Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy crash out of Accenture Match Play Championship
Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood were eliminated from the second round of the Accenture Match Play Championship on Thursday.
The Northern Irish star McIlroy and the Englishman Westwood were carrying a strong form in the tournament. They finished as runner-ups in two separate tournaments on the desert swings and are ranked in the top seven players of the world.
Despite putting up a commendable performance in the opening round of the Championship, they could not qualify for the third round.
Westwood, who is the current world number one, faced world number 30 Nick Watney in the second round. Despite lagging behind with a huge difference in points, Watney destroyed Westwood’s confidence at the start. He won 2 out of 13 holes, but took a dip on
the 14th hole when his second shot caught a greenside bunker on the right. He missed a birdie putt at the 17th but compensated for it with a superb birdie on the last.
Meanwhile, Westwood failed to put a fair fight with the American. He was already two down after thirteen holes when he bogeyed the par-3 16th and dropped another birdie putt at the 18th hole.
The disappointed Englishman spoke to the press and said, “I putted very poorly all day long. The game's in good shape, but I have just not worked hard enough on my putting and it showed.”
On the other hand, Westwood’s Ryder Cup teammate, Rory McIlroy bogeyed the opening hole which hampered his confidence. The world number seven struggled throughout the front nine while Ben Crane won all the eight holes and took an edge over McIlroy. He won
seven more holes in the back and carded the highest score in the history of Accenture Match Play Championship by posting 8 & 7.
Crane was extremely happy with his accomplishment. He said, “That was one of the best rounds I've ever played in my life. Rory had a couple of balls in the desert, but I played exceptional and the round went all my way.”
Crane would face Miguel Angel Jimenez while Watney would clash with Ryan Palmer in the third round of the Accenture Match Play Championship.
Tags: