Posted by Dave Cooney: email
Ticket information: http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/r470/tickets/index.html
MARANA, Ariz. -- The stage is set for next week's World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship with the field finalized at 5 p.m. ET Friday. Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer, Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively, in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) lead the list of those who qualified for and committed to the Accenture Match Play Championship. The 2012 bracket and tee times will be unveiled on Monday, February 20, at 7 a.m. ET, with the brackets/seeding based on the OWGR released that morning.
The first World Golf Championships event of the 2012 season returns to The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, Feb. 20-26. The 32 First Round matches begin Wednesday, Feb. 22, with Donald looking to defend his title and retain the Walter Hagen Cup.
Phil Mickelson (No. 11) and Paul Casey (No. 23) did not commit to the Accenture Match Play Championship and are replaced by Ernie Els (No. 65) and George Coetzee (No. 66), respectively. Mickelson is not competing due to a scheduled family vacation, while Casey, a runner-up in the event in 2009 and 2010, is still recovering from a shoulder injury and plans to make his season debut at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
Els earns a spot in the field for the 12th time in his World Golf Hall of Fame career. His best finish is a fourth place result in 2001. Coetzee, also of South Africa, will be making his first World Golf Championships start.
A total of 42 international players are among the field of 64, representing 13 countries. There are 24 players under the age of 30 competing in the Accenture Match Play Championship, the most in tournament history, bettering the record of 23 previously set in 2010 and 2011. For the second consecutive year, Italy's Matteo Manassero (No. 61) is the youngest at 18 years, 9 months and 30 days (as of 2/17/12). He advanced to the third round in 2011 before losing to Donald, 3 and 2.
New for 2012, the seeding for the Accenture Match Play Championship bracket will be based off the OWGR as of the Monday of championship week, Feb. 20, as opposed to the OWGR at the time the field was finalized. This modification was made to ensure players are seeded based upon their most current ranking position. The eligibility criteria for the field remain unchanged. This change may be best illustrated at the top of the bracket; while Westwood has moved to No. 2 with his T2 at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, fractions ahead of McIlroy, next week the two are projected to again swap positions with McIlroy taking the No. 2 seed and Westwood falling to No. 3.
