World Golf Championships
The Accenture Match Play Championship is one of the three golf tournaments that make up the World Golf Championships, initiated in 1996 under the auspices of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Other tournaments in the World Golf Championships include the CA Championship and the Bridgestone Invitational.
From 2000 to 2006, the World Golf Championships also included the men’s golf World Cup, now known as the Mission Hills World Cup. Through the World Golf Championships, the International Federation of PGA Tours has succeeded in bringing together top-ranking players from major international tours, with high-profile events held over five continents.
Proceeds from the World Golf Championships tournaments go to The First Tee, a World Golf Foundation organization that makes golf accessible to those who can’t otherwise afford to play, with a focus on children.
Accenture Match Play Championship
The Accenture Match Play Championship, first played in 1999, is contested by the top 64 players in the Official World Golf Rankings. It has a single-play match elimination format. Past winners include Jeff Maggert, Darren Clarke, Steve Stricker, Kevin Sutherland, David Toms, Geoff Ogilvy, in 2007, Henrik Stenson, and in 2008, Tiger Woods. See Accenture Match Play winners for details of previous winners.
For 2009, the Accenture Match Play Championship will be held from 23 February - 1 March at the The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain.
CA Championship
The World Golf Championships - CA Championship is contested only by golfers who rank in the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings or who are leaders of the six PGA Federation member tours.
Each year since 1999, the CA Championship has been contested by 60 to 65 of the world’s top players. Tiger Woods has dominated the CA Championship. He took the Cup in 1999, together with prize money of $1 million. In 2002, Woods set a tournament record, beating Retief Goosen by one shot with a 25-under-par total of 263. In 2003, Woods emerged as the winner over tied Vijay Singh, Stuart Appleby and Tim Herron. In 2005, Woods did it again with a fourth CA Championship win over John Daly. In 2000, Mike Weir won the CA Championship with an 11-under-par total of 277.
In 2004, South African Ernie Els took the Championship. For 2009, the CA Championship will be held from 9 to 15 March.
Bridgestone Invitational
The World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational, which sprang from the earlier World Series of Gold, was first played in 1996. Since then, the Bridgestone Invitational has been dominated by Tiger Woods, who has taken the trophy in six of the nine annual tournaments – in 1999, 2001, 2005, 2006 and, most recently, in 2007.
In 2002, the victory went to Australian Craig Parry. In 2003, Darren Clarke earned the title and in 2004, Stewart Cink beat Woods and Rory Sabbatini by four strokes. In 2008, the Bridgestone Invitational was held from 28 July to 3 August.
All three of the main tournaments in the World Golf Championships attract only top players and are among the most prestigious events on the PGA golfing calendar.
