GEOFF OGILVY IS THE CHAMPION OF THE 2009 ACCENTURE MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP  
MARANA, Ariz. – Geoff Ogilvy captured his second World Golf Championships (WGCs) – Accenture Match Play Championship, with a dominating 4 and 3 win over England’s Paul Casey in a 36-hole showdown at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana, Arizona on Sunday, March 1. The Aussie earned the $1.4 million first place prize and the prestigious Walter Hagen Cup, named after golf’s greatest match-play competitor. As he was holding the Hagen Cup, Ogilvy said, “I really enjoy the match-play format, and generally when you enjoy what you’re doing, you do it well.” Casey, the first Englishman to reach the final in the Accenture event’s storied history, got off to a shaky start and never recovered. Casey had gone 80 consecutive holes in previous matches without trailing before losing the first hole of the title match. The three-time European Ryder Cup player will collect the $850,000 second place money. Ogilvy, the 2006 Accenture Match Play champion, put on a stellar display of golf during the five-day, head-to-head, single-elimination competition, and was brilliant during the title match. Ogilvy began the 36-hole final with a birdie and never looked back. Ogilvy, who is a member of both the PGA TOUR and the European Tour, joins Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke (2000) and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (2007) as the only European Tour members to win the Accenture Match Play Championship. With his victory, Ogilvy now joins Tiger Woods (2003, 2004, 2008) as the only multiple Accenture Match Play Championship title-holder. He improved his match-play record to 17-2 and owns the highest winning percentage (89.47 percent) of any player in the Accenture event history, including Tiger Woods (32-7, 82.05 percent). In the tightly contested 18-hole consolation match, American Stewart Cink defeated unheralded Ross Fisher of England, 1 up, on the very last hole to capture the $600,000 third place money. Cink was runner-up to Tiger Woods last year. Fisher earns $490,000 for fourth place. The 2008 European Open winner became only the second Englishman to make it into the third-place match since Ian Poulter in 2005. The 2009 Accenture Match Play Championship produced several notable highlights including Tiger Woods’ return to competition after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery last June. His Tuesday press conference was seen by more than 208 million viewers worldwide. The event also marked the first professional appearance in America of future superstar Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland. The Accenture event was conducted at its new home, a Jack Nicklaus signature course at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club designed with match play in mind, bringing fans much closer to the head-to-head duels. The marquee Accenture Match Play Championship is part of the prestigious World Golf Championships, a series of global events that bring the world’s best golfers together in competition in different formats at a variety of venues. This global event captures the spirit and culture of Accenture - to continually achieve through the very best performance, and then raise the bar even higher. In 2010, the tournament will be contested Feb. 17-21 at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana, Arizona. To Top |