BY JOSH KECK

I can still remember it like it was yesterday.
2008, Tiger Woods vs. J.B. Holmes, Accenture Match Play Golf Tournament. Arguably the most dominating golfer of all time taking on a young, fearless, long ball hitter in J.B. Tiger clearly the #1 seed in the match play format with J.B. being the final 64th participant who just happened to get into the tournament because of a withdraw.

#1 Vs. #16.
This was equivalent to North Carolina Vs. Appalachian St. in the NCAA Men’s basketball version of Match Play Madness. These sorts of match ups shouldn’t even be close, right? Entering the back nine Tiger found himself grinding to stay in the match. On the 13th hole he blasts his shot into the desert, his ball hits a volunteer, he hits his bag, and just like that he’s down 3 with 5 holes to play.

Then came the magic.
Tiger wins the 14th, 15th, and 16th holes to even the match with two holes to play. The gallery is going nuts and there is a buzz and energy in the air that could have powered up the lights on the Vegas strip. This is what’s it all about, David taking on Goliath with a chance to win one for the little guys. It’s the par 5, 17th hole and this match is all square. The recipe is set for one of those special moments in sport. The moment when your favorite athlete comes through under pressure and you jump up in the air screaming “you’ve gotta be kidding me!” Staring at a double breaking 25ft putt on greens faster than Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, Tiger delivers. With highest level of drama, pressure, and timing he does what he was born to do. The roar of that crowd still echoes in my head. This was sport at its highest level, with one of the greatest athletes of all time, performing on a global stage, and for the fortunate people of Southern Arizona it was in our backyard.

This was not a just another round of golf on TV being played on some distant and unfamiliar course. This took place right here in the Old Pueblo. That moment under the clear desert sky was not just a victory for Tiger but for all of Tucson and Southern AZ. It’s been a long viewed perception that Phoenix has all the professional sports action and Tucson is only as good as their Wildcat Basketball team. Hosting a professional event of this magnitude is a victory for the little guy and we shouldn’t take this opportunity for granted. The estimated local economic impact of the tournament is in the millions with many youth charities and local businesses being the benefactors. Given these tough economic times you can believe there are countless cities across this country that would love to have the influx of additional sales tax revenue from hosting such an event. Come Feb. 15th-21st take the family up to the gorgeous Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain to watch the best golfers in the world battle it out and to support this important event. I can hear the roars a coming……

Josh Keck is a Member of the Golf Writers Association
of America and Resident of Tucson, AZ.

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