 people in 49 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$16.65 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2006. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
Gary E. Beckner
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