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Dan O'Neill
Dan O’Neill is a columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. O’Neill also writes a weekly column for GolfBrief.com, and is a regular contributor to MSNBC.com and Golfweek. He is the author of “Busch Stadium Moments” and “Sportsman’s Park.”
Beware of match play
- By Dan O'Neill
- Published 02/18/2008
- Commentary
-
Rating:
When we were young, our parents taught us not to play with matches, least we get burned. As we have gotten older, network television has taught us to stay away from match play. You may get burned with Ben Crane and Per-Ulrik Johansson in a final, a Bataan March if ever there was one.
But forbidden fruit is hard to resist — Adam and Eve taught us that. And where competitive golf is concerned, match play is certainly enticing.
Match play is the version of the game that best fits the sports landscape, a head-to-head, in-the-moment model that makes it unique.
Imagine if every once in a while, baseball scrapped the nine-inning scores in favor of an inning-by-inning joust. Sorry all you Rockies fans, you still would have been swept last October. But they would still be playing the seventh game of the 1972 World Series, with Oakland and Cincinnati all even after nine.
If they went to quarter-by-quarter results in football, Carolina would still be alive in the 2004 Super Bowl, knotted 2-2 with New England. Actually, basketball already emulates match play to a certain extent, at least the NBA style. Nothing counts until the fourth quarter anyway.
Match play is golf with teeth. It’s the closest a non-contact sport can come to a full-fledged duke out, the only time the lawns leave nothing to chance, the only time a player completely controls his own destiny.
Like heavyweight boxing bouts, there have been many memorable matches over the years. Tiger Woods rallying in the final of the 1994 U.S. Amateur against Trip Kuehne stands out, as does Woods’ rally to beat Steve Scott in the 1996 Amateur. Justin Leonard’s haymaker that stunned Jose Maria Olazabal at the 1999 Ryder Cup made a lasting impression, as well.
Bobby Jones once said there is no courage in golf, because there is no physical danger involved in the game. But one might argue it took some audacity for Seve Ballesteros to hit a 3-wood from a fairway bunker on the 18th hole of his 1983 Ryder Cup match.
And who will ever forget the sister kiss between Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player that took Woods and Ernie Els off the hook and called the 2003 President’s Cup matches a draw?
No question, if drama and spectacle is what you seek, match play is your pimp. Problem is, golf’s face-to-face format has another side, a finicky and unpredictable side, a dark side, if you will. Unforgettable, yes, but also unforgiving and unjust. It plays no favorites to scoring average, World Golf resumes or television ratings.
It can be a lopsided 9-and-8 bore as easily as it can be a compelling shootout. It can be won with bogeys as well as birdies. It can take your breath away, or it can have you reaching for the air freshener. For golf, it has represented some of the best of times and, from a marketing standpoint, it has been some of the worst of times.
Frankly, the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, which opens Wednesday, knows both sides of the coin. Jeff Maggert beating Andrew Magee after 38 holes in the 1999 inaugural featured some clutch golf, but it didn’t exactly make the audience needle move.
Steve Stricker topping Pierre Fulke in the 2001 finals might have been a yawner if anyone had been watching. But with the event taking place in Australia, it is likely more people saw “The Adventures of Pluto Nash.” Unfortunately, when Kevin Sutherland defeated Scott McCarron at La Costa Resort and Spa, there was nowhere to run to run to, baby, nowhere to hide.
That’s not to denigrate the golf played by any of those fine players, but golf is driven by television and television is driven by star power. Again, that’s what makes the spilt personality of a match-play championship a crap shoot. It might be thrilling to see the underdog upset the favorite in the early rounds, such as Nick O’Hern beating Woods in the third round last year.
But it also ensures you will not see that favorite — in this case Woods — for the remainder of the tournament. It guarantees you of missing the most romantic pairing possible on the final day. The nose is essentially removed to spite the face.
At Accenture, the No. 1 seed has a 29-8 record. But the No. 2 seed is just slightly better than .500, with an 11-9 mark. The No. 5 seed is 6-9.
Adam Scott is currently No. 5 in the world, or in Accenture Match Play terms, a Dead Man Walking.
Meanwhile, the 62nd seed is 9-8 in the competition, which includes one title (Sutherland). Stricker was No. 55 when he went the distance.
To be fair, Accenture has had headliners in the finals several times: Woods versus David Toms, Woods and Darren Clarke, Woods and Davis Love III … do you see a common theme here? But where Woods is concerned, the dice have come up craps six times, six of nine times the championship has not included the world’s No. 1 draw in the last match.
Accenture has been the least rewarding of the World Golf Championships events for Woods. He has dominated the Bridgestone, winning six times overall, including the last three. He has captured five CA Championship titles, including the last three. But he is 2 for 9 at Accenture, including 0 for his last three.
