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43-712: Originally an alternate event in late winter, the tournament was played the same week as the WGC Match Play event in Arizona . Mayakoba was part of the FedEx Cup , but only earned half the points of a regular event. The prize fund in 2007 was US$ 3.5 million (with a winner's share of $ 630,000), making it the richest golf tournament in Mexico. Fred Funk , a winner four months earlier on the Champions Tour , took

86-432: A player than a stroke play event, the format was still respected as offering a different challenge than stroke play. At the end of the 1990s, there were two significant unofficial match play tournaments, the relatively new Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf , which had a 32-man field with the finals played in Arizona , and the much older World Match Play Championship , which had a field of 16 players or less and

129-478: A revamp, moving to TPC Harding Park , a municipal course owned by the city and county of San Francisco , and became sponsored by Cadillac (who also sponsored the WGC Championship ). The tournament moved from February to April 27 – May 3, the week prior to The Players Championship . The structure was changed so the field was split into 16 four-player groups played on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with

172-511: A total of 66 players reaching the final stage, two preliminary matches were played the day before the main event started. The leaders in the Order of Merit were exempted, increasing the number of qualifiers to 76. 12 first-round matches were played to reduce the field to 64. Total prize money was £2,650. The leader 10 in the Order of Merit were exempted. 10 first-round matches were played to reduce

215-543: Is headquartered in greater Austin area). The following year, as a result of the title sponsor's involvement in a merger the tournament became known as the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. In 2015, Jason Day became the third player to win multiple WGC Match Plays, and in 2016 Dustin Johnson won to become the only player to have won all four World Golf Championships . In early 2019, a deal

258-788: Is sanctioned and organized by the International Federation of PGA Tours and the prize money is official money on the PGA Tour , the European Tour and the Japan Golf Tour . Tiger Woods has the record number of wins with three. The winner receives a Wedgwood trophy named the Walter Hagen Cup. The match play format fell out of favor in professional individual golf tournaments with the growth of television. The two major match play tournaments in

301-562: The European Tour from its first season in 1972, but was discontinued following the 1979 event when a replacement sponsor could not be found after Sun Alliance moved to supporting the stroke play championship instead. The last champion was Irishman Des Smyth , who beat a youthful Nick Price in the final. The tournament was announced in August. £200 had been given by the News of the World to

344-531: The Great Triumvirate of Harry Vardon , J. H. Taylor and James Braid , along with Ted Ray , who would go on to win both the British and U.S. Opens . After World War II , the event provided several notable British and Irish players, like Christy O'Connor Snr , Eric Brown and Dave Thomas , with their greatest triumphs, and also became a showcase for the matchplay strength of Neil Coles , who

387-621: The Tournament of Champions event for the previous thirty seasons ( 1969 – 1998 ). In 2001, the tournament sponsor was renamed, and the tournament followed suit, becoming known as the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. The tournament was held in early January by the highly regarded Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne , Australia . Nearly forty players turned down their invitation, including six of

430-452: The 1950 Open Champion ( Bobby Locke ) were exempted from qualifying. Locke did not play but with 64 players reaching the final stage through the sectional qualifying events there were 65 qualifiers. This meant that one preliminary match was needed; the match being played the day before the main event started. Total prize money was £2,530. The 1950 winner ( Dai Rees ) and the 1951 Open Champion ( Max Faulkner ) were exempted from qualifying. With

473-410: The 64 qualifiers. The 8 were: Skip Alexander , Jimmy Demaret , Bob Hamilton , Dutch Harrison , Clayton Heafner , Lloyd Mangrum , Johnny Palmer and Sam Snead . The additional players meant that 8 preliminary match had to be played to reduce the field to 64. These matches were played on 20 September, extending the event to a fifth day. Total prize money was £2,620. The 1949 winner ( Dai Rees ) and

