MARANA, Ariz. – In a spectacular display of match-play skill, the world’s No. 1 golfer, Tiger Woods, defeated Stewart Cink, 8 and 7, to win his third Accenture Match Play Championship at The Gallery Golf Club just north of Tucson. Sunday’s 36-hole championship match was the largest margin of victory in a final in the 10-year history of the World Golf Championships (WGC) event. His other Accenture Match Play Championship wins were also against Americans, David Toms (2003) and Davis Love III (2004). After his victory, Woods said, “Match play is very fickle and this week I had to make a bunch of putts to advance.” He made 51 birdie putts out of the 117 holes he played in the 2008 Accenture Match Play Championship. Woods further rewrote the Accenture Play Championship record book with his 8-and-7 win for the largest margin of victory in a title match since David Toms’ 6-and-5 triumph over fellow American Chris DiMarco in 2005. Cink wasn’t the first player Woods beat 8 and 7. In the first round of the 2006 Accenture Match Play Championship, he defeated Canadian Stephen Ames by the same score. There was never any doubt about this dominating victory. Woods got off to a fast start with birdies on the first two holes in the 36-hole title match, was rock-solid all day and never had to check his rearview mirror before beating Cink. Woods captured his third Walter Hagen Cup along with a $1.35 million winner’s share of the $8 million purse, as he boosts his total Accenture Match Play Championship earnings to $4.6 million. 
By winning an unprecedented third Accenture Match Play Championship, Woods extends his overall match-play record to 31-6 in his ninth year of playing in the storied WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship event. After defeating Cink, Woods is 11-2 against fellow Americans. The two losses were against Jeff Maggert in the quarterfinals of the inaugural event and Chad Campbell in the 2006 third round. As further evidence to his match-play prowess, Woods has won an amazing 23 matches of his last 26. Stewart Cink made his first appearance in an Accenture Match Play Championship final and was looking to end his three-and-a-half year winless drought to move into the winner’s circle for the first time out of his last 86 starts on the PGA TOUR. The three-time U.S. Ryder Cup Player still had a good week at the 2008 Accenture Match Play Championship, earning the $800,000 runner-up prize. In the 18-hole consolation match, 2007 Accenture Match Play champion Henrik Stenson defeated Justin Leonard, 3 and 2. The Swede takes home the third place winnings of $575,000. Leonard, of the United States, earned $475,000 for fourth. Accenture is a global umbrella sponsor of the World Golf Championships and the title sponsor of the series’ season-opening event, the Accenture Match Play Championship. The 2008 Accenture Match Play Championship took place February 20–24, at The Gallery Golf Club at Dove Mountain, South Course, in Tucson, Arizona. Follow the action and view live scoring updates on www.worldgolfchampionships.com. To Top |