By Mark Lamport-Stokes

MARANA, Arizona, Feb 21 (Reuters) - As the top seed and defending champion, Britain’s Luke Donald never expected to face an experienced opponent such as Ernie Els in Wednesday’s opening round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Donald was always going to be drawn against the bottom-ranked player in the elite field of 64 at Dove Mountain, and triple major winner Els ended up in that spot after gaining a late entry to the event.

“Usually in that first-round matchup maybe you get someone with a little less experience that might have snuck his way into the tournament and never played the event before,” world number one Donald told reporters after playing a practice round at a sun-splashed Dove Mountain on Tuesday.

“But Ernie has a huge amount of experience. There are no easy opponents this week but certainly to start off he’s going to be a tough one to try to beat.”

South African Els, who has won the European Tour’s World Match Play Championship a record seven times, was gifted a place in the opening World Golf Championships event of the year when American Phil Mickelson withdrew to spend time with his family.

Short game maestro Donald will tee off on Wednesday as a heavy favourite, having never trailed last year in any of his six matches as he went on to clinch his first WGC title.

“I have a lot of great memories here, a lot of great things happened to me after I won here,” said the 34-year-old, who beat Germany’s Martin Kaymer 3&2 in last year’s 36-hole final. “And I’m excited to be back.

“I’ve always enjoyed match play. I’ve enjoyed the fact that it’s helpful to be consistent, not lose holes carelessly. For whatever reason, the format seems to suit my game.”

BEST SEASON

Donald’s Match Play triumph at Dove Mountain last year triggered the best season of his career.

He took over at the top of the rankings on May 30 and won four times worldwide in 2011, including twice on the PGA Tour. He also became the first player to clinch the money list titles on both sides of the Atlantic.

“This was a big win for me in terms of the confidence I gained, not just from winning it, but the way I won it, the style in which I won it,” said Donald.

“Without winning here, maybe some of the other wins wouldn’t have been possible. It really restored some of my confidence in myself and proved to myself that I could win again.”

Asked whether he was prouder of getting to number one for the first time or staying in that position, Donald replied: “Probably staying No. 1.

“I’ve got a lot of great players on my heels. It takes a lot of consistency to get there but it takes an equal amount of consistency to stay there.” (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Frank Pingue; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

MARANA, Arizona, Feb 21 (Reuters) - For U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship can offer the players beauty and something of the beast because of the sheer lottery of its format.

Matchplay is much more unpredictable than strokeplay and because of the extraordinary depth in the global game, anyone in this week’s elite 64-man field is capable of winning the title.

Northern Irishman McIlroy has gone out in the second round of the World Golf Championships event the past two years and knows how difficult it is to come from behind over 18 holes.

“I always look forward to this event but I definitely prefer to play matchplay over 36 holes,” the 22-year-old told reporters at Dove Mountain’s Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Tuesday. “In 18 holes of golf anything can happen.

“You can be five or six under par and lose or you can play mediocre and win. I don’t mind losing a match if you don’t play well … but when you feel like you have done all you can and still come up on the wrong side, it’s pretty tough to take.

“That’s the nature of this format, and that’s why everyone enjoys watching it,” added McIlroy, who has been drawn to play South African George Coetzee in Wednesday’s opening round.

Britain’s Lee Westwood, the world number three, agreed.

“It’s a week I really enjoy,” said the Englishman, who will face Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts on Wednesday. “Everybody looks forward to it being different to what’s a normal tournament structure.

“I’ve got a tough first-round match, but there are no easy ones. Nicolas is a good player … he’s got a game suited to this course and this format.”

EARLY DISAPPOINTMENT

Tiger Woods is a three-times winner of the event but he has also suffered early disappointment, losing at the first hurdle in 2002 and last year and going out in the second round in both 2005 and 2009.

“Anybody can beat anybody at this level,” said the former world number one whose ranking has slipped to 20th. “That’s what makes it so interesting for us as players.

“It is a sprint, it is a boat race. You have to get off to quick starts. Generally if you get down early, two or three down, you rarely come back. It’s hard to make up ground when you’re only playing 18 holes.

“You don’t know who you’re going to get or how they’re playing. In either case you have to go out and make birdies,” added Woods, who plays Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano in the first round.

