Because the brackets were set before Myrtle Beach resident Dustin Johnson’s win Sunday at Pebble Beach Golf Links, he’s faced with a pretty difficult first-round draw Wednesday in the $8.5 million World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain in Marana, Ariz. Johnson is seeded 11th in his bracket and faces Colombian Camillo Villegas, who is seeded sixth even though he’s now a spot behind Johnson in the world ranking at No. 26. "Camilo is obviously a great golfer," Johnson said Monday. "It’s going to be a fun match. I’m playing really well right now so I’m taking a lot of confidence into the tournament."
Johnson tied for third in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club the week before his win. If he beats Villegas Wednesday, he’ll face the winner of the Geoff Ogilvy-Alexander Noren match in the second round. Ogilvy is the defending champion. Lee Westwood is the top seed in Johnson’s bracket quadrant and Henrik Stenson is the second seed. Johnson is looking to stick around longer than in his Accenture Match Play debut last year, when he fell to Steve Stricker 2 and 1 in the opening round as a 12th seed.
Tournament coverage begins Wednesday from 2-6 p.m. on Golf Channel. The station also has coverage from 2-6 Thursday and Friday, and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday and 10-1:30 Sunday. CBS has the primary coverage on the weekend, televising from 2-6 p.m.both Saturday and Sunday.
Johnson had planned to play five consecutive weeks, culminating with next week’s Waste Management Phoenix Open (formerly FBR Open in Phoenix). But he has decided to take next week off and return to Myrtle Beach instead. The tour heads to Florida following the Phoenix event, and Johnson will likely skip the Honda Classic from March 4-7 before returning to the tour for the $8.5 million WGC-CA Championship from March 11-14 at the Blue Monster at Doral in Miami. Could that be the return of Tiger Woods as well? I say it’s either there or the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks later.
