There Will be Blood

I was going to call this Wednesday, Bloody Wednesday but had already used that pun for a stats post.  But it's Match Play Wednesday, which means one or two high seeds will be involuntarily spending more time with the family this weekend.  One wag (sorry, can't remember who) observed that it's an upside down tournament that peaks today, and gets less interesting as we progress through the week.  

Yes, it's a dreadful golf course, but in the immortal worlds of Richard Nixon, we won't have Dove Mountain to kick around anymore.  So let's wax nostalgic and remember all the good times... I'll have to get back to you on those.

• The Weather:  The first order of business is, of course, the weather.  Daytime highs for Marana, AZ are projected to be between 75 and 81 degrees, with nary a drop of precipitation.  It appears that we shall escape any snow this week, and I fear that we shan't see a single ski hat.  

• The Matches:  No need to dwell on those that have chosen to deny us their presence, but we have 32 matches to enjoy.  Here are my picks for the best of these match-ups:

• Jason Day v. Thornbjorn Olesen - A reasonably tough opponent for one of last year's semi-finalists.  Olesen has been quiet lately, but he can roll his rock, always dangerous in a match play crapshoot.
• Graham DeLaet v. Patrick Reed - The luck of the draw matches two of the hotter players on the planet.  
• Rory McIlroy v. Boo Weekly - I just like the worlds colliding aspect of this match-up.  Rory had best be on his game, though, as Boo hasn't missed the sweet spot on his irons since the Carter administration.  Will either understand a word that the other says?
• Lee Westwood v. Harris English - Westwood is the No. 29 seed, no wonder he fired Foley, and runs into a reasonably hot player.
• Charl Schwartzel v. Kevin Stadler - Schwartzel played well at Riviera, and one would guess that Stad's putter isn't quite up to snuff.  Which means it'll be the spawn of Walrus 9 & 7.
• Ian Poulter v. Rickie Fowler - Rickie is going seriously in the wrong direction, and draws Superman.  
• Luke Donald v. Matteo Manassero - I like this one, because they play the same game.  Short and way too crooked off the tee, but two of the best short games on Tour.

To be honest, I could have listed 5-6 other matches.  

• Bracketology:   I filled out a bracket at Golfweek, though it was a bit of a rush job.  I'll post it if I can get it all in a screen capture, but I went with Zach to win it all.  I'm sure that pick will end up in the ash heap of history, with a place of honor next to the five Open Championships I predicted that Sergio would have by now.  And don't even bring up my Riviera thoughts from last week.   

• The Future:  Shackelford posts at Golf Digest his suggestions for saving the event in slideshow form, including:

• Keep the Event on the West Coast:  Agreed, as the first round sets up especially well for late afternoon/early evening viewing back East.
• Sherwood? - Interesting thought and much more logical after Tiger's event announced it's moving to Orlando.  Might also help buttress the field at Riviera.
• PGA West? - Shack makes the point that Dye's over-the-top Stadium Course could be an interesting venue for a major match play event.  Their 17th hole island green, a much longer shot than the better known version at Sawgrass, would certainly be a pivotal hole.  Only problem for the powers that be is that Tiger hates Sawgrass, so can't imagine he'd like this one any better.
• One and done? - Shack addresses the problem that I noted here, but proposes a different format.  Use 36 holes of stroke play to weed the field to 16 players.  That raises a couple of questions regarding venue (there goes PGA West) and timing, as that adds up to six days.
• Round Robin Play - Shack envisions four-player pools playing nine-hole matches, thereby increasing urgency.  I like him thinking out-of-the-box, but can't see the top players liking this much.
• Selection Committee - Shack has never liked the World Rankings and cites some very logical seeding injustices (Hunter Mahan, Jordan Spieth and Jimmy Walker are all lower than you would guess), but I'm not sure this really accomplishes anything.  If you accept the premise that an 18-hole match is a crapshoot, does it help to make it a fairer crapshoot?

• Golf Channel polls their columnists as part of their Punch Shot feature on the date and venue issues, and gets answers all over the place.  Harding Park gets another mention (from Ryan Lavner), but he's astute enough to note that February is not the month to be playing a logistically challenging tournament in San Francisco.  Rex Hoggard suggests Innisbrook in Tampa, which already has its own sponsorship issues.  But I think Shack is right to focus on the West Coast swing, and use it to lure the Euros to Riviera and Pebble.  Best line was from Jason Sobel, "Anywhere but Dove Mountain."  Such a good line he used it twice...