Tiger Woods looking to win event in Arizona for the fourth time – Golf News
The 14-time major winner, Tiger Woods, is looking forward to recording his fourth win in the World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, Arizona.
Woods’ first win in the event came in 2003 when he defeated David Toms by 2&1, his sixth overall WGC win.
Since 1999, there has not been a single year when he did not win any of the four WGC’s until a bad patch came in his golfing career in 2009. WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in 2009 proved to be his last WGC victory.
This year, Woods is returning to his form and has been able to register some good finishes in the recent tournaments he played.
He has a good chance to prove his mettle at the Accenture Match Play Championship.
He is placed in Sam Snead bracket where he will start his campaign while playing his opening round against Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
For the first time in his career, he is not listed among the top four seeded players and rated as 19th in the event.
The real advantage that Woods will have over his opponents is his proven track record in the event. He has a record of 32-8 in 11 appearances that he made between 1999 and 2011.
"It's a sprint, it is a boat race. You have to get off to quick starts. Generally if you get down early, 2 or 3 down, those -- you rarely come back," Woods said. "It's hard to make up ground when you're playing 18 holes".
"It puts such a premium on getting off to a good start, and the guys that do generally win the matches," he added.
He has now his first match in front of him, where he will have to defeat the five-time European tour winner.
Castano, however, does not have a good past record on the PGA Tour, as his best finish came in the 2009 PGA Championship where he tied for the 32nd.
Moreover, Castano missed almost a year on the PGA Tour because of the back injury he suffered in early 2011.
Therefore, Woods has an edge over his competitor and can make a quick start to his WGC campaign this year.
After his win against Costano, he will have to face top seeded players, such as Lee Westwood, Webb Simpson and Bill Haas, further in the event to take the trophy home.
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