WGC-Accenture Match Play qualifying concludes

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Martin Kaymer and Luke Donald, who battled in last year's finale, qualified as Nos. 1 and 4 this year.

MARANA, Ariz. -- Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, and Martin Kaymer, Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively, in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) lead the list of those who are qualified for next week's World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. While the top 64 in the OWGR released today are qualified for the event, players have until Friday, Feb. 17, at 5 p.m. ET to officially commit to the tournament.

The 2012 bracket and tee times will be unveiled on Monday, February 20, at 7 a.m. ET, with the brackets/seeding based on the OWGR released that morning.

The first World Golf Championships event of the 2012 season returns to The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain, Feb. 20-26. The 32 first round matches begin Wednesday, Feb. 22, with Donald looking to defend his title and retain the Walter Hagen Cup.

While Donald, Westwood, McIlroy and Kaymer have been assured of a return trip to the Accenture Match Play Championship for some time, several players waited until the last minute to punch their tickets to Arizona. Last week's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on the PGA TOUR and the European Tour's Omega Dubai Desert Classic were the last opportunities for players to move into the top 64 in the OWGR, and Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Nicolas Colsaerts did just that, by virtue of their play this past weekend.

Cabrera-Bello won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, holding off a strong field with a final-round 68 (-4) to defeat Westwood and Scotland's Stephen Gallacher by a stroke for his second European Tour victory. The win moved Cabrera Bello from No. 119 to No. 60 in the OWGR and into the field for his first World Golf Championships start.

Colaserts finished T9 at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic to move from No. 69 to just in the Accenture Match Play Championship field at No. 64 in the OWGR. Colaserts qualified for the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational last year, but did not start. He finished T20 at the WGC-HSBC Champions. This will be his first start in the Accenture Match Play Championship.

Cabrera-Bello and Colaserts knocked Ernie Els (from No. 62 to No. 65) and Robert Allenby (from No. 64 to No. 68) out of the Accenture Match Play Championship field. However, Phil Mickelson (No. 11) has said publicly that he will not compete, meaning No. 65 Els would earn a spot in the field for the 12th time in his World Golf Hall of Fame career. His best finish is a fourth place result in 2001.

As announced last week, new for 2012, the seeding for the Accenture Match Play Championship bracket will be based off the OWGR as of the Monday of championship week, February 20, as opposed to the OWGR at the time the field is finalized. This modification was made to ensure players are seeded based upon their most current ranking position. The eligibility criteria for the field remain unchanged. This change may be best illustrated at the top of the bracket; while Westwood has moved to No. 2 with his T2 at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, fractions ahead of McIlroy, next week the two are projected to again swap positions with McIlroy taking the No. 2 seed and Westwood falling to No. 3.

The Accenture Match Play Championship, which is the first in a series of four World Golf Championships events in 2012, has been played in the Tucson area since 2007 and at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain since 2009. Fans interested in purchasing tickets can visit www.worldgolfchampionships.com or call the Tucson Conquistadores office at 520-571-0400.

A list of those qualified and their current ranking is below. Should one of the qualified players elect not to commit, his place in the field will be filled by the next available player from today's OWGR. A list of those alternates is also included below.

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