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Three tied for lead at HSBC Women’s Champions (AP)

admin — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 08:16:50 +0000

SINGAPORE (AP)—Katie Futcher of the United States and South Korea’s Jenny Shin
each shot 5-under 67s to join a three-way tie for the lead after Friday’s second
round of the $1.4 million HSBC Women’s Champions.

Futcher and Shin both shot six birdies and one bogey to reach 8-under 136
along with first-round leader Angela Stanford, who had a 70 on Friday.

Three players were tied three shots back at 5-under at Tanah Merah Country
Club.

World No. 1 Yani Tseng shot a 72 to be 1-under and seven strokes off the
lead while American Michelle Wie was an extraordinary 24 shots behind at
16-over.

The 63-player field includes 18 of the top 20 in world rankings.

Daily Wrap-up: Round 1, Mayakoba Golf Classic (PGATOUR.com)

admin — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 04:17:36 +0000

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico —Will Claxton shot a 5-under 66 in windy conditions Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

Making his fifth career start on the PGA TOUR, the 30-year-old former Auburn player had four straight birdies early on his back nine on the El Camaleon course.

Charles Howell III, Greg Owen, John Huh, Marc Turnesa, Alejandro Canizares, Matt Every and Mark D. Anderson were tied for second.

Claxton and Turnesa had the only bogey-free rounds.

“This golf course, it really keeps your attention off the tees,” Howell said. “There’s a lot of trouble out there, and it’s too hard to get ahead of yourself here. The golf course almost helps you stay where you’re at just because it demands a lot of focus and attention on it. Fortunately, I was able to drive the ball in play today, and that gives you a good chance around here to score.”

Kevin Stadler, Josh Teater, Dicky Pride, Seung-Yul Noh, Hunter Haas, David Hearn, Michael Allen and Sunghoon Kang shot 68.

“It’s really relaxing down here,” Stadler said. “Golf course-wise, I think it’s one of the best we play all year. I look forward to coming here every year. I tend to play well here. I think I’m just in a good place mentally down here.”

Champions Tour player Nick Price opened with a 69.

“I don’t feel that this course you need to overpower this course,” Price said. “This course has got a lot of strategy on it, particularly off the tees, putting the ball in the right place. All in all, I played well today.”

Defending champion Johnson Wagner had a 73. Wagner won the Sony Open in Hawaii in January and tied for second the following week in the Humana Challenge in California.

Last year, he beat Spencer Levin with a par on the first hole of a playoff.

Levin also opened with a 73.

Greg Norman, the El Camaleon designer, had a 79. The 57-year-old Norman played in a group with Wagner and Levin.

Mike Weir struggled to a 79 in his second start of the year.

Coming off surgery on his right elbow in August, the Canadian missed the cut two weeks ago in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and failed to secure a sponsor exemption last week for the Northern Trust Open at Riviera.

Mexico’s Jose de Jesus Rodriguez nearly aced the par-3 eighth, but his ball bounced out of the cup. He then made a 25-foot birdie putt, and finished with a 71.

REFILE-UPDATE 1-Golf-WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship results (Reuters)

admin — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 00:16:52 +0000

Woods interview after Round 1 of Accenture

Following his opening-round 1-up victory over Gonzalo Fernandez-Costano, Tiger Woods talks to Roger Maltbie from Golf Channel about his play in the 20…

Posted Feb 22 2012

More: Golf video

Tour Report: Round 2: Live updates, news, notes (PGATOUR.com)

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 20:17:13 +0000

MARANA, Ariz. – Thursday’s second round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship has started. A total of 16 matches are scheduled for the Ritz-Carlton course at Dove Mountain. We’ll have updates all day on PGATOUR.COM and we encourage your comments throughout the day. Also check out PGATOUR.COM’s LIVE@ coverage on now.

MORE ROUND 2: Previews | Predictions

SECOND ROUND UPDATES (All times ET)

3:07 p.m. – Hunter Mahan on his win: “It was all clicking … Putting, chipping, everything’s right there.”

3:05 p.m. – Dustin Johnson has beaten Francesco Molinari 7 and 5. Johnson won the last three holes to close out the match.

