WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship Semi-Finals Preview

Ever heard the one about the Aussie and two Americans? They were playing in a competition for second place. Ian Poulter, the Englishman, is the undisputed master of match play and he stands on the brink of a third World Match Play title, third WGC and second consecutive win in a World Golf Championships event. Of course it is by no means over, but the way the European Ryder Cup hero is carrying himself and performing in match after match there can be no question he starts Sunday as the outright favourite, despite the presence of The Players Champion Matt Kuchar and the defending champion Hunter Mahan.

Poulter will take on Mahan in a battle of arguably the two best match players of the time. Matt Kuchar will take on Jason Day in a clash of styles. It isn't the final four many judges predicted but it never is at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Ian Poulter won the 2012 WGC-HSBC Champions and should he prevail tomorrow evening he will become the second golfer ever to win successive World Golf Championships, and his record in this tournament, the Volvo World Match Play, Ryder Cup and Seve Trophy make him the heavy favourite. Having said that he takes on the defending champion who also has the chance to make history by becoming just the second golfer to defend this championship, and a win might just send a message to Davis Love III after the 2012 US Ryder Cup captain left Mahan out of the team.

Matt Kuchar has been consistent throughout the week and hasn't yet seen the 18^th hole in any of his four matches. Jason Day however has been involved in two matches which have reached the final hole (one of which went beyond) and it will certainly be a tough battle between two completely different players, both with eyes on a place in the final.

The organisers played the round of 16 off two tees on Saturday morning to ensure that the round of 16 and quarter-finals were completed on schedule, play was delayed by 45 minutes because of frost meaning the entire back nine of the last 16 matches were shown live, it was more by luck than judgement though that Golf Channel were able to show so much of the play when they came on air some 3 hours after play was supposed to have started.

The Round of 16 was a mix of tight matches and some which saw one man in total command throughout the round. Jason Day continued his fine form and ousted the Masters champion Bubba Watson 4&3 despite only making four birdies, the Australian made it through to the Quarter-Finals to play Graeme McDowell, who brought Shane Lowry's run with a 3&2 victory over his countryman. Hunter Mahan continued his impressive defence of the title by hammering Martin Kaymer 5&4 to set up a mouthwatering Quarter-Final with US Open champion Webb Simpson who edged Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano 2up. Robert Garrigus continued to bludgeon his opposition with massive hitting and ousted Fredrik Jacobson 3&1 to advance to the Quarter-Finals, where he would come up against the consistent Players champion Matt Kuchar after he beat the Volvo World Match Play champion Nicolas Colsaerts 4&2. Ian Poulter's imperious form in match play carried on with a convincing 5&3 win over South African Tim Clark to clinch a Quarter-Final match against birthday boy Steve Stricker. The former World Number Two holed a monster putt on his final hole to narrowly dispatch of Scott Piercy in a ding-dong battle.

The Quarter-Finals were four very unpredictable and engaging matches. Matt Kuchar became the first Semi-Finalist after he brought to an end the run of Robert Garrigus. The Players Champion again gave his opponent little hope with a solid round to counter the brash and attacking style of Garrigus and Kuchar prevailed 4&2 to set up a second career Semi-Final at Dove Mountain. Ian Poulter's reputation as the match play master in modern golf was enhanced by his fantastic display against Steve Stricker in an entertaining match which went to the 16^th hole before a par putt clinched a 3&2 victory. Both of the two remaining Semi-Finals were much tighter and to be honest had less quality golf played in them, both came down to the final hole. A bogey on the 17^th from Graeme McDowell meant Jason Day took a 1up lead down the last and a gutsy par saw the young Australian prevail over the 2010 US Open champion to set up his first Semi-Final appearance against Matt Kuchar. The defending champion Hunter Mahan continued his defence with a par at the final hole to also edge out US Open Champion Webb Simpson by the narrowest of margins.