Maybe this year will be different, maybe this year we’ll get the ultimate match on the final day, No. 1 versus No. 2. Makes you wonder if Ian Poulter is up for it?
That’s the thing about a match play championship, they can be great fun. But be careful what you wish for.
But forbidden fruit is hard to resist — Adam and Eve taught us that. And where competitive golf is concerned, match play is certainly enticing.
Match play is the version of the game that best fits the sports landscape, a head-to-head, in-the-moment model that makes it unique.
Imagine if every once in a while, baseball scrapped the nine-inning scores in favor of an inning-by-inning joust. Sorry all you Rockies fans, you still would have been swept last October. But they would still be playing the seventh game of the 1972 World Series, with Oakland and Cincinnati all even after nine.
If they went to quarter-by-quarter results in football, Carolina would still be alive in the 2004 Super Bowl, knotted 2-2 with New England. Actually, basketball already emulates match play to a certain extent, at least the NBA style. Nothing counts until the fourth quarter anyway.
Match play is golf with teeth. It’s the closest a non-contact sport can come to a full-fledged duke out, the only time the lawns leave nothing to chance, the only time a player completely controls his own destiny.
Like heavyweight boxing bouts, there have been many memorable matches over the years. Tiger Woods rallying in the final of the 1994 U.S. Amateur against Trip Kuehne stands out, as does Woods’ rally to beat Steve Scott in the 1996 Amateur. Justin Leonard’s haymaker that stunned Jose Maria Olazabal at the 1999 Ryder Cup made a lasting impression, as well.
Bobby Jones once said there is no courage in golf, because there is no physical danger involved in the game. But one might argue it took some audacity for Seve Ballesteros to hit a 3-wood from a fairway bunker on the 18th hole of his 1983 Ryder Cup match.
And who will ever forget the sister kiss between Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player that took Woods and Ernie Els off the hook and called the 2003 President’s Cup matches a draw?
No question, if drama and spectacle is what you seek, match play is your pimp. Problem is, golf’s face-to-face format has another side, a finicky and unpredictable side, a dark side, if you will. Unforgettable, yes, but also unforgiving and unjust. It plays no favorites to scoring average, World Golf resumes or television ratings.
It can be a lopsided 9-and-8 bore as easily as it can be a compelling shootout. It can be won with bogeys as well as birdies. It can take your breath away, or it can have you reaching for the air freshener. For golf, it has represented some of the best of times and, from a marketing standpoint, it has been some of the worst of times.
Frankly, the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, which opens Wednesday, knows both sides of the coin. Jeff Maggert beating Andrew Magee after 38 holes in the 1999 inaugural featured some clutch golf, but it didn’t exactly make the audience needle move.
Steve Stricker topping Pierre Fulke in the 2001 finals might have been a yawner if anyone had been watching. But with the event taking place in Australia, it is likely more people saw “The Adventures of Pluto Nash.” Unfortunately, when Kevin Sutherland defeated Scott McCarron at La Costa Resort and Spa, there was nowhere to run to run to, baby, nowhere to hide.
That’s not to denigrate the golf played by any of those fine players, but golf is driven by television and television is driven by star power. Again, that’s what makes the spilt personality of a match-play championship a crap shoot. It might be thrilling to see the underdog upset the favorite in the early rounds, such as Nick O’Hern beating Woods in the third round last year.
But it also ensures you will not see that favorite — in this case Woods — for the remainder of the tournament. It guarantees you of missing the most romantic pairing possible on the final day. The nose is essentially removed to spite the face.
At Accenture, the No. 1 seed has a 29-8 record. But the No. 2 seed is just slightly better than .500, with an 11-9 mark. The No. 5 seed is 6-9.
Adam Scott is currently No. 5 in the world, or in Accenture Match Play terms, a Dead Man Walking.
Meanwhile, the 62nd seed is 9-8 in the competition, which includes one title (Sutherland). Stricker was No. 55 when he went the distance.
To be fair, Accenture has had headliners in the finals several times: Woods versus David Toms, Woods and Darren Clarke, Woods and Davis Love III … do you see a common theme here? But where Woods is concerned, the dice have come up craps six times, six of nine times the championship has not included the world’s No. 1 draw in the last match.
Accenture has been the least rewarding of the World Golf Championships events for Woods. He has dominated the Bridgestone, winning six times overall, including the last three. He has captured five CA Championship titles, including the last three. But he is 2 for 9 at Accenture, including 0 for his last three.
Maybe this year will be different, maybe this year we’ll get the ultimate match on the final day, No. 1 versus No. 2. Makes you wonder if Ian Poulter is up for it?
That’s the thing about a match play championship, they can be great fun. But be careful what you wish for.
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Comments
Comment #1 (Posted by PAUL SUNDERLAND)
Rating:
A very well written and thought out piece. While I agree with your TV assessment, match play is still the purest and most exciting golf to watch.
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