3:04 p.m. – Sang-moon Bae is playing in his first World Golf Championships. He’s a PGA TOUR rookie, too. But the 25-year-old Korean isn’t being intimidated. He just made a 4-footer for birdie at No. 9 to square his match with Masters champ Charl Schwartzel.

3:02 p.m. – David Toms made a 7-footer for birdie at the eighth hole to even his match with Martin Kaymer, the top seed in the Ben Hogan bracket.

2:59 p.m. – Consecutive chip-in birdies at Nos. 11 and 12 have Dustin Johnson 6 up on Francesco Molinari with six holes to play.

2:49 p.m. – Hunter Mahan reaches the third round for the second straight year after beating Y.E. Yang 5 and 3. The American finished with seven birdies and used just 18 putts in 15 holes.

2:46 p.m. – Steve Stricker leads for the first time all day after draining a 17-footer for birdie at No. 16. He’s 1 up with two to play.

2:38 p.m. – Our first match is dormie after Y.E. Yang conceded the 14th when his third shot tangled with some cactus and Hunter Mahan was on the green with a 14-foot birdie putt. Yang is 4 down with four to go.

2:35 p.m. – Martin Kaymer has drawn first blood in his match with veteran David Toms, making a 7-footer for birdie at the seventh to go 1 up.

2:29 p.m. – Tiger Woods now 1 against Hunter Mahan, who three-putted from 26 feet at the fourth. And after halving the first six holes, Martin Kaymer is now 1 up on David Toms, thanks to an 8-foot birdie at the seventh.

2:26 p.m. – Hunter Mahan posted his seventh birdie of the day. He’s 3 up on Y.E. Yang after 13.

2:20 p.m. – Kyle Stanley draws first blood in his match against Farmers Insurance foe Brandt Snedeker, who three-putted from 31 feet at No. 1.

2:10 p.m. – Steve Stricker has rallied to win the last two holes and square his match against Louis Oosthuizen after 12 holes. “Oosthuizen let him hang in there too long,” said PGA TOUR Radio’s John Maginnes. Meanwhile, Tiger Woods won the second hole to square his match against Nick Watney.

2:01 p.m. – Dustin Johnson birdied the par-5 eighth. He’s now 5 up and in total command of his match against Francesco Molinari.

1:52 p.m. – Nick Watney’s birdie at the first hole gives him early lead over Tiger Woods.

1:31 p.m. – Aussie John Senden has birdied the third and fourth holes to go 2 up on his countryman, Jason Day. The steady Senden’s birdie putts came from 19 and 6 feet.

1:28 p.m. – Hunter Mahan’s birdie binge ended at No. 9 when he hit his approach over the green and missed a 9-footer to save par. Y.E. Yang made his 5-footer to win the hole and is now 3 down.

1:17 p.m. – Louis Oosthuizen has made the turn 2 up on Steve Stricker, who is the highest-ranked American in the field.

1:13 p.m. – The birdie barrage continues as Hunter Mahan makes a 16-footer at the eighth hole. That’s five in a row and puts him 4 up on Y.E. Yang.

1:10 p.m. – Martin Laird has made four birdies and had another 5-footer conceded in the first seven holes of his match with Matteo Manassero. He’s 2 up, as a result.

1:02 p.m. – Lee Westwood has played in all but one Match Play and has never gotten out of the second round. He plays Robert Karlsson today and tweeted: “Got a big match against a big swede today! Already tied my best ever at this tournament !Trying to see fri for the first time!sightssethigh!”

12:55 p.m. – Hunter Mahan and Y.E. Yang still have yet to halve a hole. Mahan keeps making birdies – his fourth straight, and fifth overall, has the American 3 up through seven holes.

12:51 p.m. – Birdies on his first two holes have given the big-hitting Dustin Johnson the early 2-up advantage over Francesco Molinari. Johnson, who had lost in the first round the previous three years, seems determined to stick around.

12:48 p.m. – Mark Wilson, who won the Humana Challenge in January, has taken a 2-up lead on Robert Rock after three holes. The American made a 3-footer for eagle at the second hole and won the third with a conceded birdie after Rock nearly put his bunker shot in the water.