“More crazy stuff happens in matchplay than will ever happen in a strokeplay tournament,” said Australian Geoff Ogilvy, winner in 2006 and 2009.

“You’ll see guys chip in to go down to extra holes or you’ll see a guy win four holes in a row or hole three 30-footers in a row.”

British world number one Luke Donald, McIlroy, Westwood and Germany’s Martin Kaymer are the top seeds in the four groups of 16 for this week’s event.

Donald will launch his campaign against South Africa’s triple major winner Ernie Els while world number four Kaymer takes on Australian Greg Chalmers in the first round.

For the fourth consecutive year, the elite event that brings together the world’s best players will be held on the 7,791-yard layout at Dove Mountain. (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Frank Pingue; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

Geoff Ogilvy is a two time winner of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. He has an impressive 20-4 record in this tournament and talked with SiriusXM’s Fred Albers about the match play format and his success.

Ogilvy: I think good golf is good golf, whether you are playing stroke play or match play. To play well you have to make a lot of eight-foot putts and hit fairways. So that’s not a secret. I try to do that every week.

Albers: Do you prepare differently for a match play tournament?

Ogilvy: I do concentrate on my putting and my driving, but I do that before any tournament. Golf always comes back to driving and putting. I think I’ve lost in every round, and have won twice. Maybe at the end, you could hit a different shot depending on where you are in the match but I do that in other tournaments as well and I always practice my putting and driving every week. So do I prepare differently? Probably not.

Albers: Some think it’s an advantage to be a shorter hitter in match play. That way you can put pressure on the opponent, always hitting the green first.

Ogilivy: I don’t know if I agree with that. It’s only an advantage to hit first if you hit the green. It can work the opposite way too. If you hit first and miss the green, now I have an advantage. I’m closer to the green and I have the advantage of knowing what my opponent did.

So I guess I would say it’s an advantage to hit first but only if you’re playing well because if you miss that green now I have the advantage. I think if some shorter hitters do well in this format it’s because a lot of shorter hitters on TOUR drive it straight. You don’t find many short and crooked hitters on TOUR. So if you play first and hit the fairway and hit the green that’s a good thing but it can go the opposite way if the shorter hitter is not playing well.

Albers: I have walked with you when you won this tournament, I also saw you lose in the final one year and it seemed to really upset you, more so than in a stroke play event. Is match play a more personal format, and does it hurt more to lose because I have seen you finish top five in a stroke play event and you seem happy with your week.

Ogilivy: There’s no doubt match play is much more personal. If I finish 20th in a stroke play tournament, well, there’s 140-something guys that could have beaten me at the start of the week. But match play is just you and me and if you beat me that sucks because that means for that day you were better than me and that’s a terrible feeling. Losing at match play really sucks.

Buff: It’s obvious what Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood have been doing this winter, they have both been exercising and lifting weights. McIlroy is much bigger through the chest, while Westwood appears to have dropped a couple waist sizes and now has bulging forearms. Physical fitness does not guarantee success in golf but it has to help in match play format where you can go extra holes in every round.

Beware of the ill: Tiger Woods says his whole family has caught “some sort of bug.” He arrived at Dove Mountain a bit congested and has a nasal tone in his interviews. Woods also says the cold won’t affect his play this week.

Tortoise and the hare: The opening round match between Ben Crane and Bubba Watson should be fun to watch. Crane is a very deliberate player, while Bubba plays quickly. It’s easy for a fast player to get frustrated in this format and it will be interesting to see how Watson copes with the pace of play.

A bad moon rising: Sang-moon Bae was impressive in his Wednesday practice round. At the 209 yard 12th hole, he hit a five iron with three different shapes and trajectories. A high fade found the front of the green, a baby draw landed in the middle of the putting surface while a high draw landed on the back portion. He hit the same club, three different distances with three different shapes. Bae plays Ian Poulter in the opening round.

And the winner is: Rory McIlroy. He got boat-raced in this tournament last year, when Ben Crane eliminated him on the 11th hole. That won’t happen again. McIlroy is a long-ball, high-ball hitter, which is perfect for these undulating greens and comes into the tournament in good form having finished in the top 10 in nine of his last 10 starts.

