European Golf Tour Golf Top Story News Leaderboard Player Bios Schedule Statistics Results Recap Field Tee Times Preview Money Leaders PGA European - Volvo World Match Play Championship Preview From The Sports Network DATES: Thursday, May 16th through Sunday, May 19th SITE: Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort, Kavarna, Bulgaria COURSE ARCHITECT: Gary Player (2011) PAR: 72 YARDAGE: 7,291 Hole-By-Hole: 1 - Par 4 457 Yds 10 - Par 4 343 Yds 2 - Par 3 210 Yds 11 - Par 4 419 Yds 3 - Par 4 416 Yds 12 - Par 5 546 Yds 4 - Par 5 692 Yds 13 - Par 4 390 Yds 5 - Par 5 573 Yds 14 - Par 4 396 Yds 6 - Par 4 382 Yds 15 - Par 4 466 Yds 7 - Par 3 157 Yds 16 - Par 5 587 Yds 8 - Par 3 231 Yds 17 - Par 3 174 Yds 9 - Par 4 330 Yds 18 - Par 4 522 Yds ------------- ------------- 35 3,448 Yds 37 3,843 Yds Annual:  48th Television:  Golf Channel - Thursday/Friday -- 8 a.m.-12 p.m. (et),   - Saturday -- 6:30-11:30 a.m. (et),   - Sunday -- 6 a.m.-12 p.m. (et) Defending Champion:  Nicolas Colsaerts Runner-Up:  Graeme McDowell Largest Winning Margin in Final:  Paul Casey def. Shaun Micheel, 10 & 8, 2006 Longest Match in Final:  Gary Player def. Graham Marsh, 1-up (40 holes), 1973 Largest Winning Margin in any match:  Retief Goosen d. J.Maggert, 12&11, 2004;   Retief Goosen d. M.Hensby, 12 & 11, 2005 Longest Match:  Michael Campbell def. Nick Faldo, 1-up (43 holes), 2002 Best Single Round:  60 (Ernie Els, 2002) Best Match Scores:  15-under-par (Ernie Els, 2002 - 31 holes);   (Colin Montgomerie, 2000 - 33 holes);   (Sandy Lyle, 1986 - 37 holes) Total Purse:  $3,882,948 (3,000,000 euros) Shares:  1st Place - $1,035,372; 2nd - $517,686; Semifinalists - $258,825 2012 Finish Player Score Player Score Nicolas Colsaerts Won Retief Goosen T-5 Graeme McDowell 2nd Brandt Snedeker T-5 Paul Lawrie T-3 Alvaro Quiros T-5 Rafael Cabrera-Bello T-3 Eight players at T-9 Sergio Garcia T-5 Past Volvo World Match Play Championship Winners Year Winner (Score) -- Runners-Up 2012 Nicolas Colsaerts (1-up) -- Graeme McDowell 2011 Ian Poulter (2&1) -- Luke Donald 2010 Not Held 2009 Ross Fisher (4&3) -- Anthony Kim 2008 Not Held 2007 Ernie Els (6&4) -- Angel Cabrera 2006 Paul Casey (10&8) -- Shaun Micheel 2005 Michael Campbell (2&1) -- Paul McGinley 2004 Ernie Els (2&1) -- Lee Westwood 2003 Ernie Els (4&3) -- Thomas Bjorn 2002 Ernie Els (2&1) -- Sergio Garcia 2001 Ian Woosnam (2&1) -- Padraig Harrington 2000 Lee Westwood (38th hole) -- Colin Montgomerie 1999 Colin Montgomerie (3&2) -- Mark O'Meara 1998 Mark O'Meara (1-up) -- Tiger Woods 1997 Vijay Singh (1-up) -- Ernie Els 1996 Ernie Els (3&2) -- Vijay Singh 1995 Ernie Els (3&1) -- Steve Elkington 1994 Ernie Els (4&2) -- Colin Montgomerie 1993 Corey Pavin (1-up) -- Nick Faldo 1992 Nick Faldo (8&7) -- Jeff Sluman 1991 Seve Ballesteros (3&2) -- Nick Price 1990 Ian Woosnam (4&2) -- Mark McNulty 1989 Nick Faldo (1-up) -- Ian Woosnam 1988 Sandy Lyle (2&1) -- Nick Faldo 1987 Ian Woosnam (1-up) -- Sandy Lyle 1986 Greg Norman (2&1) -- Sandy Lyle 1985 Seve Ballesteros (6&5) -- Bernhard Langer 1984 Seve Ballesteros (2&1) -- Bernhard Langer 1983 Greg Norman (3&2) -- Nick Faldo 1982 Seve Ballesteros (37th hole) -- Sandy Lyle 1981 Seve Ballesteros (1-up) -- Ben Crenshaw 1980 Greg Norman (1-up) -- Sandy Lyle 1979 Bill Rogers (1-up) -- Isao Aoki 1978 Isao Aoki (3&2) -- Simon Owen 1977 Graham Marsh (5&3) -- Ray Floyd 1976 David Graham (38th hole) -- Hale Irwin 1975 Hale Irwin (4&2) -- Al Geiberger 1974 Hale Irwin (3&1) -- Gary Player 1973 Gary Player (40th hole) -- Graham Marsh 1972 Tom Weiskopf (4&3) -- Lee Trevino 1971 Gary Player (5&4) -- Jack Nicklaus 1970 Jack Nicklaus (2&1) -- Lee Trevino 1969 Bob Charles (37th hole) -- Gene Littler 1968 Gary Player (1-up) -- Bob Charles 1967 Arnold Palmer (1-up) -- Peter Thomson 1966 Gary Player (6&4) -- Jack Nicklaus 1965 Gary Player (3&2) -- Peter Thomson 1964 Arnold Palmer (2&1) -- Neil Coles Note:Formerly called Piccadilly Match-Play (1964-76), Colgate Match-Play (1977-78), Suntory Match-Play (1979-90), Toyota World Match Play Championship (1991-97), Cisco World Match Play Championship (1998-2002), HSBC World Match Play Championship (2003-07). Top Contenders in the Field Player 2005 2006 2007 2009 2011 2012 Nicolas Colsaerts --- --- --- --- T-3 Won Graeme McDowell --- --- --- --- T-5 2nd Ian Poulter --- --- --- --- Won T-9 Branden Grace --- --- --- --- --- T-17 Peter Hanson --- --- --- --- --- T-17 