Accenture Match Play 2013: Why Europeans Have the Upper Hand

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: February 20, 2013

commentComment        

The Accenture Match play tournament is annually the toughest event to predict on the PGA Tour.

Like the NCAA Tournament, this event consists of a bracket of 64 that play their way to the title. Unlike the NCAA Tournament, the seeds have little bearing on how a player will fair in the tournament.

In this tournament, No. 16 seeds routinely defeat No. 1 seeds in the first round. The difference between the No. 1-ranked player and the No. 64-ranked player is not that much and that razor-thin margin is often accentuated this week.

As witnessed by the last few Ryder Cups, Europeans have a huge edge over Americans in match play situations and their prowess has manifested itself in this tournament.

There has been at least one European in the finals of this tournament in five of the last six years, including two all-European finals in 2010 and 2011.

This is because many of the top European players play a global schedule, which includes more match play events than a typical American would play.

Another factor for European success in the tournament is that they have been the best golfers over the last five years. Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood have all spent time as the No. 1-ranked player in the world and players like Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer have been big-time contenders and each have spent time in the top-10.

Putting is critical to success in match play situations. Poor tee-to-green play can be salvaged by a hot putter and Europeans on the whole are better putters than Americans. Europeans like Francesco Molinari and Carl Pettersson are some of the best putters in the world; look for them to make a deep run in the bracket this week.

European success can also be attributed to the fact that many Europeans, especially those who are not as well-known, play in America with something to prove. The average golf fan severely underestimates the quality of ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Golf

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!