Fred Albers is a course reporter for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio and is inside the ropes this week at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. For more information on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, click here.

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

MARANA, Arizona, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Tiger Woods has often been fired up by adverse comments in the past but appeared to shrug off claims by Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano that he was beatable at this week’s WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Woods, whose world ranking has slipped from number one to 20th, will face the 48th-ranked Spaniard in Wednesday’s opening round at Dove Mountain.

“I feel exactly the same way as he does,” three-times Match Play champion Woods told reporters on Tuesday before setting off to practise. “I feel he’s beatable, too.”

Asked whether he was especially motivated by what other players said about him, he replied: “It used to quite a bit when I was younger but as I’ve matured I’ve gone beyond that.

“It’s their prerogative, it’s their opinion. What matters is how I go out and play and how I’m progressing in my game. At the end of the day when I’m retired, I think I will have mastered a pretty good record.”

Fernandez-Castano, a five-times winner on the European Tour who has never played in the company of Woods, described the 14-times major champion as vulnerable on Monday.

“He’s probably not at his best, and you have to look at it that way,” the Spaniard said of the American who is working his way back to form after two years of struggle due to injuries and marital trouble.

“Maybe it’s a good chance to play good, and maybe I can beat him. He’s won this tournament three times and he has a very good match play record … but not so good on the Ryder Cup. I think he’s beatable.”

Six years ago at the Match Play Championship, Woods was famously stung into action by comments made by Stephen Ames about the accuracy of his driving, going on to crush the Canadian 9&8 in the opening round.

‘FAIR COMMENT’

Asked at the time whether he felt the comments were disrespectful, Woods replied: “It’s fair comment. I just don’t do it.”

After further questioning, Woods described his reaction quite simply as: “9&8”.

This week Woods will be much more concerned about trying to end a victory drought of more than two years on the PGA Tour.

He has been working on the fourth swing change of his professional career and all the latest signs suggest he is close to his best, especially if he can regain putting consistency.

In his last four stroke-play events, he finished third at the Australian Open, won the limited-field Chevron World Challenge, tied for third at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and finished joint 15th at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am two weeks ago.

“Basically I only putted really poorly in probably two of my rounds this year, so it’s not too bad,” said Woods, who has not triumphed on the PGA Tour since the 2009 BMW Championship.

“I putted great on the last day in Abu Dhabi, but unfortunately it was for pars. The past Sunday was awful. I putted as well as I putted on Saturday, I putted that bad on Sunday.”

Woods, Match Play champion in 2003, 2004 and 2008, has always enjoyed the challenge of the one-on-one format but he knows that good golf is no guarantee of victory.

“It is a sprint, it is a boat race,” the 36-year-old said. “You have to get off to quick starts. Generally if you get down early, two or three down, you rarely come back.

“It’s hard to make up ground when you’re only playing 18 holes. You don’t know who you’re going to get or how they’re playing. In either case you have to go out and make birdies.” (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Frank Pingue; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

MARANA, Arizona, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Charl Schwartzel has never had the feeling before or since but somehow he just knew he was going to win last year’s Masters before teeing off in the final round.

The slender South African was four strokes off the pace after 54 holes at Augusta National and went on to clinch his first major victory by two shots with a scintillating birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie finish.

“I woke up that morning and I felt like I was going to win,” Schwartzel told reporters at Dove Mountain’s Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Tuesday while preparing for this week’s WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

“I honestly did. I had this complete calmness about it, too. That was the best part about it. It’s all good to say I’m going to win today, but if you are all nervous inside then you actually have doubts.

“I felt so calm and I was so convinced that I could do it. Obviously I couldn’t have asked for a much better start. That put me right in there.”

Schwartzel launched his final round with a birdie-par-eagle run on the way to a six-under-par 66, the lowest score of the day, as he became the third South African to win the Masters.

“At Augusta, I was playing so consistently but (before the final round) I never got on a birdie run where you make two or three birdies in a row to move your score up the board,” said the 27-year-old, a seven-times champion on the European Tour.

“I felt like I was playing so well and I was in control of it. You don’t get that feeling very often. I might have had glimpses of it before but never as much as I had that specific week.”