Francesco Molinari --- --- --- --- T-5 --- Henrik Stenson --- --- T-3 T-9 --- --- Geoff Ogilvy T-9 --- --- --- --- --- Felipe Aguilar --- --- --- --- --- --- Thomas Aiken --- --- --- --- --- --- K. Aphibarnrat --- --- --- --- --- --- George Coetzee --- --- --- --- --- --- Jamie Donaldson --- --- --- --- --- --- G. Fdez-Castano --- --- --- --- --- --- Stephen Gallacher --- --- --- --- --- --- Thongchai Jaidee --- --- --- --- --- --- Scott Jamieson --- --- --- --- --- --- Shane Lowry --- --- --- --- --- --- Thorbjorn Olesen --- --- --- --- --- --- Carl Pettersson --- --- --- --- --- --- Brett Rumford --- --- --- --- --- --- Richard Sterne --- --- --- --- --- --- Bo Van Pelt --- --- --- --- --- --- Chris Wood --- --- --- --- --- --- Sports Network Selections Pick to Win - Nicolas Colsaerts Darkhorse - Kiradech Aphibarnrat   Last Week's Pick to Win (Alexander Noren) - Finished tied for 41st Last Week's Darkhorse (Paul Waring) - Finished tied for 21st   NOTES: The Volvo World Match Play Championship takes place this week in Bulgaria, as 12 of the top 50 players in the world are competing. The field is led by world No. 8 Graeme McDowell. He is joined by 2011 champion Ian Poulter (15), Peter Hanson (23) and Bo Van Pelt (26), who is the only American in the field. McDowell has four top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour this season, including a victory at the RBC Heritage. This will be his first tournament of the year in Europe. The hottest player in the field is world No. 76 Brett Rumford, who has won his last two events. Rumford won the Ballantine's Championship and Volvo China Open in back-to-back weeks. This week, he will try to become only the third player in European Tour history to win three tournaments in a row. Golf legends Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros are the only players to accomplish this feat. The 24-man field is divided into eight groups of three players, with everyone playing two matches and the top two players from each group advancing to the single elimination matches on Saturday and Sunday. This year's tournament will be held at Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort in Kavarna, Bulgaria, for the first time. The last three years were staged at Finca Cortesin in Spain. This will be the first time that Bulgaria has hosted a European Tour event. Bulgaria will become the 40th different nation to stage a European Tour event. Last year, Nicolas Colsaerts defeated McDowell, 1-up, in the final. Colsaerts earned his second European Tour title following his victory at the 2011 China Open. Colsaerts became the first Belgian to win twice on the European Tour. In 2011, Poulter rolled in a 6-foot par putt on the 17th hole in the final to beat Luke Donald, 2 & 1. Poulter earned his 11th European Tour title. It was the first all-English final in tournament history. Ernie Els defeated Angel Cabrera in 2007, 6 & 4, to win this event for a record seventh time. Els previously won in 1994-96, 2002-04. Els won at the Wentworth Club in England, which he helped redesign. Els has appeared in the championship match eight times, losing only to Vijay Singh in the final in 1997. In 2006, Paul Casey easily defeated Shaun Micheel to win. Casey took a commanding lead late in the morning round, kept his foot on the pedal and cruised to a 10 & 8 win in the 36-hole final. It was the largest winning margin for a final match in event history. Michael Campbell held off Irishman Paul McGinley, 2 & 1, in the final to win in 2005. Campbell, who won the U.S. Open earlier in 2005, became the fourth player to win both events in the same year, joining Gary Player (1965), Hale Irwin (1974) and Els (1994). Five-time winners of this event are Ballesteros and Gary Player, while Greg Norman and Ian Woosnam are three-time winners. When Woosnam won in 2001, he became the oldest winner in tournament history as he defeated Padraig Harrington. At the age of 43, Woosnam outlasted Harrington, 2 & 1, as he equaled his own record of seven successive birdies and broke the front-nine scoring record when he shot 28. Woosnam came back from 3-down to become the first player to win the title in three different decades. The European Tour travels to England next week for the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club, where Donald has won the last two years. 05/15 09:53:56 ET As of May 15, 2013, at 09:54 AM ET