Citizen Staff Report
Another in a series of profiles for the Accenture World Match Play Championship Feb. 25-March 1 in Marana:
Ernie Els (South Africa)
Ranking: No. 9 Born: Johannesburg, South Africa Age: 39 Ht/Wt: 6-3/220 Turned pro: 1989 Pro wins: 60 PGA wins: 16 Current tour: PGA, European Match Play: 6-9
Notable: Els won the U.S. Open in 1994 and 1997, and the British Open in 2002.
Did you know? Els first achieved prominence in 1984, when he won the Junior World Golf Championship in the Boys 13-14 category. Phil Mickelson was second to Ernie that year. (The Boys 9-10 category was won by Tiger Woods.)
Henrik Stenson (Sweden)
Ranking: No. 8 Born: Gothenburg, Sweden Age: 32 Ht/Wt: 6-2/198 Turned pro: 1998. Pro wins: 11 Current tour: PGA, European. Match Play: 11-2
Notable: Stenson’s 2007 Accenture WGC Match Play Championship took him to fifth in the world rankings, which is the highest a Swedish player has ever been ranked.
Notable: Stenson married fellow Swede Emma Lofgren in Dubai 10 years after meeting her on a golf course in Sweden. On July 2, 2007, his wife gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Lisa.
MATCH PLAY INFO
Where: Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, Marana
Tickets: 571-0400 or (866) 942-2672; www.worldgolfchampionships.com
Match Play capsules: Els, Stenson