MARANA, Ariz. – If there was one player who benefited from the absence of Tiger Woods it was Padraig Harrington, who won the British Open and PGA Championship and was named the PGA Tour Player of the Year.
The Irishman takes on Pat Perez in today’s first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship. Perez captured the Bob Hope Classic earlier this year for his first Tour victory and should be familiar with the desert conditions living in nearby Phoenix.
Standing fourth in the world behind Woods, Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson, Harrington missed the cut at Pebble Beach and Riviera after finishing tied for 24th at the Buick. He’s hoping his form has improved for this week’s competition.
“I reckon I’m two weeks behind where I should be,” Harrington said. “But I’m very happy with where I am and where I’m going. The match play is a difficult event. You can go out there and play great and lose and you can go out there and play average and win.”
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Mickelson, who successfully defended his title at Riviera Country Club last week, likes the match-play format.
“Match play is like a final round every day and you’re starting even,” he said. “You don’t get the luxury of a four-shot lead like I had last week. You’ve got to go out and beat the player straight up every day.”
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Key players to watch: Sergio Garcia, who makes his 2009 PGA Tour debut, ranked second in the world; Geoff Ogilvy, who won the season-opening Mercedez-Benz Championship and posted his first PGA Tour win at the 2005 Chrysler Classic in Arizona; and Henrik Stenson, who beat Ogilvy in the 2007 final and finished third last year.