Wednesday could very well be the most exciting day of golf outside of a major that we see year-in and year-out. (We’ll have the Ryder Cup this year, so that should give the WGC-Accenture Match Play a run for its money)
The Match Play Championship is golf’s version of March Madness, with the likes of Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and George Coetzee starting the tournament with the same chances to win as Tiger Woods and Lee Westwood.
Luke Donald, the World No. 1 and top seed in this year’s Match Play field, will attempt to defend his title, but opens with a tough match against major winner Ernie Els.
Two of the “Golf Boys” will square off on Wednesday – as bomber Bubba Watson takes on Ben Crane. Two Spaniards will also face off, with Sergio Garcia taking on Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Stay tuned to our Match Play Tracker – which will tun into Tiger Tracker when he tees off at 12:35 p.m. EST – to keep up-to-date on how each match is going.
And off we go! (Enjoy our preview material down below too!)
• • •
12:07 p.m.
Dustin Johnson will make the turn 3 down to Jim Furyk, missing a putt on No. 9 to potentially cut into that lead.
Other movement on the course:
• Graeme McDowell has cut into Y.E. Yang’s lead, winning the 12th hole to move to 1 down
• Matteo Manassero has extended his lead to 3 up over Webb Simpson thru 4 holes
• Steve Stricker is now 1 up thru 6 holes in his match against Kevin Na
• • •
11:52 a.m.
Matteo Manassero has performed well in match-play situations and he is off to a great start on Wednesday, taking a 2-up lead over Webb Simpson thru 3 holes.
Other movement on the course:
• Alvaro Quiros has taken early control against Martin Laird, holding a 1-up lead thru 2 holes
• Bill Haas is now 2 up against Ryo Ishikawa thru 9 holes
• Y.E. Yang is 2 up on Graeme McDowell thru 10 holes
• Paul Lawrie is 2 up on Justin Rose thru 8 holes
• Sang-moon Bae has a 1 up lead over Ian Poulter thru 5 holes
• Thomas Bjorn is now 2 up on Francesco Molinari thru 7 holes
• Dustin Johnson is 3 down to Jim Furyk thru 8 holes
• • •
11:25 a.m.
Hunter Mahan didn’t start the day on the best note – going 2 down thru 3 holes – but has won both Nos. 6 and 7 to square his match with Zach Johnson. They are now headed to the par-5 8th hole.
Other movement on the course:
• Dustin Johnson has cut into Jim Furyk’s sizable lead, winning the 6th hole to move to 2 down.
• Matteo Manassero struck early against Webb Simpson, taking a 1-up lead thru 1 hole
• Bill Haas is back out front against Ryo Ishikawa, winning the 7th hole to move 1 up
• The day’s first match will make the turn with Y.E. Yang holding a 2-up lead over Graeme McDowell
• • •
11:15 a.m.
Steve Stricker, seeded No. 2 in the Ben Hogan bracket, is playing his second hole after losing the opening hole to 15-seed Kevin Na. Many consider Stricker to be a favorite at Dove Mountain because of his skills on the green.
Aaron Baddeley – fresh off consecutive solid performances at Pebble and Riviera – won the first hole against Louis Oosthuizen.
Other movement on the course:
• Charl Schwartzel picked up another hole against Gary Woodland and is now 2 up thru 3 holes
• Thomas Bjorn has overcome an early deficit and is now 1 up against Francesco Molinari thru 4 holes
• • •
11:05 a.m.
Jim Furyk is giving Dustin Johnson fits thus far today, taking early control with a 3-up lead thru only four holes. Furyk has won holes Nos. 1, 3 and 4 (including a concession on No. 3).
A look at the rest of the matches:
• Thomas Bjorn and Francesco Molinari are AS thru 3 holes
• Charl Schwartzel is 1 up on Gary Woodland thru 2 holes
• Ian Poulter and Sang-moon Bae are AS thru 1 hole
• Bill Haas and Ryo Ishikawa are AS thru 6 holes
• Paul Lawrie and Justin Rose are AS thru 5 holes
• Y.E. Yang has regained control of his match, taking a 1-up lead on Graeme McDowell thru 7 holes
• Zach Johnson is hanging on to a 1-up lead on Hunter Mahan thru 6 holes
• • •
10:45 a.m.
Yes, it was early, but Bill Haas went down early to Ryo Ishikawa, but after winning both the third and fourth holes, Haas is now 1 up in his match.
A quick update on the rest of the matches, including four new matches:
• Graeme McDowell and Y.E. Yang are All Square after Yang wins the sixth hole
• Justin Rose has taken a 1-up lead over Paul Lawrie after winning the third hole
• Zach Johnson stays 1 up on Hunter Mahan thru 4 holes
• Francesco Molinari is 1 up on Thomas Bjorn thru 1 hole
• Jim Furyk has a 1-up lead on Dustin Johnson thru 2 holes
• Charl Schwartzel and Gary Woodland are All Square thru 1 hole
• • •
10:35 a.m.
We’ll try to keep you updated on these early matches about every 10-15 minutes, so stay tuned.
• Graeme McDowell has shaken off an early deficit to take a 1-up lead over Y.E. Yang thru 5 holes
• Bill Haas won the third hole to square his match with Ryo Ishikawa thru 3 holes
• Hunter Mahan won the fourth hole to move to 1 down against Zach Johnson thru 4 holes
• Justin Rose and Paul Lawrie remain All Square thru 2 holes
• • •
10:20 a.m.
Four matches are on the course currently, none further than the third hole at Dove Mountain.
• Y.E. Yang and Graeme McDowell are All Square thru 4 holes
• Zach Johnson has a 2-up lead on Hunter Mahan thru 3 holes
• Bill Haas is 1 down to Ryo Ishikawa thru 1 hole
• Justin Rose and Paul Lawrie are All Square thru 1 hole
See how each has fared against each other with our rankings break down. Story.
• • •
Jeff Rude: Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano spent much of his press conference praising his match-play opponent Tiger Woods, but one answer likely will pull Tiger out of hibernation. Story.
• • •
Jim McCabe: In a week that he lost in a playoff at Riviera and was criticized for his spitting on national television, fans and critics alike need to take notice of Keegan Bradley’s selfless red-eye trip to pay tribute to a fallen friend. Story.
• • •
John Maginnes: Yes, we could see Tiger-Rory. But it could also be Coetzee-Colsaerts. Oh, the joys of match play . . . Story.
• • •
Tiger is an overwhelming favorite in his first-round match against Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano. But anything can happen at Dove Mountain – including a freak snowstorm. Notebook
• • •
• Fantasy Tip Sheet: There is no consensus on who to pick from our fantasy panel, but Aussie Adam Scott is one of the favorites at the WGC-Match Play. Tip sheet.
• 2012 Match Play: The brackets are set and the matches confirmed, so it didn’t take long for our Jim McCabe and Alex Miceli to weigh in with some first-round predictions.
• • •
Here’s 10 matches we’d like to see play out this week in the Arizona desert at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Story.
• • •
Defending champion Luke Donald is 23-0-1 in his past 24 common starts with Round-1 opponent Ernie Els. See how the rest of the matches stack up. . . Story.
• • •
First-round losers won’t leave the WGC-Match Play empty-handed; they’ll earn cash and world-ranking points. Story.
• • •
• Check out the tee times for Wednesday’s first round at the WGC-Match Play at Dove Mountain. Tee times.
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