HSBC World Matchplay
The HSBC World Matchplay Championship was blessed from its very inception and destined for greatness the moment it was born. The concept, dreamed up by Mark McCormack, was inspired. Ever the master entrepreneur and innovator, McCormack knew better than anyone there was a gap in the market for a world class matchplay tournament. And if there is truth in the maxim that ‘you make your own luck’, then McCormack got the winner he deserved in the inaugural championship in 1964 – Arnold Palmer, golf’s most charismatic and exciting golfer. There was no better person for putting your tournament firmly on the world map.
Right from the very start, the World Matchplay Championship had all the right ingredients: the finest players of the moment and an ideal venue in the West Course, with its twin par-5 finishing holes tailor-made for drama. There have been epic encounters, dramatic comebacks and great rivalries.
And the Championship has had all the right winners, so to speak. The roll call of champions includes the names Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Faldo, Ballesteros, Norman, Lyle, Langer, Woosnam and Els. No wonder the HSBC World Matchplay continues to stand the test of time.