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516-570: The Midland and Northern sections had 5 each, the Scottish section 4 and the Irish section 2. The matches in the final stage were over 18 holes except for the final which was over 36 holes. Extra holes were played in the event of a tied match. The winner received £100, the runner-up £30, losing semi-finalists £15 and losing quarter-finalists £10. The semi-finalists also received medals: the winner gold,

559-540: The PGA cancelled the tournament. The Western section had played their qualification tournament on 9 July at which Charles and Ernest Whitcombe qualified. The arrangements for the 1919 tournament were sorted out at a late stage. In mid-July it was decided that the number of qualifiers for the final stage would be increased from 32 to 64 and the "News of the World" agreed to increase the prize money. The West of England section had already played their qualifying competition under

602-401: The PGA for the competition. The final stage would be at Sunningdale Golf Club from 13 to 15 October and would be a knock-out match-play contest by 32 professionals. Qualification was by a series of 36-hole stroke-play competitions; one for each of the five PGA sections. The number of qualifiers from each section was based on the membership of that section. The Southern section had 16 qualifiers,

645-431: The earlier format with 64 players qualifying for the knock-out stage played from 25 to 28 September. The final was over 36 holes. Prize money remained at £2,000 with £550 for the winner, £250 for the losing finalist and £120 for the losing semi-finalists. Prize money was increased to £2,500 with £750 for the winner and £250 for the losing finalist. Eight American golfers who had played in the 1949 Ryder Cup were added to

688-544: The establishment of the British PGA Championship (at stroke play ) in 1955, the matchplay version lost some of its importance, and the matchplay format fell out of favour with sponsors, who could not guarantee that the final day would feature any "big-name" players to attract a television audience, nor either that the matches would finish at times to coincide with limited scheduled slots for live transmission. The tournament remained an official money event on

731-532: The field to 64. Total prize money was increased to £3,000, although the first prize remained unchanged at £750. The number of qualifiers from the sectional events was reduced so that there were just 64 contestants in the final stage. The quarter-finals and semi-finals were extended to 36 holes, the event being played over 5 days from 11 to 15 September. The format was changed, with the first round matches being over 36 holes, spread over two days. The quarter-finals and semi-finals were reduced again to 18 holes, although

774-446: The final was still over 36 holes. The format was changed again. All matches were reduced to 18 holes and the event reduced from 5 days to 4. One round was played on the first two days, the third round and quarter-finals were played on the third day with the semi-finals and final on the final day. This was only the second final, after 1945, to be contested over 18 holes. Sectional qualifying was dropped and replaced by local qualifying on

817-495: The impression there were 2 places available. They were allocated 4 in the new system. Other sections were allocated the following places: Southern 26, Northern 12, Midland 10, Scotland 5, Welsh 4, Eastern 2 and Irish 1. The tournament was extended to a fourth day with the 32 18-hole first round matches played on the first day. The losing quarter-finalists received £12 10s, third round losers £10, second round losers £7 10s and first round losers £5. Prize money totalled £590. Prize money

860-528: The inaugural event in a playoff over José Cóceres of Argentina . Funk was 50 years, 257 days of age and became the oldest player to win a PGA Tour event in nearly 32 years; Art Wall was about eleven months older when he won the Greater Milwaukee Open in July 1975 . In 2013, the event was moved to mid-November to be part of the 2014 season as a primary event in the early part of

903-818: The intermittent weather issues in Dove Mountain, the performance of the WGC Match Play was a concern for other reasons, with Rex Hoggard of the Golf Channel remarking "Since 2007, when the Tour uprooted the Match Play from La Costa for the Tucson highlands, the galleries have been thin, the golf courses have been tolerated and the Sundays have been largely undistinguished". In 2015 the tournament underwent

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946-685: The introduction of the WGC event, and eventually became defunct in 2014. The format of the new WGC competition was a straight knock out tournament involving the top 64 players in the Official World Golf Ranking , with each match played over 18 holes, except the final which was played over 36 holes. The first two events were held in February 1999 and 2000 at the La Costa Resort and Spa in southern California , which had hosted