12:36 p.m. – Hunter Mahan just made consecutive birdies to go 2 up on Y.E. Yang at the sixth hole. Mahan’s most recent birdie came when he holed a bunker shot – his other three were from 17 inches and 2 and 5 feet. The four birdies is more than Mahan made in 20 holes against Zach Johnson on Wednesday.

12:20 p.m. – The match between Hunter Mahan and Y.E. Yang is shaping up to be a roller-coaster ride as each has won two of the four holes played. Yang has led twice and Mahan responded each time by squaring the match with birdies.

12:12 p.m. – It’s Steve Stricker’s 45th birthday but he’s not getting any gifts from Louis Oosthuizen. The South African nearly drove the green at the 339-yard fourth hole, chipped on and made a 4-footer for birdie to go 1 up. The birdie was Oosthuizen’s second – he and Stricker halved the par-5 second with one each.

MARANA, Ariz. – Here’s a breakdown of each country represented at this week’s World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, and which players remain in the field heading into Thursday’s second round.

Donald’s early departure a surprise at Match Play (AP)

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:17:24 +0000

MARANA, Ariz. (AP)—The good Tiger Woods knocked in a 50-foot birdie putt
and drove onto the par-4 15th green, both times to erase a deficit. The bad
Tiger Woods took three trips into the desert to lose the hole, once having to
hit a shot left-handed.

After all these adventures, Woods had no trouble picking the most important
shot he had Wednesday in the Match Play Championship.

“Probably the putt on 18,” he said.

It was an 8-foot putt up the hill. It gave him a par, and a hard-earned win
over Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano in the opening round. And it allowed him to
return Thursday to Dove Mountain, the only objective at this wild tournament.

Luke Donald won’t have that privilege.

For the first time since he first qualified for this World Golf Championship
in 2005, the world’s No. 1 player was beaten in the first round. There is no
such thing as an upset, not even for the No. 1 seed, given the 18-hole match and
the quality of players.

Even so, not many saw this coming.

Only a year ago, Donald turned in the most dominant performance ever in the
Match Play Championship. He never trailed the entire week, and none of his
matches ever reached the 18th hole.

Turns out Donald won’t be playing the 18th hole this week, either.

He never led against Ernie Els, and started dropping shots in bundles on the
back nine until it was time to remove his cap and shake hands on the 14th green.

Els won, 5 and 4, becoming only the third No. 64 seed to win a match since
this event began in 1999. Peter O’Malley beat Woods in 2002 at La Costa, and
Ross McGowan defeated Steve Stricker two years ago at Dove Mountain.

“I don’t think it would have mattered who I played today. I just didn’t
play well,” Donald said. “I struggled. I gave away too many holes and made too
many mistakes. You can’t do that in match play against anyone, let alone
Ernie.”

Donald, coming off a year in which he became the first player to capture the
money title on the PGA Tour and the European Tour, has not finished among the
top 30 in the three tournaments he has played this year. The last time that
happened was in August 2009.

He headed home to south Florida for two weeks off before the next WGC event
at Doral.

“It’s a terrible ride home, believe me,” said Els, who has lost five times
in the opening round. “I feel for Luke. He’s got a lot of pressure on him.
Yeah, I know exactly what it feels like.”

Matteo Manassero decided to approach this week with no pressure at all. That
changed when he build a 3-up lead on Webb Simpson, then had a string of
one-putts on the back nine for birdies and par to hold him off.

Everyone feels pressure at some point. Such is the nature of match play.

Rory McIlroy was feeling it right after Donald left the course. The U.S.
Open champion seized control by winning four straight holes, and he was 3 up
with three holes to play. Then came a bogey on the 16th, and the 17th. Suddenly,
he was 1 up and playing the 18th hole against George Coetzee, and he popped up
his tee shot that made par a challenge.

Luckily for McIlroy, his opponent failed to take advantage. Coetzee went 60
feet by the pin on his approach and three-putted for bogey. So McIlroy escaped,
and with Donald out of the way, the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland had a
clear path to No. 1.

