WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS – Accenture Match Play Championship

Site: Marana, Ariz.

Schedule: Wednesday-Sunday.

Course: Dove Mountain, The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club (7,466 yards, par 72).

Purse: $8.5 million. Winner’s share: $1.4 million.

Television (all times PST): Golf Channel (Wednesday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 4:30-8:30 p.m.; Thursday, 9:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m., 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Friday, 11 p.m.-2 a.m., 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 5:30-8:30 p.m.; Saturday, 11 p.m.-2 a.m., 7-11 a.m.; Sunday, 7-10:30 a.m.) and NBC (Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.).

Last year: Tiger Woods beat Stewart Cink, 8-and-7, in the 36-hole final at The Gallery for his fifth conseucutive victory and 15th World Golf Championship title. Woods also won in 2003 and 2004 and reached the 2000 final, losing to Darren Clarke.

Last week: Phil Mickelson successfully defended his Northern Trust Open title, beating Steve Stricker by a stroke at Riviera. Mickelson went from a four-shot lead at the start of the final round to a two-shot deficit with three holes to play. He birdied 16 and 17 and wrapped up his 35th tour victory with a 6-foot par putt on 18.

Notes: Woods is making his first start since winning the U.S. Open on June 16. He had surgery a week later to reconstruct the ligaments in his left knee. He’ll open against Australia’s Brendan Jones, an eight-time winner on the Japanese tour. Woods has a 31-6 record in the event, with three of the losses coming at the hands of Australians — Peter O’Malley in the first round in 2002, and Nick O’Hern in the second rounds in 2005 and 2007. … Mickelson will open against Angel Cabrera. … The tournament is in its first year at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Ritz-Carlton after two years at The Gallery. … The Honda Classic is next week in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., followed by the WGC-CA Championship at Doral in Miami — opposite the Puerto Rico Open.

On the Net: http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com
PGA Tour site: http://www.pgatour.com

[More:]

LPGA TOUR's Honda LPGA Thailand

Site: Chonburi, Thailand.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Siam Country Club, Plantation Course (6,477 yards, par 72).

Purse: $1.45 million. Winner’s share: $217,500.

Last playing: Norway’s Suzann Pettersen won in October 2007, beating England’s Laura Davies with a 15-foot eagle putt on 18 after blowing a seven-stroke lead.

Last event: Angela Stanford spoiled Michelle Wie’s bid to win her first start as tour member, rallying for a three-stroke victory Feb. 14 in the season-opening SBS Open. Stanford has four career victories, three in her last seven starts.

Notes: Top-ranked Lorena Ochoa is making her first start of the season. … The top 10 players in the world — Ochoa, Yani Tseng, Paula Creamer, Pettersen, Jiyai Shin, Stanford, Helen Alfredsson, Cristie Kerr, Karrie Webb and Seon Hwa Lee — and 16 of the top 20 are in the 60-player field. … Davies is coming off a victory two weeks ago in the Australian Women’s Open. … The HSBC Women’s Champions is next week in Singapore.

On the Net: http://www.lpga.com
Tournament site: http://www.lpgathailand.com

PGA TOUR's Mayakoba Golf Classic

Site: Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Mayakoba Resort, El Camaleon Golf Club (6,923 yards, par 70).

Purse: $3.6 million. Winner’s share: $648,000.

Television (all times PST): Golf Channel (Thursday, 3:30-5:30 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 9-11 p.m., 3:30-5:30 p.m.; Sunday, 9-11 p.m., 4-6:30 p.m.; Monday, 9-11 p.m.).

Last year: Brian Gay won his first PGA Tour title, beating Steve Marino by two strokes. Gay was making his 293rd tour start.

Last week: Phil Mickelson successfully defended his Northern Trust Open title, beating Steve Stricker by a stroke at Riviera. Mickelson went from a four-shot lead at the start of the final round to a two-shot deficit with three holes to play. He birdied 16 and 17 and wrapped up his 35th tour victory with a 6-foot par putt on 18.

Notes: Greg Norman designed the El Camaleon course. … Mayakoba is south of Cancun on the Caribbean coast. … Central Kitsap High graduate Troy Kelly is in the field this week. … Fred Funk won in 2006 to join Craig Stadler as the only players to win a PGA Tour event after winning on the Champions Tour.

On the Net: http://www.pgatour.com

PGA TOUR OF AUSTRALASIA/NATIONWIDE TOUR's Moonah Classic

Site: Fingal, Australia.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: Moonah Links (7,469 yards, par 72).

Purse: $600,000. Winner’s share: $108,000.
Television (all times PST): Golf Channel (Saturday-Sunday, 5-7 a.m.).

Last year: Australia’s Ewan Porter won for the first time in Nationwide and Australasian tour play, leading wire-to-wire in a seven-stroke victory.

Last events: U.S. Amateur champion Danny Lee won the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth on Sunday, birdieing the final two holes for a one-stroke victory. The 18-year-old Lee, a New Zealander born in South Korea, plans to turn pro after the Masters. The event was sanctioned by the European, Asian and Australasian tours. … Vance Veazey won the Nationwide Tour’s season-opening Panama Championship on Feb. 8 for his fourth tour victory. He beat Garrett Willis on the second hole of a playoff.

Notes: Lee is in the field along with longtime Australian stars Craig Parry and Peter Senior. … Moonah Links, designed by five-time British Open winner Peter Thomson on Victoria state’s Mornington Peninsula, was the site of the Australian Open in 2003 and 2005. … The tours will team again the next two weeks for the New Zealand PGA Championship and New Zealand Open. The Nationwide Tour will open its U.S. schedule March 26-29 with the Louisiana Open.

Nationwide Tour site: http://www.pgatour.com
PGA Tour of Australasia site: http://www.pgatour.com.au

PGA EUROPEAN TOUR/ASIAN TOUR's Indonesia Open

Site: Bali, Indonesia.

Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.

Course: New Kuta Golf Club (7,500 yards, par 72).

Purse: $1.25 million. Winner’s share: $208,330.

Television (all times PST): Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 7:30-10:30 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.).

Last year: Felipe Aguilar became the first player from Chile to win on the European tour, birdieing the final hole at Cenkareng Golf Club for a one-stroke victory over India’s Jeev Milkha Singh.

Last week: U.S. Amateur champion Danny Lee won the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth, Australia, birdieing the final two holes for a one-stroke victory. The 18-year-old Lee, a New Zealander born in South Korea, plans to turn pro after the Masters. The event was sanctioned by the European, Asian and Australasian tours.

Notes: Sweden’s Daniel Chopra, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, is in the field. … Aguilar tied for second last week in Perth. … The European tour is off next week. The Thailand Open is next week on the Asian Tour.

PGA European Tour site: http://www.europeantour.com
Asian Tour site: http://www.asiantour.com

OTHER MEN's TOURNAMENT
• PGA EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR: Aberdeen Brunei Senior Masters, Friday-Sunday, The Empire Hotel and Country Club, Jerudong, Brunei. On the Net: http://www.europeantour.com