WGC-Cadillac Championship to remain at Doral through 2023

On Friday the PGA Tour announced, on behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours, that the WGC-Cadillac Championship would remain at the Trump Doral Resort until 2023 meaning the years second World Golf Championship will have been staged at the Miami resort for 17 years after it first moved permanently to Doral in 2007. This 10 year extension was heralded by the PGA Tour as a move which can make the Cadillac Championship one of the premier events in the world, the fact that it is a WORLD Golf Championship is surely enough to ensure it is one of the premier events in the world. Firstly I think this is a totally wrong move by the International Federation of PGA Tours, this tournament used to alternate between Europe and the United States and is now entrenched within the United States at one golf course. With the 2016 Olympic Games and golf's return to the Olympics getting closer and closer I would have liked to have seen the tour perhaps look at alternating the championship with Doral and a venue in Brazil, this would raise the profile of golf in Brazil ahead of the Rio Olympics and give the WGC's a more global outlook and the championship would not be considered by the US centric golf media as a regular PGA Tour event.

This announcement proves to me that there is little sign of the World Golf Championships changing any time soon, last year the PGA Tour announced that The Tournament of Hope, to be played in South Africa this coming November will not be a World Golf Championship, the lack of WGC status will undoubtedly hurt the chances of attracting the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and several leading Europeans to South Africa, regardless of the massive prize fund, as has been proven by the removal of the World Cup of Golf from the series. WGC status was no guarantee to securing all of the world's best, as is shown every year in China at the WGC-HSBC Champions. But Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson etc. have all played multiple times in “Asia's Major” since its establishment in 2005 and elevation to WGC status in 2009. The HSBC Champions started life as a co-sanctioned tournament that launched the European Tour season, sanctioned by five tours including the European Tour, Sunshine Tour, Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia, and after four editions was elevated to WGC status, although until now the winner does not get credited with an official PGA Tour win, or earn money towards the PGA Tour money list or FedEx Cup points.

From PGATour.com

Ty Votaw, the PGA TOUR's vice president of international affairs, compared the event to the World Cup of Golf, which is held every two years and sanctioned by the international federation but not given WGC status. The first Tournament of Hope will run from Nov. 21-24 next year and adds to a cluttered end-of-season calendar. "It's (Tournament of Hope) something that has been discussed by the federation for several years now," Votaw said. "But in light of where it is in the schedule, it's difficult to make it a World Golf Championship. But it's something that's recognized by the federation. All the tours are putting it on their schedules."

“All the tours are putting it on their schedules”. Really?

Then why when the first portion of the 2013-2014 season was announced there was no place on it for The Tournament of Hope?

Consequently it comes as absolutely no surprise to me that I am reading today that the Tournament of Hope has been postponed, after failing to recruit the necessary sponsors to support the event and it must surely be in the main because of the lack of WGC status. The lack of WGC status makes it highly likely that the world's best golfers will decide to sit out the event, especially as it follows one week after the season-ending DP World Tour Championship on the 2013 European Tour Race to Dubai. “We are confident that the initial enthusiasm for the Tournament of Hope remains in South Africa and among other potential international sponsors,” said Selwyn Nathan, executive director of the Sunshine Tour, speaking on behalf of the Sunshine Tour and the International Federation of PGA Tours. “We are hopeful that, with an improvement in the economic climate, we will be able to conclude all arrangements for a successful staging of the Tournament of Hope at a future date.”

The only changes which are made to the WGC's are now either sponsor or venue and always within the United States, the PGA Tour seem to think that it is OK to just have one WGC outside of the United States, the HSBC Champions in Asia. There isn't one in Europe, or Africa, or Australasia and there won't be one in South America it seems prior to the 2016 Olympic Games. Doral is unquestionably a great course with history and tradition on the PGA Tour but it seems to be overlooked that the WGC's are not PGA Tour events, they are championships co-sanctioned by every major tour and because of this it would be nice and is actually crucial that the championships either rotate around the world or are expanded to feature at least one event hosted by each tour throughout the season. Tim Finchem also said that the WGC's being in America all of the time was linked to the television deal, well the current television deal expires in 2021, two years prior to the deal with Doral expiring.

The world did not see the third round of the 2013 WGC-Accenture Match Play live because of the US-based Golf Channel and because of the US-based PGA Tour the world will not be able to go to a WGC unless they fly to Arizona, Florida, Ohio or China. As I said on Monday the WGC's are not fulfilling their potential and until there is a change of leadership and attitude at the PGA Tour they will continue to fail in their role and not reach their potential as genuine World Championships for golf.

Watch out for my blog on Monday morning with a full review of Sunday's action as part of the launch edition of my exclusive series - Florida Swing Special Report, blogs every day from February 25 to March 26.