So does Lee Westwood, who played a tidy round in beating Nicolas Colsaerts.

McIlroy and Westwood could replace Donald atop the world ranking by winning
the Match Play Championship.

“Obviously, it’s another incentive waking up each morning and knowing that
if you win your match at the end of that day, at the end of the week you could
be world No. 1,” McIlroy said.

Even so, it’s best not to look ahead. Too many things can happen, as was the
case on a sunny day in the high desert.

— Ian Poulter, the Match Play winner two years ago, suffered his worst loss
in nine appearances when Bae Sang-moon beat him, 4 and 3.

— Bill Haas, coming off that monster win at Riviera just three days ago,
looked like a winner when he was 1 up on the 17th green and had a 5-foot birdie
putt. Ryo Ishikawa holed from 18 feet, Haas missed, and the Japanese star made
par on the 18th to win.

— In the most thrilling match of the opening round, Jim Furyk was on the
verge of sending Dustin Johnson home early for the fourth straight year after
Johnson hit his tee shot into the desert and had to take a penalty drop on the
20th hole. Furyk chipped across the green and three-putted for bogey to lose.

— Rafael Cabrera-Bello was 3 up with three holes to play against Jason Day
when he bogeyed three straight holes, and Day beat him with a 4-foot birdie putt
on the 19th hole.

Woods was 1 down until he drove the 15th green for a two-putt birdie, won
the 16th with a par to go 1 up, and got up-and-down from a bunker after he
missed the green from the 18th fairway.

“We both made our share of mistakes, there’s no doubt about that,” said
Woods. “But somehow, I was able to move on.”

Woods now plays Nick Watney, who had no trouble beating British Open
champion Darren Clarke.

McIlroy, the highest seed remaining, faces Anders Hansen, while Westwood
plays Robert Karlsson and No. 4 seed Martin Kaymer faces David Toms, who birdied
the last hole to secure a win over Rickie Fowler.

Perhaps the most intriguing match is Kyle Stanley and Brandt Snedeker, who
have been in a match play situation before. It was only a month ago when Stanley
made triple bogey on the last hole at Torrey Pines, then lost in a playoff to
Snedeker.

Stanley went on to win the next week in Phoenix.

There will be three All-American matches, three all-European matches and one
all-Australian match. That would be John Senden against Day, and the only downer
for the boys Down Under is that they’re the only Australians left at Dove
Mountain.

Stanford grabs lead at HSBC Women’s Champions (AP)

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:19:12 +0000

SINGAPORE (AP)—Angela Stanford of the United States shot a 6-under 66 to take
a two-stroke lead after Thursday’s opening round of the $1.4 million HSBC
Women’s Champions.

Five players were tied for second at 4-under, a stroke ahead of a group of
seven at 3-under at Tanah Merah Country Club.

World No. 1 Yani Tseng shot a 1-under. She’s seeking her second win of the
year after her victory at last week’s LPGA Thailand.

Karrie Webb, who won last year’s tournament in Singapore, shot an even par
72.

The 63-player field includes 18 of the top 20 in world rankings.

Match recaps: First round, Accenture Match Play Champ. (PGATOUR.com)

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 04:16:49 +0000

MARANA, Ariz.—The biggest shock of Wednesday’s first round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship was the loss by defending champ and world No. 1 Luke Donald, who was beaten 5 and 4 by 64th seed Ernie Els.

But that certainly wasn’t the only upset—if there truly are any “upsets” in this event—at Dove Mountain.

Almost half of Wednesday’s 32 matches (15 to be exact) were won by the lower seed. Els was the only 16th seed to win, but two 15th seeds—Matteo Manassero and Robert Rock—also advanced. Those 15 upsets are the most since the inaugural Accenture Match Play Championship in 1999.

Meanwhile, fifth-seeded Tiger Woods managed to avoid the upset … barely. He scraped by against Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano 1 and later said, “I’m very fortunate to move on.”

The key is that he is moving on, unlike Donald. In winning last year, Donald never trailed after any hole, but with Wednesday’s match all square after seven. He lost four of the next five holes to Els, and never led.

