Feb 24, 2005 5 min read

CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) – Skies finally cleared over La Resort, making it likely the Match Play Championship will get started one day late today. And that’s when everything gets murky. No other format in golf is more fickle than match play, especially played over 18 holes.

“When you talk about the top 65 players in the world, at that level, there’s such a fine margin … that it’s hard to have that come out over 18 holes,” Phil Mickelson said. “And because it’s just 18 holes, it evens the entire playing field.”

There is almost no point handicapping the field at this World Golf Championship.

Tiger Woods is the two-time defending champion of the Accenture Match Play Championship, and his 20-3 record in five appearances at La Costa is remarkable.

Mickelson is the hottest player in golf, winning by five shots in Phoenix and four shots at Pebble Beach.

Vijay Singh is the No. 1 player in the world.

They stand just as good a chance as the other 61 players at La Costa.

“When you get into a field like this, anybody can beat anybody in 18 holes,” Woods said. “That’s been proven in this match play format time and time again. I’m playing a three-time major championship winner. It’s going to be a good fight, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Heavy rain in San Diego County made La Costa such a swamp that the first round, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was pushed back one day. That means the second and third rounds will be played Friday, with the quarterfinals and semifinals on Saturday. The 36-hole final will be Sunday.

Woods faces Nick Price, who is playing for only the fifth time on the PGA Tour since the British Open last year, which contributed to his slide in the world ranking. He was No. 64 when the field was determined last week, facing the No. 2 seed (Woods) only because No. 3 Ernie Els decided not to play.

Not that it would have mattered.

If Els had come to La Costa, Price would have had to play Singh. And if someone else pulled out, he got Mickelson.

“If you look at my predicament … it’s jumping out of the frying pan into the fire,” Price said.

Still, a two-time PGA champion and former British Open champion isn’t about to back down from anyone.

“In an 18-hole match, the underdog always has the slight advantage from a mental point of view, because you’ve really got nothing to lose,” Price said. “You just go out there and fire. I’m looking forward to it. I really am.”

It wouldn’t seem like the Match Play Championship is all that hard to figure out, especially with Woods holding the trophy the last two years as the No. 1 seed.

Two years ago, Woods went to the final hole only once in six matches, had only five bogeys in 112 holes and his only scare came from Adam Scott of Australia. A year ago, Woods was lucky to escape the first round, and even more fortunate to face players not at their best.

Was he good or lucky?

“Both,” Woods said. “I’ve played matches where I’ve beaten my opponent, and there are matches when I stole one. I’ve been in the finals three times in this event, and I can’t say I’ve played well in every single match. I’ve had my share where I haven’t played well, but just well enough.”

Had this been a stroke-play tournament, Woods figures he would have finished lower than 25th last year.

But it’s not, and it leads to a wide range of emotion – great relief for those who play poorly and advance, utter frustration for those who play well and head for the airport.

“The things I like about match play are the things that I don’t like about it,” Mickelson said. “And the toughest thing is the anxiety that builds up between rounds.”

He opens Thursday against Loren Roberts, and it doesn’t seem to be a fair fight. Mickelson can crank out 300-yard drives, which should be to his advantage considering how soft and wet the fairways are. Then again, Roberts is known as the “Boss of the Moss,” one of the purest putters in golf.

“Knowing I’ve got to play well, but not knowing what I have to shoot, I think that’s the toughest thing,” Mickelson said. “If I don’t play well, I don’t have a round two to make up ground like I did at the Phoenix Open, where I shoot 73 and hang in there, then come back with a 60.

“But that’s the thing I love about it, the uncertainty of it all.”

Singh faces Shingo Katayama, and the 42-year-old Fijian carries some baggage at La Costa. Not only is he coming off his first missed cut (Pebble Beach) in a year, Singh has never advanced beyond the second round in this event.

With Els not at La Costa, the No. 4 seed went to Retief Goosen, who plays Stephen Leaney of Australia. Leaney lost in the semifinals last year to Woods.

Adding to the intrigue this year is that while match play is unpredictable, the top players all seem to have command of their games. Mickelson, Woods and Singh all have won this year.

Nothing would energize La Costa more than Mickelson-Woods in the semifinals, with the winner earning the right to face Singh or Goosen in the finals.

“I hope we have a chance to do that,” Mickelson said. “Right now, I’ve got my hands full.”

He and 63 other guys.