Defending champion Geoff Ogilvy and Sweden's Henrik Stenson expect to raise their US profile when they contest the 36-hole final at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship today.
With big names likes top seeds Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson
ousted in the earlier rounds, US Open champion Ogilvy is likely to
attract a little more attention on the last day at Dove Mountain's
Gallery Golf Club.
A three-times winner on the PGA Tour, the Australian is based
in nearby Scottsdale, Arizona.
"I don't know who wins, Australians or Swedes in Tucson?"
world number 11 Ogilvy told reporters with a broad smile. "I live
in Arizona so hopefully, if they (fans) read the media guide and
realise where I live, they will root for me.
"There are only two people to focus on and hopefully at least
half of it is on me," the 29-year-old added with another smile. "If
more people outside the golf world know who I am after tomorrow,
that's cool but that's not my main focus. I just want to win a golf
tournament."
Dubai-based Stenson, who plans to split his playing schedule
between the European Tour and the PGA Tour this year, accepts he
also has a low profile in the United States.
"To some extent, it's easy to just look at the tournaments in
the United States and maybe forget about the rest of the world,"
the five-times European Tour winner said.
"But I have played pretty good for the last two years and made
my way up the world rankings," added the eighth-ranked Swede. "I'm
in a very nice position now and hopefully I can improve it over the
weekend.
"I think just playing over here is going to make myself a
little bit more familiar with the general golf fan."
Stenson has made one of the biggest impacts in the game over
the last two seasons and held off Ernie Els and Tiger Woods to win
this month's Dubai Desert Classic.
"He's one of the only guys who's beaten Tiger over four
rounds at stroke play recently and he's obviously a good player,"
Ogilvy said. "He hits it a long way, he's pretty confident and he's
been winning golf tournaments for a few years now. Tomorrow should
be fun."
Ogilvy and Stenson, both big hitters, are unabashed fans of
the head-to-head format and booked their places in the last stage
with a glut of birdies in Saturday's semi-finals.
Ogilvy set up a 3&2 victory over American Chad Campbell
with six birdies in seven holes around the turn while Stenson
rattled up five birdies over the front nine befor beating South
Africa's Trevor Immelman by the same margin.
For the first time in the event's year nine-year history, no
Americans have reached the final.
World number eight Stenson becomes the second Swede to do so,
after Pierre Fulke who lost to American Steve Stricker 2&1 in
2001.