It’s only the third time in Accenture Match Play history that the No. 1 overall seed has lost to No. 64. Steve Stricker lost to Ross McGowan in 2010, and Woods lost to Peter O’Malley in 2002.

“I just didn’t play very well,” Donald said. “I struggled. I gave away too many holes and made too many mistakes. You can’t do that in match play against anyone, let alone Ernie.”

Said Els: “There’s always hype when the No. 1 player is playing with the No. 64 seed. But I think Luke and I took it for what it was, you know. And I think he didn’t want to play me and I sure as hell didn’t want to play him the first round. But that’s the way it worked out. “

The other No. 1 seeds—Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy—all advanced. But No. 2 seeds Webb Simpson and Adam Scott were knocked out.

Kyle Stanley and Brandt Snedeker each won their matches and will be face each other in Thursday’s second round. The last time they were together, Snedeker won a playoff at the Farmers Insurance Open after Stanley lost a three-shot lead on the 72nd hole.

Bubba Watson and Ben Crane played a bogey-free match, with Watson beating his good friend and fellow “Golf Boy,” 3 up. David Toms had eight birdies in knocking off Rickie Fowler 1 up. Robert Karlsson had six birdies in beating fellow Swede Fredrik Jacobson 6 and 5. Lee Westwood had six birdies in a bogey-free 17 holes to beat Nicolas Colsaerts.

But the most impressive round was turned in by Keegan Bradley, who had six birdies and one eagle in a bogey-free 15 holes to beat Geoff Ogilvy 4 up. Ogilvy is a two-time Match Play winner and suffered just his second first-round loss in seven starts.

“I played about as good as I could play,” Bradley said. “I didn’t miss a fairway or a green. I saw a lot of birdies and that’s always tough to beat.”

A quick look at each first-round match:

First-round match recaps

Result	Score	Bracket
ERNIE ELS, S. Africa def. LUKE DONALD, England	5 and 4	Jones


TIGER WOODS, USA def. GONZALO FDEZ.-CASTANO, Spain	1 up	Snead


RORY McILROY, N. Ireland def. GEORGE COETZEE, S. Africa	2 up	Player


DUSTIN JOHNSON, USA def. JIM FURYK, USA	20 holes	Jones


MATTEO MANASSERO, Italy def. WEBB SIMPSON, USA	3 and 2	Snead


DAVID TOMS, USA def. RICKIE FOWLER, USA	1 up	Hogan


JASON DAY, Australia def. RAFAEL CABRERA BELLO, Spain	19 holes	Player


BUBBA WATSON, USA def. BEN CRANE, USA	3 and 2	Hogan


MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ, Spain def. SERGIO GARCIA, Spain	2 and 1	Player


NICK WATNEY, USA def. DARREN CLARKE, N. Ireland	5 and 4	Snead
Watney had an easy time of it against Clarke, who struggled off the tee in making four bogeys and one water-logged double bogey at No. 3 while winning his only hole at the eighth with a 22-foot eagle putt. Watney was 3 up through 5 holes and never looked back, closing out the reigning British Open champion5-footer for birdie at the 10th. While Watney was steady — he hit seven of 11 fairways and all but two greens — he credits his play to an attitude adjustment.”I think I started off the year with a pretty bad attitude, just very wound up and a very short fuse,” explained Watney, who credits his inner circle (wife Amber, caddie Chad Reynolds, instructor Butch Harmon, sports psychologist Morris Pickens) with the turnaround. “… They all pretty much have the same message, like you’re out there, and every shot is life and death. It’s very hard to play that way, because you’re going to hit bad shots in this game, unfortunately. So that’s been the goal this week, and so far, so good.” Watney’s next opponent: Tiger Woods

