Tiger Woods and Ian Poulter eliminated on the first day of the WGC Accenture Match Play
There were rather big upsets on the first day of the WGC Accenture Match Play at Ritz-Carlton Golf course in Arizona, as the defending champion Ian Poulter and World Number three Tiger Woods were eliminated in the first round. There was a point in time when
it Tiger looked in complete touch, but lost it at the end of the day.
Woods made a spectacular birdie putt on the par-4 18th to extend the match against Thomas Bjorn to the 19th hole. Due to pressure, Woods had a wayward tee shot on the 19th hole, as Bjorn took full advantage of this and overcame
the challenging Tiger.
He needed an 18-foot bogey putt to further extend the play on the 19th hole but was unable to show his class with the putter as his ball just missed the cup. Woods after missing the putt took off his cap and conceded the match to his opponent
and old friend Bjorn. Bjorn recently qualified for this Match Play championships after winning the European Tour event of Qatar Masters last month.
Bjorn after winning his match was overwhelmed with his crisp play throughout the day. In his interview he said, "The game of golf needs Tiger back at his best. And I've always been a great friend of his, and we've always had a good relationship. I think
that it’s more fun to go up against him when he's absolutely at his peak. And so it was things down that line."
This was yet another disappointment for Tiger, who failed to go through to the second round. He was in a state of grief after the match, as the three-time Match Play winner fought hard against his rival. This was the second time that he was out in the first
round and was a bit frustrated.
Woods in his post-match interview said, “It’s easy to put the ball in the fairway and I couldn't even do that."
As compared to Tiger, the top seeds did not disappoint the scorers at all, as they proved themselves against their opponents and went through to the second round.
The current world number one and top-seeded Lee Westwood of England played exceptionally well against Henrik Stenson, who won by a margin of 3 up with 2 holes to play. Westwood started off with a string of bogeys in his first seven holes but he bounced back
well by making couple of birdies in the next holes. Stenson who has won this championship in 2007 was also knocked out in the first round by the Englishman. Westwood proved himself after beating his opponent why he is the number one player in the world.
Much was expected from Asian number one Seung-yul Noh of Korea, who was playing in his first Match play championships. He was paired against current world number two Martin Kaymer of Germany. It was the class which Kaymer showed against the teenager, as
it was an easy win for the German who never let Noh take advantage in the match. This was the shortest match of the first round.
World number four American Phil Mickelson, who confirmed his participation in this tournament a couple of weeks ago and paired against Australian Brendan Jones. It was a rather comfortable victory for Mickelson who by an easy margin of 6up with 5 holes to
play.
Another upset of the first round was of the experienced veteran Professional Golfer’s Association Tour player Steve Stricker who was paired against the young sensation Matteo Manassero of Italy. The teenager again wrote his name in the history books by beating
Stricker and becoming the youngest professional to win in the first round. Matteo won by a margin of 2up with one hole to play.
The longest match of the first round was between Mattt Kuchar of the USA and Anders Hansen of Denmark. This match went on till the 22nd hole and both the players fought hard. Hansen gave away the match after being 2up on 17th and 18th
hole where he made two bogeys. He then lost the match after being in the lead.
The fascinating first day ended with only 32 players reaching the second round and the rest eliminated, as another record was made when eight matches were extended beyond 18 holes for the result.
These 32 players will battle it out on the second day today and will try to reach the third round on Friday. Only 16 players will make it through to the third round. Some fireworks are expected in the second round with a few youngsters like Manassero and
Rory McIlroy making it through in the second round.
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