The luck of the Irish needed in WGC Accenture Match Play Championships

At the Accenture Match Play Championships, the numbers (as in world rankings) can be thrown out the window. In a stroke play event, we can usually count a lot of players out from the beginning: maybe the course doesn’t set up well for a player; maybe a guy hasn’t been putting well at all; and maybe he just isn’t good enough of to have a legitimate shot of winning a PGA Tour event. This weekend, things will be totally different. In order to win this event a player has to rely on luck a great deal more than he would in a normal event. If Tiger Woods catches Richard Green (who?) on a day when Green is on fire, Tiger will be in trouble. If Daly can avoid a meltdown, nobody wants the misfortune of playing him. Remember, it doesn’t matter if John makes an a 10 or a 13 in this event- he’ll just move to the next hole and continue playing his game. Any of the players in the field this weekend have a chance to play an unbelievable round; therefore, any player has a chance to beat his opponent. That’s where an element of luck similar to the NCAA Tournament exists in match play.

With all of this in mind, I’m calling a Darren Clarke vs. John Daly final (Combine the amount of Guinness and Natural Light consumed by these two, and you’d have a small ocean). Clarke is an obvious choice with his past success in this event and his Ryder Cup experience, and Daly is just Daly- he’s fun to choose. If we do see this match, I’ll put my money on Clarke. After all, he is Irish.