989-427: The other match. They had been level after 7 holes but Ray won the next 4 to take a convincing lead. In the final Braid led by 1 hole after the first round. In the afternoon Braid won 3 of the first 5 holes to go 4 up and, although Ray won the next two, Braid eventually won 4&3. The final stages were planned for Oxhey Golf Club on 6, 7 and 8 October with the same format and prize money as previously. In mid-August

1032-752: The player with the best record advancing. The four knockout rounds are then split over Saturday and Sunday. The format ensured that spectators could guarantee to see the entire field on the first three days, and some coverage would occur in primetime in the East Coast of the United States . After one year in California, the tournament moved to March with a new long term home and sponsor, the Austin Country Club in Texas , and Dell (which

1075-728: The pre TV era were the PGA Championship , which converted to stroke play format in 1958, and the British PGA Matchplay Championship which faced a slow decline after the introduction of the British PGA Championship in 1955 (which had a stroke play format), and eventually became defunct in 1979. Match play became mainly associated with amateur tournaments, and team tournaments such as the Ryder Cup . Despite not being popular with television companies, and often requiring more rounds to be played by

1118-490: The runner-up silver and the losing semi-finalists bronze. In the first round Jack White , third in the 1903 Open Championship lost to Tom Williamson . Later in the day Tom Vardon who had been second in the Open lost to Ted Ray . In the quarter-finals James Braid beat Alfred Toogood at the 19th hole. In the semi-finals Braid won the first two holes against J.H. Taylor and won 4&2. Ray beat George Coburn 4&3 in

1161-662: The season, which began in October for the first time. The tournament now offered full FedEx Cup points, a Masters invitation, and a large purse increase (over 60%, to $ 6 million). With the tour's new schedule, the Mayakoba event was not part of the abbreviated 2013 season. The Golf Classic is allocated four additional sponsor exemptions designated for players of Spanish or Mexican heritage from Latin America , South America , Spain , or Mexico. In 2021, World Wide Technology

1204-410: The second day and then two rounds were played each day. The final was played over 18 holes for the first time. Both New and Old courses were used for the last-128 and last-64 rounds. Total prize money was £2,000 with the winner receiving £600, the runner-up £200, semi-finalists £100, quarter-finalists £50 and prizes of £30, £15 and £10 for those reaching the last-64 stage. The 1946 tournament reverted to

1247-481: The second most successful player in the tournament's history after winning in 2006 and 2009 and finishing runner up in 2007 . Despite normal highs of 69 °F (21 °C) in Marana in February, the tournament was delayed by snow/ hailstones in 2011 , and snow in 2013 . Also in 2011, the format of the final was reduced to 18 holes instead of 36 holes, similar to the other rounds of the tournament. As well as

1290-482: The top ten. This was largely seen as because it was played very early in the year when some players have an off season, and for many players the travel time was too long when playing a single tournament where you could end up playing just a single round. The following year the tournament returned to La Costa Resort and Spa in Southern California where it remained until 2006. In 2007 and 2008 , it

1333-408: The tournament more than once: The title has been successfully defended only once, by Woods in 2004. 37°43′30″N 122°29′35″W  /  37.725°N 122.493°W  / 37.725; -122.493 British PGA Matchplay Championship The British PGA Matchplay Championship was a match play golf tournament that began in 1903 and ran until 1979. Between 1903 and 1969, the event

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1376-477: The victorious U.S. Ryder Cup side accepted invites to the event, Lloyd Mangrum reaching the semi-finals. For many years, the event had the richest prize fund in British golf, and certainly in the pre- First World War era, can be considered to have been a "major" championship of its day, as at the time, the British professionals were considered the best players in the world – in 1907 the four semi-finalists were

