World Number One and ten-time Major winner, Tiger Woods, has confirmed he will play in the 2006 HSBC World Match Play Championship over the West Course at Wentworth Club, Surrey, England, from September 14-17.
Woods, who won his tenth Major at The 2005 Open Championship at St Andrews, makes his second appearance in the HSBC World Match Play Championship. In 1998, Woods was narrowly defeated in the final by his close friend, Mark O’Meara, who came back from four down to win on the final green.
Woods will be part of a 16-man field to compete for £1,000,000 - the richest first prize in world golf - and the coveted Mark McCormack Trophy, currently held by 2005 winner Michael Campbell of New Zealand.
As he looked ahead to three successive weeks in Europe – The Ryder Cup in Ireland is the following week with the WGC-American Express Championship seven days after that – Woods said: “The HSBC World Match Play Championship is in its 43rd year and has a great history with some awesome winners. I would love to win it and hope that this year will be my year.
“With The Ryder Cup Matches set for the following week, the 36-hole match play format will be the good preparation and we will all be looking for some confidence boosting wins.”
Peter Stringham, Group General Manager, Marketing, at HSBC said; "We are thrilled to have Tiger in the field at this year's HSBC World Match Play Championship. He finished second at our inaugural HSBC Champions tournament in China and I'm sure his fans will be looking for him to go one better at Wentworth.
“With the HSBC Women's World Match Play Championship in the USA, we have established a truly global golf programme in keeping with the 'world's local bank'. This is a sport which very much mirrors HSBC's character and how we like to do business. Internationalism, inclusiveness and integrity are as much characteristics of golf as they are of HSBC and we are proud of our association with the game."
Woods qualifies for the HSBC World Match Play Championship as the current World Number One while Campbel has secured his place as the defending Champion. The rest of the field will qualify based on performances in golf’s four Majors, (2006 HSBC Major Championships Ranking) five principal European Tour Tournaments (HSBC European Tournaments Ranking) plus the leading two European Tour players, not otherwise qualified, from The 2006 European Tour Order of Merit as of August 28, 2006.
While the 2006 HSBC Major Championships Ranking kicks off at next month’s Masters Tournament, England’s David Howell is currently in pole position on the 2006 HSBC European Tournaments Ranking table, having won the inaugural HSBC Champions event played at Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai, in November, with Tiger Woods hot on his heels finishing in second place.
The tournament is officially sanctioned by The European Tour with the results counting towards The European Tour Order of Merit and Official World Golf Ranking Points. Total prize money will be £2,440,000 with all matches being decided over 36 holes.
The HSBC European Tournaments Ranking after the 2006 Johnnie Walker Classic is:
1 David Howell Eng 50.12
2 Nick O'Hern Aus 46.56
3 Richard Green Aus 36.43
4 Ernie Els SAf 28.80
5 Nick Dougherty Eng 23.76
6 Paul Casey Eng 16.68
7 Anders Hansen Swe 12.96
Miguel A Jiménez Spn 12.96
9 Ian Poulter Eng 12.23
10 Thomas Björn Den 11.80
11 Vijay Singh Fij 10.56
12 Henrik Stenson Swe 10.15
13 Raphaël Jacquelin Frn 9.69
14 Retief Goosen SAf 9.60
15 Paul Lawrie Sco 8.88
Tickets can be purchased by calling +44 (0)870 010 9021 and on line atwww.hsbcgolf.com. They will be priced as follows:
Ticket Price before Sept 1 Concession price before Sept 1 Price after September 1 Concession price after Sept 1
Pro Am £15 £10 £15 £10
Thursday £30 £20 £35 £25
Friday £30 £20 £35 £25
Saturday £30 £20 £35 £25
Sunday £30 £20 £35 £25
Championship* £65 £45 £70 £50
Note:
*A Championship ticket will be valid for every day of the event.
Tickets will also be available to purchase at the gates during the Championship.
Under 18s and students are admitted free if accompanied by a valid ticket holder.
For hospitality information, please visitwww.HSBCgolf.com
The qualifying criteria for the 2006 HSBC World Match Play Championship is:
- The Defending Champion – Michael Campbell
2. The World Number One on the Official World Golf Rankings as at January, 1, 2006 - Tiger Woods
- The leading ten available players, not otherwise qualified, from the HSBC Major Championships Ranking as at the conclusion of the 2006 US PGA Championship on August 21, 2006.
- The leading two available European Tour Members from the HSBC European Tournaments Ranking:
This ranking reflects the actual World Ranking Points earned by European Tour Members from the following five 2006 events:
HSBC Champions
Dubai Desert Classic
Johnnie Walker Classic
BMW Championship
Smurfit European Open
- The leading two available European Tour Members, not otherwise qualified, from the European Tour Order of Merit, as of August 28, 2006.
Prize money for the 2006 Championship will be £2.44 million with the following breakdown:
Winner £1,000,000
Runner-up £ 400,000
Losing Semi-Finalist (x 2) £ 120,000
Losing Quarter-Finalist (x 4) £ 80,000
First Round Loser (x 8) £ 60,000
