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 The World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championship was on a different level compared to the previous PGA Tour events in 2009 in terms of atmosphere and the excitement it generated. That's partially due to the return of Tiger Woods, but a lot of the attention can be attributed to the top 64 players in the world gathering to go head-to-head in Arizona this week.
Geoff Ogilvy emerged as the winner, and looks like he will be a force to reckon with in 2009. Woods returned, but not for long. And, the top-ranked players like Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh and Sergio Garcia didn't make it to the weekend. Here's a look at how things looked at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Dove Mountain and how they sounded.
Who: Vijay Singh
"I've got to play a little bit more aggressive," said Singh after his victory in the opening round Wednesday. "I think I get a little too tentative in the beginning. I think I've got to be very aggressive tomorrow if I want to keep going."
Singh didn't keep going, and like all of the other No. 1 seeds, was gone by Thursday evening. At least he brought his umbrella in case of a torrential downpour.
Who: The Press
The media assembled in record numbers to get the scoop on any and all things Tiger. After Tim Clark dispatched of Woods in round two, many got out of dodge. But not before they got a good look at third-alternate Ryo Ishikawa.
"Just because there's attention doesn't mean that helps you hit any golf shots, doesn't help you make any putts, and it doesn't help you win golf tournaments," said Tiger Woods when asked about the attention given to Ryo Ishikawa by the media. "You've still got to put in the time, the effort and the legwork to achieve success. Just because people are writing about you and talking about you, as my dad always said, that's never hit you a high draw, a low fade or holed a putt."
Who: The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Dove Mountain
The second most popular topic this week was probably the quirks of the Jack Nicklaus-designed Ritz-Carlton Golf Club Dove Mountain. A lot of the players said these were the most sloping and severe greens they've ever encountered on Tour.
"Not really, no," said Geoff Ogilvy when asked if he understood why a resort golf course was equipped with such severe greens. "From what I understand, it was designed with match play in mind. There's obviously 51 weeks a year it's something else. But unfortunately whenever a golf course is designed with a golf tournament in mind, I don't think they take the other 51 weeks into mind really."
Who: Ross Fisher
" I wasn't coming out here just to compete, I was coming here to compete and win. I felt like I was good enough to compete with these guys. My game was getting stronger and stronger every single match. And it's probably the best I've swung the club for a long time.
Ross Fisher lost to Paul Casey in the semifinals. His consolation match with Stewart Cink went 18 holes, with Cink emerging as the victor.
Who: Rory McIlroy
"He's the real deal," said eventual champion Geoff Ogilvy. "He's a very impressive golfer. It's feasible that he's going to be top two or three in the world within a year. I mean he's that good. He got better the last few holes of my match. I had to play the best golf I played all week to just kind of stay level with him at the end. He was playing fantastic. This will be the worst world ranking he's got for the next ten years.
I've learnt that I can compete out there and I am able to to hang with the best in the world," said McIlroy. "It is great for my confidence that I have come out in my first event in America and done so well. There are a lot of positives from it that I will take into the next two weeks."
Who: Tiger Woods
"Well I'm very pleased actually with the way I hit the golf ball," said Woods. "I didn't make enough birdies today. I made some yesterday, just didn't make enough today. But I hit the ball well the last two days and that's encouraging. Also the way my leg feels, after walking, and especially on this golf course, going up-and-down the cart paths, especially down the cart paths, my leg feels pretty good."
Who: Phil Mickelson
"It's pretty evident to see what he has done for the game of golf," Mickelson said before the tournament. "You know, I came here on a Tuesday practice round, and as I'm walking to the range I've never seen so many cameras and photographers and so forth, especially that early in the morning waiting for Tiger to get there.
"It's amazing to me what he has done for our sport, and for us to have the most recognizable athlete in the world playing our sport is so fortunate for all of us, and we've all been able to benefit from it and to have him back is awesome," Mickelson continued. "We are going to have more of a challenge winning golf tournaments certainly, but also it will be more rewarding if we're able to win those."
Who: Stewart Cink
Last year Cink was pasted by Tiger in the Accenture Match Play Championship finals. This year, he lost to eventual winner Geoff Ogilvy in the semifinals. But two consecutive final fours isn't bad, and Cink pocketed a cool $600,000 for his trouble.
"One great thing about this tournament is it really puts you under pressure from the very first shot," Cink said after his third place match against Ross Fisher. "And you really get to see how your mind and body respond to the pressure early in the season going into big tournaments like Doral and the Masters. And there's a lot of big tournaments coming up, so I think it's good to use as a springboard. And I did last year, and I'm going to do it this year too."
Who: Paul Casey
Casey didn't trail in a match until Geoff Ogilvy won the first hole of Sunday's 36-hole match. If not for Ogilvy's stellar play, Casey might very well have won his first PGA Tour event in 74 starts.
"I'm happy with this week," Casey said. "A little bit bitter-sweet, maybe. Would have loved to have won today. Came up against a guy who was too good. But having said that, this is a golf course that I felt was slightly awkward for my game two weeks ago, and I found away of getting around it, and for that I'm proud."
Who: Geoff Ogilvy
Ogilvy has now won two Accenture Match Play Championships, the CA Championship, this year's Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii and a U.S. Open. He's off to a fast start in 2009 and currently leads the FedEx Cup points and has moved up to No. 4 in the Official World Golf Rankings. And this week in Arizona, he beat some tough competition including Camilo Villegas, Stewart Cink, Rory McIlroy and Paul Casey.
"Well there are few guys in the world who are obviously well in front of me: Tiger, Phil, Sergio, Harrington," Ogilvy said when asked about his standing in golf's pecking order. So there's four. So I'm at least fifth. That's not for me to decide, it's for you guys to decide where I sit in the pecking order."
Editor's Note: Photos courtesy of David P. DiFilippo
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