BRANDT SNEDEKER, USA def. RETIEF GOOSEN, S. Africa	21 holes	Jones


KYLE STANLEY, USA def. K.J. CHOI, Korea	2 and 1	Jones


ANDERS HANSEN, Denmark def. KYUNG-TAE KIM, Korea	5 and 3	Player


MATT KUCHAR, USA def. JONATHAN BYRD, USA	1 up	Hogan


LEE WESTWOOD, England def. NICOLAS COLSAERTS, Belgium	3 and 1	Snead


STEVE STRICKER, USA def. KEVIN NA, USA	2 and 1	Hogan


KEEGAN BRADLEY, USA def. GEOFF OGILVY, Australia	4 and 3	Player


ROBERT KARLSSON, Sweden def. FREDRIK JACOBSON, Sweden	6 and 5	Snead


JOHN SENDEN, Australia def. SIMON DYSON, England	4 and 3	Player


FRANCESCO MOLINARI, Italy def. THOMAS BJORN, Denmark	20 holes	Jones


MARK WILSON, USA def. BO VAN PELT, USA	3 and 2	Jones


LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN, S. Africa def. AARON BADDELEY, Australia	2 and 1	Hogan


MARTIN LAIRD, Scotland def. ALVARO QUIROS, Spain	1 up	Snead
Four starts, four first-round exits for the big-hitting Spaniard, who fell victim to the 10th-seeded Laird on the final hole. Quiros grabbed the early lead, but the Scot clawed back. Twice on the back nine, Laird grabbed the lead … and then immediately relinquished it with bogeys. But with the match all square going to 18, Laird pounded a perfect drive and an even better approach to 3 feet. Meanwhile, Quiros’ approach landed 38 feet away, and he would ultimately three putt. Laird, meanwhile, posted his sixth and most important birdie of the day. “I got fortunate on the last,” Laird said. “It was the perfect number for a 9-iron, 160 yards.”Laird’s next opponent: Matteo Manassero

ROBERT ROCK, England def. ADAM SCOTT, Australia	1 up	Jones


Y.E. YANG, Korea def. GRAEME McDOWELL, N. Ireland	2 and 1	Hogan
In a rematch of their third-round match from last year, the 14th-seeded Yang once again knocked off McDowell. The Korean was 1 down after suffering a bogey at the fifth. But he bounced back with consecutive birdies from 10 and 12 feet and never trailed after that. McDowell, a No. 3 seed, was just 1 down through 12 after a Yang bogey, but Yang matched McDowell’s birdies at the 13th and 15th holes. It’s the third consecutive year Yang has won his first-round match. It was a disappointing day for McDowell, who played well (13 of 17 GIR, 10 of 13 fairways, six birdies) but did not get the payoff. “I felt like I had to follow him all day long, and I did most of the day,” McDowell said, “but he didn’t put a foot wrong.”Yang’s next opponent: Hunter Mahan

RYO ISHIKAWA, Japan def. BILL HAAS, USA	1 up	Snead


PETER HANSON, Sweden def. JASON DUFNER, USA	2 and 1	Jones


PAUL LAWRIE, Scotland def. JUSTIN ROSE, England	1 up	Snead


HUNTER MAHAN, USA def. ZACH JOHNSON, USA	19 holes	Hogan


CHARL SCHWARTZEL, S. Africa def. GARY WOODLAND	4 and 2	Player


SANG-MOON BAE, Korea def. IAN POULTER, England	4 and 3	Player


MARTIN KAYMER, Germany def. GREG CHALMERS, Australia	4 and 2	Hogan

Woods survives, Donald doesn’t at Match Play (AP)

admin — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:19:39 +0000

MARANA, Ariz. (AP)—Luke Donald has become only the third No. 1 seed to
lose in the opening round of the Match Play Championship.

Ernie Els built an early lead and never let go in a 5-and-4 victory over the
top-ranked player in the world.

A year after Donald never trailed in any of the six matches he won to
capture the title, he never led against Els. He joins Tiger Woods in 2002 and
Steve Stricker in 2010 as the only top seeds to fail to get out of the opening
round.

Woods barely made it through at Dove Mountain.

He trailed Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano by one hole until winning the 15th and
16th, then holed an 8-foot par putt on the 18th hole to avoid going into extra
holes.

