Mark Wilson finally succumbs to Hunter Mahan in semi-final of WGC Accenture Match Play Championship
Rampaging Mark Wilson, winner of the season-opener Humana Challenge on PGA, was finally shown the door by the ultimate winner of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, Hunter Mahan in the Semi-final on Sunday.
Wilson had done well to stay in contention in the tough Knock-out format and managed to survive the giants in the 64-man field over the weekend.
Having already won a title earlier in the year, Wilson was hoping to continue with his trailblazing golf for the rest of the season, but Mahan had other plans up his sleeves.
Wilson stumbled on the par-four, 14th where he missed the birdie putt from the green-side bunker.
A birdie on the 14th could have taken the blistering golfer right into the final round, something which never happened.
Wilson later disclosed, "I decided I couldn't get it over the lip. I decided to play it safe there and couldn't get it over the ravine. Yeah, I kind of had him 3-down there and I let him back in with my play on 14 and 15".
He continued, "But thankfully I came through with three pars at the end, and he didn't make any birdies on top of me. Lee Westwood is obviously a great player and top ranked player in the world, so it's pretty cool to beat him".
A veteran on the PGA Tour, Wilson carded his best overall performance in 2011 when he landed the coveted Waste Management Phoenix Open and the Sony Open in Hawaii titles to surge in top-64 on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR).
He took over the weathered Dustin Johnson to proceed to the semi-finals in the event.
Mahan had an early advantage on Wilson, when he pulled in two consecutive holes on the opening front.
He then stumbled on a bogey on the next but came back with another birdie on the fourth to consolidate his lead.
Wilson backed just one hole on the front nine but was never able to grab lead in the remaining back nine. Mahan landed the round with 2 & 1 to proceed to the final round on the afternoon.
Mahan said, "It's a great feeling, it’s a long, brutal week. I'm very proud of myself".
Wilson, although dejected, considers his performance as a morale boaster and revealed that he will be featuring in next week’s PGA National.
He will be without his caddie Crispy on his bag and is currently looking for one for the moment.
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