There is something special about when players go head-to-head in a match play battle.
We have become so used to watching professionals compete in stroke play events week in, week out, so it makes a refreshing change when they slug out in a do-or-die battle of wits.
Reputations are on the line, as well as a share of $9.75 million in prize money, as a host of stars compete at the WGC-Match Play Championship at Austin Country Club in Texas.
They will have their work cut out in order to emulate some of the epic match play contests from down the years.
Quick 9 takes a look back at some of golf’s greatest match play victories, including some record-breaking showdowns…
Tiger Woods vs. Stewart Cink
Tiger Woods inked another record in golf’s history books when he swept aside Stewart Cink in 2008 for his third Match Play title.
His 8&7 win is the largest margin of victory ever in the tournament’s final.
Ian Poulter/Rory McIlroy vs. Zach Johnson/Jason Dufner
Who can forget this one? Europe were looking dead on their feet as they slumped to a 10-5 deficit. Ian Poulter and Rory McIlroy were the final group left that could salvage a point for Europe heading into the final day.
Europe’s “postman” Poulter birdied the last five holes to reduce the deficit to 10-6 and give Europe a glimmer of hope.
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Europe went on to retain the Ryder Cup in a dramatic final-day turnaround.
Jeff Maggert vs. Andrew Magee
Jeff Maggert and Andrew Magee were hardly the marquee names everyone wanted in the final of the inaugural WGC-Match Play Championship in 1999, then a 36-hole event.
However, the duo produced one of the finest contests to date, slugging it out over 38 holes before Maggert finally came out on top. Maggert was three down as late as the 20th hole in the 36-hole shootout, but recovered before chipping in from the fringe behind the green on the second extra hole to take the win.
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Quick 9 continues on the next page with an epic tussle from the ’60s and another Tiger masterclass…
Gary Player vs. Tony Lema
The semi-final of the 1965 World Match Play Championship pitted reigning US Open champion Gary Player against 1964 Open winner Tony Lema at Wentworth that turned out to be an epic battle between two heavyweights.
Lema was seven up after 19 holes but Player was far from done. The South African clawed his way back to draw level on the final hole, then birdied the first extra hole to complete one of the most remarkable comebacks in Match Play history.
Player said: “In retrospect, you put yourself in his position and I was very sorry for him. You’ve got to have sympathy. But I was there to win. The only time I have doubts is when I shake hands and I’ve lost.”
Paul Casey vs. Shaun Micheel
The winner of the 2006 World Match Play Championship was never in doubt. Clad in a Tiger-like red Nike top and black trousers, Paul Casey stormed round Wentworth to claim a record-breaking 10&8 victory over American Shaun Micheel.
The tournament record margin victory netted Casey a tidy £1 million in prize money. Micheel’s consolation came in the form of knocking out then world No. 1 Tiger Woods in the first round.
Scott Verplank vs. Lee Westwood
Leading by two points with two holes left to play, Scott Verplank was made to wait for his first-round 2006 WGC-Match Play Championship victory over Lee Westwood.
Westy pulled the contest level and it would take until the eighth extra hole for Verplank to finally see off the former world No. 1.
The 26 holes tied Verplank and Westwood for the tournament record longest match with Mike Weir and Loren Roberts, who battled for 26 holes in the first round in 2003 before Weir got over the line.
Quick 9 continues on the next page where we learn you don’t sledge Tiger Woods before you play him…
Tiger Woods vs. Stephen Ames
It’s another fantastic moment from Tiger. Before the 2006 WGC Match Play Tiger’s first round opponent, Stephen Ames, took a swipe at Woods.
In typical Tiger fashion he won the first nine holes of their match and went on to win 9&8. Ames will probably regret saying what he did before their match.
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You can read more about Woods vs. Ames in Throwback Thursday.
Jason Day vs. Victor Dubuisson
Victor Dubuisson and Jason Day played out an epic final in the 2014 WGC Match Play.
Day looked set to take the prize with in the 18 regular holes but Dubuisson won the last two holes to force the match beyond the 18th.
The Frenchmen made two fantastic escapes to keep on extending the tie but Day birdied the 23rd hole and won his first WGC title.
Patrick Reed vs. Rory McIlroy
On the final day of the 2016 Ryder Cup, Davis Love III sent talisman Patrick Reed out in the very first match to get points on the board and hold on to an overnight three-point lead. Reed would meet McIlroy, who had already riled up the US team by bowing in front of them after rolling in an eagle putt to win on day one.
The match promised to be a cracker, yet nobody was quite ready for what was to come. In the opening hour, the two set Hazeltine National alight, trading birdies and rolling in putts from seemingly everywhere. Each made-putt sparked a new celebration. McIlroy held his hands to his ears, taunting the U.S fans. When Reed replied, he’d hold his finger to his lips to shush the Northern Irishman.
Unsurprisingly, things cooled down on the back-nine. With Reed 1-up coming down the final hole, the American rolled in his birdie to close the incredible match.
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