USA: GOLF - TIGER WOODS AND ERNIE ELS HEADLINE LIST OF GOLFERS SCHEDULED TO TEE OFF AT WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
Record ID:
647187
USA: GOLF - TIGER WOODS AND ERNIE ELS HEADLINE LIST OF GOLFERS SCHEDULED TO TEE OFF AT WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
- Title: USA: GOLF - TIGER WOODS AND ERNIE ELS HEADLINE LIST OF GOLFERS SCHEDULED TO TEE OFF AT WGC ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
- Date: 28th February 2003
- Summary: CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 25, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. GOLFERS PRACTICING ON DRIVING RANGE, ZOOM IN TO TIGER WOODS 2. SOUNDBITE (English) TIGER WOODS TALKING ABOUT WHAT HE EXPECTS FOR THE EVENT, SAYING: "You never know. When you've got eighteen holes, anything can happen. You know, that's the thing, if we were playing 36 hole matches, you'd normally would see the better player win those matches, but not when you have an 18-hole boat race." 3. GOLFERS PRACTICING ON DRIVING RANGE 4. SOUNDBITE (English) TIGER WOODS TALKING ABOUT ERNIE ELS, SAYING: "If we both play well at the same time, I think it would be a lot of fun. Not only for us, but for everyone watching I think it would be a lot of fun. But you know, there aren't a lot of times we're both playing well in the same tournament. That's the fickle nature of golf, as you know. So would it be great? Yeah, I would thoroughly enjoy it if we both played well at the same time." 5. COLIN MONTGOMERIE PRACTICING 6. SOUNDBITE (English) TIGER WOODS SAYING HE HASN'T YET DECIDED WHETHER OR NOT HE'LL PARTICIPATE IN UPCOMING EVENTS OVERSEAS, SAYING: "You know, right now this next week is the next tournament that I'm committed to playing, so we'll see what happens." REPORTER ASKS WHETHER WAR IS A CONCERN. WOODS ANSWERING: "Of course, of course, I mean, anytime you go overseas and there's war not too far away, I'd say it is a danger." 7. CHARLES HOWELL III, 21ST SEED, PRACTICING 8. GOLF COURSE WITH POOLS OF STANDING WATER 9. CART DRIVING THROUGH WATER Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 15th March 2003 12:00
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- Location: CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
- City:
- Country: USA
- Reuters ID: LVA1GI10MZ6QD1YLD3G3ZG8M7H8I
- Story Text: Tiger Woods and Ernie Els headline the list of golfers
scheduled to tee off this week at the WGC-Accenture Match Play
Championship at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad,
California.
Tiger Woods and Ernie Els will have to defy history to
meet in the final of the Match Play Championship on Sunday.
For the first time this year, Woods and Els will compete
in the same tournament, but chances are their eagerly awaited
head-to-head showdown will have to wait for another day.
To clash in the final, the top two seeds will have to win
five matches each in the knockout format at La Costa,
something extremely unlikely given the vagaries of 18-hole
match play competition.
Top seed Woods will play Swede Carl Pettersson on
Wednesday in the first round. Els, the leading seed in his
quarter of the draw and second overall, will face Kiwi
Phil Tataurangi in this 64-man World Golf Championships event."
Other interesting first round matchups include former
world number one David Duval against rising English star
Justin Rose and out-of-form Spaniard Sergio Garcia against
defending champion Kevin Sutherland.
But it's a Woods-Els final that most golf fans would love
to see.
Els has won four of five tournaments worldwide this season
while Woods, after sitting out ftwo months while recovering
from arthroscopic knee surgery, secured a decisive victory in
his first start of the year, two weeks ago at the Buick
Invitational in nearby La Jolla.
Whether or not Els has closed the gap on Woods remains to
be seen. It's one thing to shoot 31-under, which is what the
South African did to win the season-opening Mercedes
Championships, it's another to do it with the intimidating
presence of Woods.
As well as Woods played last year, winning two majors and
topping the PGA Tour money list for the fifth season in a row,
one wonders what he would have achieved if not for his injured
left knee.
It was only a few months ago that Phil Mickelson was
widely considered Woods' chief rival, but Els' British Open
victory in July, followed by his hot start to 2003, has almost
reduced the lefthander's status to 'Phil who?'
Mickelson was standing at the side of the room during
Padraig Harrington's news conference Wednesday when the
Irishman was asked about the rivalry between Woods and Els.
Mickelson, for his part, went out of his way to say
nothing remotely controversial, and who could blame him after
the uproar over his recent comments about Woods' "inferior
equipment."
Mickelson, who has not advanced past the third round in
three attempts, meets Swede Robert Karlsson in the first
round.
In the four years this event has been held, Darren Clarke
is the highest seed to win. He was seeded 19th in 2000 when he
beat Woods in the final.
The other winners were Jeff Maggert (seeded 24th in 1999),
Steve Stricker (seeded 55th in 2001) and Sutherland (seeded
62nd last year).
Sutherland should know because few would have bet on him
winning last year. One thing has changed this season, however.
The course has been lengthened and the rough is long and lush,
which means the cream is more likely to come to the top.
Torrential rain Wednesday turned parts of La Costa into a
lake. At the very least, the course will be extremely soggy
for the first round.
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