Golf Events / Bill Elliott / 11 October 2007 / Leave a Comment

Acclaimed golf journalist Bill Elliott looks ahead to the World Match Play

The World Match Play Championship has a great title...problem is it quite often does not have a great field. These days that comes down to one solitary fact or, rather, player - Tiger Woods.

Once again Woods has elected to decline the sponsors' invitation to play the West Course at Wentworth. This may be because it is October, it's England and it quite likely will be the far side of cool and occasionally wet as well. Or it may be because the poor chap is exhausted after competing in 15 - yes, 15 - events so far this year. Oh, and did I mention he is a dad now as well? Altogether now...aaahhh.

Tiger in fact has only pitched up once since HSBC took over the sponsorship five years ago and upped the ante considerably by offering a first prize worth £1million. At the same time they reduced the field to 16 and insisted that everyone play from the start on a Thursday.

So does Tiger's stay-at-home policy spoil the week? Well, clearly, it diminishes the anticipation a bit but on the other hand Tiger's record as a match player since turning pro wouldn't impress my mum. When he did play last year he crashed out in the first round, prompting BBC TV reporter Julian Tutt to ask innocently if the world champ had really, really tried?

Woods' expression as he considered this question was worth my licence fee alone. Inside, however, he was blazing and later that evening a rather brusque phone call was made from his management company to the BBC pointing out that the admirable Mr Tutt was no longer a welcome face. Their loss, in my opinion.

Whatever, the field for this week's jamboree is impressive enough even minus Tiger. Two current major champions in Angel Cabrera (US Open) and Padraig Harrington (The Open) add significant class as well as gloss while the inclusion of six times winner Ernie Els plus the ever irascible Colin Montgomerie injects spice (if spice can indeed be injected).

Justin Rose, meanwhile, remains in town and after closing the gap last weekend at the top of the Order of Merit on Harrington in the battle to be the 2008 European No.1 there will be great interest in how the young English tyro performs on a course he loves and where he finished second in the BMW PGA Championship this year.

Despite signing an initial 10 year contract to sponsor the event, HSBC have activated a break clause and will abandon ship after this week. Everyone denies it is the stubborn absence of Woods that has brought about this unhappy state of affairs but it is hard to see it any other way.

Certainly the late Mark McCormack would have been enraged at this turn of events. Who he? Mark was the founder of IMG, now the world's most significant sports agency, and the guy who dreamt up the World Matchplay as a showcase for his clients 44 years ago.

I first met him in 1969 when one of his men, Tony Jacklin, won The Open. As Tony posed for pictures one enterprising snapper handed him a bottle of champagne to spray everyone with. As Jacklin wrestled with the cork, Mark stepped out of the crowd and quietly turned the label away from the cameramen saying: "Tony, we haven't done a deal with these guys...yet."

I can't help feeling that if Mark was still in charge of IMG that Woods' backside would be this side of the Atlantic this week. Tail, dog, wag. Don't you think?

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