Asked whether his status as a major champion could help him intimidate opponents at this week’s Accenture Match Play Championship, Schwartzel replied with a smile: “I hope so. Any intimidation I can put onto my playing partner is good.

“Anyone in this field wants to win those tournaments (majors) and if a guy achieves that, it puts him in almost a different category and guys look at him differently. I do think it plays a bit of a role.”

Schwartzel has been drawn to play big-hitting American Gary Woodland in Wednesday’s opening round at Dove Mountain but feels that good putting rather than power driving will be a more significant factor this week.

“It’s always great to have length especially in this golf course,” the South African said of the 7,791-yard layout. “It’s pretty wide open and if you can hit it a long way down, you have got advantage.

“But these greens are this golf course’s defense. If you hit in the wrong places, you are going to lose the hole. So I think there’s a lot more to hitting it far on this golf course.” (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes; Editing by Frank Pingue; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

One of the coolest event's on the PGA Tour takes place this week in Marana, Ariz., at Dove Mountain - the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Luke Donald is the defending champion and this was the event in 2011 that set the wheels in motion for the Englishman's historic season, where he won the money-title on both the PGA Tour and the European Tour.

Dove Mountain PGA Head Professional Jeff McCormick is extremely excited about the week ahead, one that begins on Wednesday, a day earlier than most.

McCormick provided a few names we should keep an eye on this week, pointed out his favorite hole at Dove Mountain and explained to us an awesome new feature put in place for this year's event called, "Follow the Leaders."

PGA.com: Good morning, Jeff. It's a pleasure to have you back for a quick chat this year. Before we get started, I have to admit—I went back to last year's interview and noticed something you said really stood out. He told me that you really loved Charl Schwartzel's game because, "He has one of the most fundamentally sound golf swings and possesses that stoic South African demeanor." He didn't make it through the second round at the Match Play, but he did go on to win a little tournament called the Masters. So, based on that analysis, who can we expect big things from—possibly a Match Play victory or major—this season since you're clearly an expert!?

McCormick: That was quite a finish by Schwartzel at Augusta, wasn't it?

A broken clock is right twice a day… I don't know if I can narrow it down to one, so here are my three for the 2012 Accenture Match Play Championship: Bo Van Pelt is my dark horse. Ranked No. 33 in the World Golf Rankings, he is an ultra consistent player, makes a ton of cuts and has the potential to outlast his opponents.

I'm going to stay on the Kyle Stanley bandwagon as well. I thought he showed incredible toughness overcoming what happened in San Diego to come back and win in Phoenix. He obviously doesn't get rattled by much and the match play format lends itself to someone who can take a punch, which fits Stanley perfectly.

I, along with most golf enthusiasts, am waiting for Rickie Fowler to break out and I think he has a good chance at this event. His victory against Mickelson last year was nothing short of spectacular. He closed the match with a chip in birdie on No. 10, an eagle on No. 11, a solid par on No. 12 and a perfect 4-iron to a foot on the par 5, 13th to have another eagle conceded to go 5 under through his last four holes.

PGA.com: Your defending champion is Luke Donald, currently the No. 1-ranked player in the world. His victory a year ago at Dove Mountain really put things in motion for his best season to date. How satisfying is it to see your tournament winner perform so well even after the Match Play victory? And, how much do you think that win boosted Luke's confidence for the season ahead?

McCormick: It is satisfying in the sense that the format and the design of the golf course really showcase the overall ability of the Champion each year, which I believe is exactly what Mr. Nicklaus had in mind. It seems that the player with the hottest short game has done very well here and I am sure that this year will be no exception. Mr. Donald mentioned last Monday that his victory at The Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain was where it all started for him in 2011 and he was able to carry his focus, determination and execution throughout the year on both the PGA and European Tours.

PGA.com: I know that the staff at Dove Mountain is always making improvements to ensure customers the best experience possible. Also, their feedback, as well as that of the PGA Tour players, is very important to you. What's it like when you receive that positive feedback from players?