1419-531: Was announced as the new title sponsor of the event, in a deal lasting until 2027. In November 2022, it was noted that the El Camaleón Golf Course had been added to the roster for the 2023 LIV Golf League . With the PGA Tour and LIV Golf 's ongoing legal battle, the tour decided to end its relationship with Mayakoba. In January 2023, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan confirmed that the tour

1462-429: Was at least a semi-finalist eleven times in eighteen years, a remarkable achievement considering the field normally comprised 64 and on occasion 128 players. The tournament was also often notable for remarkable runs to the later stages by veteran players – Max Faulkner was a semi-finalist in 1967 aged 51 and reached the quarter-finals three years later, and in 1969 Dai Rees reached the final aged 56. However, following

1505-442: Was increased to £1,250 with the losing quarter-finalists receiving £27 10s and prizes of £20, £15 and £7 10s for losers in the first three rounds. The final stages were planned for St George's Hill Golf Club from 12 to 15 September with the same format and prize money as previously. Qualifying events had been completed when the PGA cancelled the tournament in early September on the outbreak of World War II . The cancelled 1939 event

1548-404: Was increased to £750 with the winner receiving £200, the runner-up £50, the losing semi-finalists £30, the losing quarter-finalists £15 and third round losers £12 10s. Prize money was increased to £1,040 with the winner receiving £300, the runner-up £100, the losing semi-finalists £50, the losing quarter-finalists £25 and prizes of £15, £10 and £5 for losers in the first three rounds. Prize money

1591-535: Was played at The Gallery Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona , and from 2009 to 2014 at the nearby Ritz-Carlton Golf Club (renamed as simply "The Golf Club at Dove Mountain" in 2013). Tiger Woods is the most successful player in the WGC Match Play, and he won his three titles in Arizona, although he was less dominant than he was in the other U.S.-based World Golf Championship events. Geoff Ogilvy became

1634-759: Was played in England . When the World Golf Championships were formed in 1999, it was decided one of the events would be held in match play format, which meant the return of an official match play event on the PGA Tour and the European Tour . The WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play was in effect the successor of the Andersen Consulting World Championship of Golf, which was discontinued. The World Match Play Championship in England continued, but lost prestige after

1677-439: Was re-arranged for Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club from 30 April to 3 May. The 64 qualifiers for the 1939 tournament were invited although a number were unable to play. The 1945 event was arranged at short notice and there were no qualifying events. There were 149 entries and the tournament was played at Walton Heath Golf Club from 23 to 27 July. 21 matches were played on the first day to reduce the field to 128. There were 64 matches on

1720-469: Was signed for Dell Technologies to remain the sponsor, and Austin Country Club the host, until at least 2023. In March 2023, it was announced by the PGA Tour that the event would end following the 2023 edition. The tournament has a field of 64 players filled based upon the following criteria: The tournament is split into two phases: All matches are played over 18 holes. Three players have won

1763-582: Was sponsored by the now defunct British newspaper the News of the World , and was commonly known by the paper's name. Initially organised as the championship of British professionals, the event came to include invited players from other countries – in particular from around the Commonwealth (it was won on four occasions by Australia's Peter Thomson , a record number of victories shared with Dai Rees and James Braid ). On occasion, American professionals also took part, notably in 1949 when eight members of

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1806-601: Was the only one of the World Golf Championships to have been contested using the match play format. From 2016 until its final year in 2023, it was held at the Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas , United States. Previous names include WGC-Dell Match Play (2015), WGC-Cadillac Match Play (2014), WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (2001–2013), and WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship (1999–2000). Before moving to Austin it had been hosted in Arizona eight times, California eight times, and Australia once. It

1849-552: Was working with World Wide Technology, but did not see them being back at Mayakoba. Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records. 20°41′22″N 87°01′52″W  /  20.6895°N 87.0312°W  / 20.6895; -87.0312 WGC Match Play The WGC Match Play , titled in later years as the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play for sponsorship reasons, was a professional men's golf tournament that had been held since 1999. It

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