| The World Match Play Golf Championships returns | | | | many areas to secure a future for the |
| once again in 2009 and is now in almost | | | | tournament and it will return to golfing calendar at |
| unrecognisable format and will be played for the | | | | the end of October in Spain. |
| first time outside of its traditional home of | | | | The format will change completely too, with 16 |
| Wentworth in the UK. Instead, this year the | | | | players being divided into four groups and playing |
| tournament will be held at the Finca | | | | each other on a round robin basis. The winners of |
| Cortesín Golf Club near Malaga in Spain | | | | each group will qualify to play in a 36 hole semi |
| and a completely new format will be adopted. | | | | final, where the finalists will be decided. The |
| There is no doubt that this once highly prestigious | | | | qualifying criteria will also be changed allowing a |
| tournament has been in decline in recent years so | | | | more multi-national participation and a total prize |
| much so that it was not even played in 2008. | | | | pot of 3.25 million being up for grabs with |
| The reasons are complex but in a nutshell they | | | | 750,000 going to the winner. |
| are mainly due to the advent of the WGC | | | | The new format and the huge prize money on |
| Accenture Match Play Championship in the USA, | | | | offer should enable the best players in the world |
| which unlike the World Match Play, awarded world | | | | to participate. Golf fans should realise that this |
| ranking points and where the prize money of | | | | tournament is steeped in history and some of the |
| players was added to the top money winners list | | | | greatest names in modern golf have had their |
| on the PGA tour. | | | | names added to the Roll of Honour. Players such |
| This was changed quite quickly afterwards but | | | | as Gary Player, who won five times, Arnold |
| during this period the standard of entries also | | | | palmer who won the very first tournament in |
| dwindled, from a field that usually included at least | | | | 1964, he went on to win again in 1967. Jack |
| eight of the top ten players in the world it went | | | | Nicklaus won it in 1970, Greg Norman in 1980 and |
| rock bottom and in 2005 there was not a single | | | | 1986, Seve Ballesteros is a five time winner, Nick |
| US player in the field. Although this improved again | | | | Faldo won twice and was runner up three times. |
| in 2006 when Tiger Woods played a bigger | | | | The greatest winner of them all however is the |
| problem came to bear with the withdrawal of the | | | | great South African, Ernie Els who has won the |
| main sponsors, the world's local bank, HSBC. Their | | | | event a record seven times including and fittingly |
| withdrawal left the tournament almost in ruins and | | | | the last time it was contested in 2007. Probably |
| very close to being scrapped altogether; there | | | | the two most notable names missing are that of |
| was no tournament at all in 2008. | | | | world number one, Tiger Woods and eight time |
| However, the tournament's administrators have | | | | major winner, Tom Watson - but perhaps one of |
| worked very hard and have compromised in | | | | these two great men will finally get there in 2009. |