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.

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