McCormick: The positive feedback from the players, the PGA Tour and Accenture is crucial because they have such a global audience. Their positive comments further validate all of the hard work and processes put in place by our ladies and gentlemen. We are in business to create memorable experiences for all of our guests and provide a sound return on investment to our owners and certainly embrace the opportunity and the challenge on a daily basis

PGA.com: I noticed a new fan enhancement you guys will be incorporating this year, where fans will be able to follow along in the fairways behind the Championship Match. It sounds like that will be an incredible experience for folks to get even closer to the action. Can you talk a little about it?

McCormick: The, 'Follow the Leaders,' program will be a welcomed addition to the already unique format of the Accenture Match Play Championship. The patrons will be able to go inside the ropes and walk literally in the footsteps of the final group on Sunday. This program will enhance the patron experience and should make for terrific television coverage.

PGA.com: Final question, Jeff. What's your favorite hole out there and why?

McCormick: That's a tough one. I think I will have to go with the long par 4, No. 10. It's easily the best driving hole on the course with bunkers squeezing both sides of the fairway and usually plays into the prevailing west wind. Depending on which tees the players start from, they are left with a mid-iron into the largest green on the course.

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

MARANA, Arizona, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano fancies the idea of being a ‘Tiger tamer’ at this week’s WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship where he will meet three-times winner Tiger Woods in the opening round.

Fernandez-Castano, ranked 48th in the world, has never previously played in the company of Woods and said that while it was a privilege to be drawn against him in the Arizona desert the 14-times major champion was beatable.

“It’s a great opportunity, and you have to look at it that way,” the 31-year-old from Madrid told reporters at Dove Mountain’s Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Monday.

“If you tee it up on Wednesday thinking, ‘Oh, no, I’m playing against Tiger’, that’s not the way to start a tournament.

“I’m the underdog, I have nothing to lose. And at the same time I don’t think he’s at his best so it’s a good opportunity. If I play well I can beat him.”

Fernandez-Castano regards Woods, ranked 20th, as one of the greatest to play the game but hopes to make the most of his opportunity against an opponent working his way back to form after two years of struggle due to injuries and marital trouble.

“Being 48th in the world rankings at the moment, you don’t expect to be paired against Tiger Woods,” the Spaniard said of his first-round draw in the elite 64-man event. “But those things happen.

“He’s probably not at his best, and you have to look at it that way. Maybe it’s a good chance to play good, and maybe I can beat him. That would be a great feeling.

“He’s won this tournament three times and he has a very good match play record, especially in his amateur days, but not so good on the Ryder Cup. I think he’s beatable.”

THREE-YEAR DROUGHT

Fernandez-Castano won his fifth European Tour title at last year’s Singapore Open, ending a three-year victory drought that included almost six months on the sidelines because of a back injury.

Since launching his 2012 campaign, he has finished no worse than 26th in his first three events on the European circuit and he arrived at Dove Mountain this week in high spirits.

“I’ve had a good start to the season,” Fernandez-Castano said. “I’m quite confident with my game and hopefully we can have a good tournament.

“Of course, to have a good tournament I need to first of all play the best golf of my life on Wednesday,” he added with a broad grin.

Asked whether he might be distracted by the army of spectators and large media contingent which typically follow Woods, Fernandez-Castano replied: “I’ve played with big galleries before so I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.

“I’m sure they will all be rooting for him. I just want to enjoy it. I’ve never played with Tiger before, not even in a stroke play event. For me it’s a big privilege.

“If I win, fantastic. If I lose, well, I’ve lost to one of the best players in history. I know I need to play my best golf and hopefully he doesn’t play his best. That’s the way it works. Match play is like that.” (Editing by Peter Rutherford)

A total of 64 players will compete at the World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championship. Who’s playing? We’ve analyzed the field based on the following categories:

International players

	Australia	Jason Day, Aaron Baddeley, Adam Scott, Geoff Ogilvy, Greg Chalmers, John Senden
	Belgium	Nicolas Colsaerts
	Denmark	Thomas Bjorn, Anders Hansen
	England	Justin Rose, Luke Donald, Simon Dyson, Robert Rock, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood
	Germany	Martin Kaymer
	Ireland	Padraig Harrington
	Northern Ireland	Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke
	Italy	Matteo Manassero, Francesco Molinari
	Japan	Ryo Ishikawa
	Korea	Sang-Moon Bae, Kyung-tae Kim, Y.E. Yang, K.J. Choi
	Scotland	Martin Laird, Paul Lawrie
	South Africa	George Coetzee, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen
	Spain	Rafael Cabrera Bello, Alvaro Quiros, Gonzalo Fdez-Castano, Sergio Garcia, Miguel A. Jimenez
	Sweden	Peter Hanson, Fredrik Jacobson, Robert Karlsson

Ernie Els will write a blog for PGATOUR.COM weekly during the 2011 season. For more information on Els, visit ernieels.com. Here is this week’s installment.

I always look forward to playing Riviera. It’s a wonderful course. I love the bunkering and I love the angles they have with the greens and the way the course flows. You really have to play all the shots. I’ve had some good times here, including a win in 1999, so I’m disappointed with the result in last week’s Northern Trust Open.

I talked before about bringing my range game on to the golf course and in the first two rounds I mostly did that. I hit the ball great, especially on Friday when my 68 proved to be one of the lowest rounds of the day. Over the weekend a couple of bad swings cost me some big numbers here and there, but overall there were some encouraging signs. I have to try to stay patient now and just keep working hard.

The good thing is I’m in the field for this week’s World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and maybe the change in format from stroke play to match play will inspire a change in my fortunes. There were a few years in the mid-2000s when I didn’t even play this tournament, but times have changed. Now I’m very grateful to be in the field. That was a nice little break for me when Phil Mickelson said he wasn’t playing. I’ll have to buy him a steak dinner and maybe send him a good bottle of Ernie Els Signature wine!

I’ve got a great first-round draw against the current world No. 1 Luke Donald. Over 18 holes it’s anyone’s match. At the very least, teeing it up this week in Arizona gives me the opportunity to play myself into a nice stretch of tournaments leading up to the Masters, but there are no guarantees. I’ve got to produce some good stuff here this week and then at the following week’s Honda Classic in order to get into Doral and then I’ve got a great chance of being able to tee it up in the Masters.

It’s been probably 20 years since I was in a position where I had to try and qualify for these types of big events. I’ve got used to basically gliding straight in, but in some ways I guess it’s good to be tested in this way. I’ve got some work to do and that will keep me focused and keep me giving it 100 percent commitment. This right now is a big motivation for me. I mean, my goal this year is to get back and really play some proper golf after a dismal 2011. I think I’m close to getting back to where I want to be.

Okay, so moving on to other matters. You may have seen the announcements about the launch of the 2012 Els for Autism Golf Challenge, but I like to mention it in my diary as well. This is the largest charity-driven golf tournament in the world and in its first year in 2011 we set some pretty impressive records. Almost 9,000 donated money, more than 1,700 golfers took part and all together we raised $1.8 million.

Building on that success we’re adding new golf courses to the schedule in 2012, a total of 30 golf tournaments at some of North America’s greatest golf courses including Congressional, Baltusrol, The Bear’s Club and some of the best TPC courses. We’re also planning to add events in England and South Africa. Watch this space!

I’m delighted to say that SAP, one of our founding sponsors, is this year’s Els for Autism Golf Challenge ‘presenting sponsor’. The SAP team around the world was a major factor in the success of last year’s tournament and is promising to step up their efforts even further this year. I want to thank SAP for their contribution and also the other major sponsors including RBC, Callaway and Wine Spectator magazine.

The goal remains the same, to raise funds for the Els Center of Excellence here in Florida, which will help provide life-changing therapy and e-learning tools to families struggling with autism all over the world. Please sign up early, as places are limited and I wouldn’t want you to miss out on your preferred golf course.

Together we can make a real difference in the lives of children on the autism spectrum, not just here in the U.S. but all around the world.

For all the details visit the website: www.e4agolf.com.

That’s it for now. I’ll write again after the Accenture Match Play Championship.

Ernie Els will write a blog for PGATOUR.COM weekly during the 2011 season. For more information on Els, visit ernieels.com. Here is this week’s installment. I always look forward to playing Riviera. It’s a wonderful course. I love the bunkering and I love the angles they have with the greens and the way the course […]