Golf-WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship first round results (Reuters)

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:16:37 +0000

(updates)

Feb 22 (Reuters) – Results from the first round of the WGC-Accenture
Match Play Championship at Dove Mountain’s Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Marana,
Arizona on Wednesday (U.S. unless stated)

Results:

Bobby Jones bracket
Dustin Johnson beat Jim Furyk 20th hole
Francesco Molinari (Italy) beat Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) 20th hole

Ben Hogan bracket
Steve Stricker beat Kevin Na 2&1
Yang Yong-eun (South Korea) beat Graeme McDowell (Britain) 2&1
Hunter Mahan beat Zach Johnson 19th hole

Sam Snead bracket
Ryo Ishikawa (Japan) beat Bill Haas 1up
Paul Lawrie (Britain) beat Justin Rose (Britain) 1up

Gary Player bracket
Charl Schwartzel (South Africa) beat Gary Woodland 4&2
Bae Sang-moon (South Korea) beat Ian Poulter (Britain) 4&3

- -

Matches:

Bobby Jones bracket
Luke Donald (Britain) v Ernie Els (South Africa)
Jason Dufner v Peter Hanson (Sweden)
K.J. Choi (South Korea) v Kyle Stanley
Brandt Snedeker v Retief Goosen (South Africa)
Adam Scott (Australia) v Robert Rock (Britain)
Bo Van Pelt v Mark Wilson

Gary Player bracket
Rory McIlroy (Britain) v George Coetzee (South Africa)
Kim Kyung-tae (South Korea) v Anders Hansen (Denmark)
Sergio Garcia (Spain) v Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain)
Keegan Bradley v Geoff Ogilvy (Australia)
Jason Day (Australia) v Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spain)
Simon Dyson (Britain) v John Senden (Australia)

Ben Hogan bracket
Martin Kaymer (Germany) v Greg Chalmers (Australia)
David Toms v Rickie Fowler
Matt Kuchar v Jonathan Byrd
Bubba Watson v Ben Crane
Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa) v Aaron Baddeley (Australia)

Sam Snead bracket
Lee Westwood (Britain) v Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium)
Robert Karlsson (Sweden) v Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden)
Nick Watney v Darren Clarke (Britain)
Tiger Woods v Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spain)
Webb Simpson v Matteo Manassero (Italy)
Alvaro Quiros (Spain) v Martin Laird (Britain)

- – - -

(Editing by Tom Pilcher. To comment on this story email
sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
((tom.pilcher@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 7933; Reuters Messaging:
tom.pilcher.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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Tour Report: Round 1: Updates, news, notes (PGATOUR.com)

admin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:16:34 +0000

MARANA, Ariz. – Wednesday’s first round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship has started. A total of 32 matches are scheduled for the Ritz-Carlton course at Dove Mountain. We’ll have updates all day on PGATOUR.COM and we encourage your comments throughout the day. And be sure to check out PGATOUR.COM’s LIVE@ coverage starting at 12:30 p.m. ET

FIRST-ROUND UPDATES (all times ET)

11:05 a.m. – Another ball – Gary Woodland’s, this time — found the water at the third hole. Charl Schwartzel, who chipped in for eagle to win the second hole, is now 2 up.

10:55 a.m. – Jim Furyk has taken a 3-up lead over Dustin Johnson with a par at the fourth hole. About 15 minutes earlier Johnson conceded the third hole to Furyk after putting his tee shot at the par 3 into the pond on front of the green.

10:42 a.m. – Thomas Bjorn two-putts from 19 feet at the par-5 second hole to square his match with Francesco Molinari.

10:30 a.m. – Dustin Johnson drops opening hole to Jim Furyk after three-putting from 43 feet.

10: 15 a.m. – Zach Johnson rolls in 30-foot eagle putt at par-5 second. He’s 2-up on Hunter Mahan through three holes.

9:40 a.m. – In the opening match of the day, Y.E. Yang has quickly taken the lead against Graeme McDowell, who lost the first hole with a bogey. These two met a year ago in a third-round match in which Yang beat McDowell 3 and 2. By the way, the weather is crisp, cool and cloudless – a perfect day for golf.

MARANA, Ariz. â Wednesdayâs first round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship has started. A total of 32 matches are scheduled for the Ritz-Carlton course at Dove Mountain. Weâll have updates all day on PGATOUR.COM and we encourage your comments throughout the day. And be sure to check out PGATOUR.COMâs LIVE@ coverage starting […]