Tournament Recap: 2013 WGC Accenture Match Play Championship

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The 2013 WGC Accenture Match Play Championship kicked off a day late due to a brief snow event (yes, we said snow) that cancelled play in Arizona this past Wednesday.  From the early rounds Hunter Mahan looked at be on track to defend last year’s title.  Hunter came into this match as one of our favorites, and he went on to conquer every opponent he faced to reach the final of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship at the windy, chilly Dove Mountain.

But then, he ran into Matt Kuchar.

The “always smiling” Kuchar grabbed his first WGC title with a 2-and-1 victory over Mahan in the first All-American final this event has seen in five years.

It was certainly cold and windy, as both Mahan and Kuchar donned their winter hats to try and keep comfortable out there.  Kuchar beat Jason Day and Hunter defeated Ian Poulter in semi-final action to both advance to the final meeting on Sunday afternoon.  Kuchar jumped out to a huge lead early, winning four of five early holes.  He later struggled to hold off the charging Mahan, who took back 4 holes on the back nine, but maintained  his composure enough to keep Mahan out of reach and take home the win.  With this win, Matt brings home $1.5 million in earnings and the coveted 550 FedExCup points.

“I’m not sure I can explain how excited I am to have won this tournament,” said Kuchar.  “Match play I find to be such an amazing, unique format, so much fun to play and so much pressure. It seems like each hole there’s so much momentum riding and so much pressure on every hole.  To come out on top after six matches of playing guys, the top 64 guys in the world, it’s an incredible feeling.”

As mentioned earlier, Mahan had fought back enough to bring the match to (1 DN) with two to play.  Both players found themselves in a fairway bunker off the right side on 17.  Mahan went first, chunked it, and found some desert shrubbery.  After a few more chunked shots, he conceded the match and tournament to Kuchar.

Meanwhile, Jason Day defeated Ian Poulter in the consolation match to take 3^rd place.

Neither Mahan nor Kuchar will be competing in this week’s Honda Classic, but Tiger and Rory will certainly be in attendance.  You can count on McIlroy to feel some pressure from his poor start since signing with Nike, as will Tiger be feeling the heat given his struggles last weekend.