This will get touchy. It’s not just business as usual. It’s personal.
Golf’s best etiquette will be required – and might not always prevail – when 64 of the LPGA’s finest open the inaugural HSBC Match Play Championship today in Gladstone, N.J.
“Match play is very, very different to play than stroke play. It’s a little more dramatic because anything can happen and every hole is a different match,” said Annika Sorenstam, who takes on England’s Joanne Morley in today’s opening round of 32 matches at Hamilton Farms.
“When you’re playing match play, you pay a little more attention to your opponent than in stroke play.”
Anyone’s hopes – even top-ranked Sorenstam’s – for the mammoth 500G first prize could end today, when half the field exits before really warming up. There will be no time for niceties.
“It’s also a game of management. It’s also more personal, playing to your opponent,” second-seed Cristie Kerr said.
It’s less genteel, more cutthroat; less abstract, more concrete. Today’s eagle won’t matter a bit Sunday. Head games could help, and so could intimidation. Putts will be conceded strategically to raise the pressure on later shorties, tee honor can be a disadvantage if the driver is errant. This won’t be about piling up red numbers. That golfer isn’t a playing partner, she’s the win-or-go-home opponent.
Although the LPGA had a match-play tourney in Japan in 2001-02, it hasn’t played one in this country in 50 years. It has already committed to another here next year, and if this one fulfills some of its promise, this showdown tournament could become permanent. By its unique nature, it could even evolve into a major, or at least a focal point.
After the field – which includes Open champ Birdie Kim – is halved today, it will be sliced tomorrow to a sweet-16. They battle down to eight Saturday morning, and to a final four Saturday afternoon. The semifinals will be Sunday morning, the finals Sunday afternoon.
That means 72 holes in 33 hours of Jersey humidity, and rides to the next tee will only be merciful.
“Endurance is going to play a role,” said Sorenstam, whose tied-for-23rd finish at the U.S. Women’s Open last week ended her Grand Slam bid. “It’s a hilly course, so you have to be in good shape, especially with the humidity. I’m glad I’ve been working out the last few years.”
—
Match Play on TV
Today: and Tomorrow 9:30-11:30 p.m. – The Golf Channel
Saturday: 3-5 p.m. – Ch. 2
Sunday: 2-4 p.m. – Ch. 2
