BETTER FOR GOLF FANS: Wrinkles smoother in Tiger’s return

MARANA — Just as the sun starts to peak over the eastern horizon, the anticipation begins to build.

Faint streaks of pink and blue adorn the skyline, with bursts of sunlight bouncing off the towering saguaros that line impeccably groomed fairways.

Dozens, then hundreds, then more than 1,000 gather around the first tee, hoping to catch a glimpse of greatness.

Tiger Woods emerges.

He takes a moment to take in his surroundings, then sharply stabs the ground with his tee.

A Nike One platinum ball sits about an inch-and-a-half above the turf.

After a couple of easy practice swings, he addresses his ball, like he has done tens of millions of times before.

He begins his swing — a quick turn of the hips, a gentle weight shift, a measured back swing.

The club comes through the striking zone with such force, making a sound only he can make.

First, there is the “thwack,” like a barn door slamming shut during a hurricane.

Then immediately after, there is the “hiss,” like an agitated cobra preparing to strike.

Thwack, hiss.

The crowd approves. They follow him through his entire practice round, getting a rare, intimate look at perhaps the greatest player to ever swing a golf club.

With that, Woods has returned to Arizona.

With two days of practice rounds in the books, the 10th annual WGC-Accenture Match Play tournament officially tees off at 7:50 this morning, with Sergio Garcia taking on John Senden.

Woods will get going at 12:02 p.m., where he’ll face J.B. Holmes.

“The course is in excellent shape,” Woods said after wrapping up yesterday’s early-morning practice round, adding that last year’s problems with the putting greens are now a thing of the past. “The weather is looking good, and the fans should have a great time out here.”

The Gallery North at Dove Mountain is ranked as the No. 1 course in Southwest Arizona by Golf Digest. The par-72, 7,413-yard course features two par-5s — hole Nos. 5 and 17 — that exceed the 600-yard barrier.

In addition to the distance from tee to pin, the golfers will have to navigate the rugged desert terrain if their ball drifts from the fairways.

Of course, that terrain proved to be a major obstacle for the thousands of fans in attendance, as well.

Multiple alterations have been made to the course to help rectify some of those issues fans faced during the tournament’s inaugural appearance at Dove Mountain last year.

“We made a number of changes in order to help provide better spectator experience,” said tournament Director Michael Garten.

A pair of additional parking lots — one for media, the other for the more than 1,000 volunteers — were procured in order to free up the congestion problems the tournament faced last year.

In addition, space was added along the golf course to help with the loading and unloading of spectators, so fans wouldn’t be waiting upward of an hour for a shuttle bus.

Lastly, Garten estimates a 15 percent to 20 percent increase in square footage this year with regard to gallery space and parking. Additional concession stands, rest rooms and merchandise tables were added, as well.

“We made a lot of these changes after the first day last time around, but now we’ve had whole year to prepare,” Garten said. “We’ve gone to great lengths to make sure people enjoy their stay at the Accenture Match Play tournament. We can already see the changes making things easier for the fans.”

Garten expects roughly 15,000 people to attend each day during the week, with the weekend’s attendance capped at 10,000 to provide a more intimate setting for the final matches.

Obviously, the sponsors and television networks hope Woods is still alive through the finals.

Last year, Woods bowed out during Friday’s “Sweet 16” round, losing 2 and 1 to Nick O’Hern.

While it’s not imperative that Woods wins the event, everyone with a financial interest in the tournament hopes to see Woods last as long as possible.

Golf ratings follow a simple formula: More Tiger, more interest.

“Without question, the longer Tiger stays, the more general interest we’re going to have,” Garten said. “He is the brightest of the shining stars, and you can definitely see the ebb and flow in the crowd, depending on where Tiger is at.”

However, Garten believes that the exciting match-play format and the star-studded field will be enough to capture the fans’ interest, regardless of whether Woods can make it through the bracket.

“Tiger was knocked out on Friday last year, and we still had large, enthusiastic crowds following the weekend action,” Garten said.

Television coverage of today’s first round begins at noon on “The Golf Channel.”

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747

Details

WCG-Accenture Match Play Championship at a glance:

Where: The Gallery North at Dove Mountain, Marana.

When: Today-Sunday.

Purse: $8 million, $1.35 million to the winner.

TV: Today-Friday, noon-4 p.m., The Golf Channel;

Saturday, 8 a.m.-noon, The Golf Channel and noon-4 p.m., NBC;

Sunday, 8-11:30 a.m., The Golf Channel and noon-4 p.m., NBC.

On the Web: www.worldgolfchampionships.com