Match play in the context of "Volvo World Match Play Championship"

A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two distinct senses:

1. A competition involving a number of matches, each involving a subset of the competitors, with the overall tournament winner determined based on the combined results of these individual matches.
2. One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentrated into a relatively short time interval.

The first sense is common in sports and games where each match must involve a small number of competitors, often precisely two, as in most competitive team sports, racket sports, combat sports, card games, and board games. Such tournaments allow large numbers to compete against each other in spite of the restriction on numbers in a single match. All golf tournaments meet the second definition, but while match play tournaments also meet the first, stroke play tournaments do not, since there are no distinct matches within such tournaments. In contrast, association football leagues like the Premier League hold tournaments only in the first sense, as matches are spread across many venues over an extended period of time. Many tournaments meet both definitions; for example, the Wimbledon tennis championship.

Stroke play is a scoring system in the sport of golf. In the regular form of stroke play, also known as medal play, the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In a regular stroke play competition, the winner is the player who has taken the fewest strokes over the course of the round, or rounds. Other forms of stroke play include Stableford, whereby points are gained based on hole scores, maximum score, in which there is a limit to the number of strokes that may be taken on each hole, and par (or bogey), where holes are won or lost against a target score on each hole.

Although most professional tournaments are played using the regular stroke play scoring system, some notable exceptions exist. In match play, the player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents. Match play scoring is used in the WGC Match Play, the Volvo World Match Play Championship, and most team events, for example the Ryder Cup. A few tournaments such as the Barracuda Championship have used a modified Stableford system.

The WGC Match Play, titled in later years as the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play for sponsorship reasons, was a professional men's golf tournament that had been held since 1999. It was the only one of the World Golf Championships to have been contested using the match play format. From 2016 until its final year in 2023, it was held at the Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas, United States.

Previous names include WGC-Dell Match Play (2015), WGC-Cadillac Match Play (2014), WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship (2001–2013), and WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship (1999–2000). Before moving to Austin it had been hosted in Arizona eight times, California eight times, and Australia once. It is sanctioned and organized by the International Federation of PGA Tours and the prize money is official money on the PGA Tour, the European Tour and the Japan Golf Tour. Tiger Woods has the record number of wins with three. The winner receives a Wedgwood trophy named the Walter Hagen Cup.

Par, or bogey, is a scoring system used mostly in amateur and club golf. It is a stroke play format played against the course, with match play scoring based on the number of strokes taken on each hole compared to a fixed score, usually the par or bogey; in this context, bogey is meant in the traditional sense as the score a good player would expect on the hole, usually par but occasionally one stroke more. The winner of the competition is the player with the highest differential of holes "won" to holes "lost", with the result on each hole normally based on the players handicap-adjusted score.

Par has similarities to the popular Stableford scoring system in that competition is against the course on a hole-by-hole basis, and the occasional very bad hole does not massively affect the overall result. Because of this it also has the same advantage of improving pace of play in large club competitions as holing out is not required once the hole is lost. Unlike Stableford however, there is no reward for a handicap-adjusted eagle (or better).

In the sport of golf, a penalty or penalty stroke is an additional stroke or strokes added to a player's score for an infraction of the rules. In match play, rather than adding strokes, the usual penalty is loss of the hole except for penalties assessed for relief from a hazard or a lost ball.

Situations in which a penalty may be assessed include, but are not limited to:

The 1946 U.S. Women's Open was a golf tournament contested from August 26 to September 1 at Spokane Country Club, north of Spokane, Washington. It was the first edition of the U.S. Women's Open, and only one to have been played in match play competition. The field of 39 women was reduced to the 32-player match play field by a 36-hole qualifier on Monday and Tuesday. Six professionals and 26 amateurs advanced to match play. The format was 18-hole matches through the quarterfinals, and 36 holes for the semifinals and finals.

Professionals Patty Berg and Betty Jameson reached the Sunday final. Jameson led by three after seven holes, but Berg evened the match and they finished the first 18 holes all square. After lunch, Berg needed only fourteen holes in the afternoon to close out the match at 5 & 4. Berg won $5,600 and Jameson $3,100, all in war bonds. This win was later recognized as Berg's sixth major championship. The winner's share at the U.S. Women's Open was substantially less in succeeding years and was not exceeded until 1972, 26 years later.