The Irish Golf Club Gazette: WGC

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2/23/2014

McDowell Challenge Fades

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Graeme McDowell bowed out of the WGC Match Play in Arizona after Frenchman Victor Dubuisson beat him one up.

The Northern Irishman was seeking to reach the semi-finals for the first time but crucially lost the 16th hole.

In Sunday's semi-final Dubuisson will play veteran Ernie Els, who beat 20-year-old American Jordan Spieth 4&2.

Rickie Fowler lost four successive holes to Jim Furyk but recorded a 2&1 victory and he will now face Jason Day, who beat Louis Oosthuizen one up.

McDowell, who won the European Tour's Match Play tournament in Bulgaria last year, had staged remarkable recoveries in all three of his matches this week, needing to hole from 20 feet on the 20th hole to avoid defeat by Hunter Mahan on Friday, before beating the American at the 21st.

The 34-year-old world number 17 had played 58 holes to reach the quarter-final and had never stood on any tee with the lead but was two ahead after only three holes against Dubuisson, courtesy of an eagle and a birdie.

However, Dubuisson, ranked 30, picked up two birdies to level the match and then went ahead at the ninth after chipping in for another birdie.

It was all square after Dubuisson took six at the par-five 13th but McDowell went behind ahead again after three-putting the 16th.

McDowell had a birdie putt of 20 feet to take the match into extra holes but this time it drifted by on the left.

Els, 44, remains on course to become the oldest winner of the tournament, a distinction currently held by David Toms, who was 38when he triumphed in 2005.

The big South African, four times a major champion and winner of seven Match Play titles at Wentworth, had three birdies in taking a one-hole lead at the turn against an increasingly exasperated Spieth.

As Spieth imploded, Els needed only pars to win three holes on the inward nine, and said afterwards: "I wouldn't say I'm at my career best but I made some key putts."

Oosthuizen received lengthy treatment on his back from his physio before play started but carved his opening tee shot into the desert.

After attempting to hack clear from a bush, the 2010 Open championquickly conceded the hole to Day and seemed likely to fall two down after another errant drive on the second.

However, this time Oosthuizen took a penalty drop and then hit a superb third shot with a fairway wood on to the green, holing the putt from 20 feet for an unlikely winning birdie.

But Day won the next two holes, went two ahead at the turn and remained in control.

"It got better - the last four or five holes I felt I could get through the ball better," Oosthuizen said of his injury. "It's a bit painful that it always happens when I'm playing well and I need to address it big time and get it sorted.

"I felt I played really well but you can't give away holes to a guy like Jason."

Fowler, who has missed his first three cuts of the year in strokeplay events, had three birdies in winning three of the first four holes against Furyk but three successive birdies from his veteran opponent levelled the match at the 15th.

Furyk went ahead with a par at the next but then dropped a shot at the 17th.

At the last the 43-year-old former US Open champion fluffed a chip, which rolled back to his feet short of the green and Fowler progressed with a par.

Quarter-final results:

Bobby Jones Group:

J Day (Aus) bt L Oosthuizen (SA) 2&1

Ben Hogan Group:

R Fowler (US) bt J Furyk (US) 1up

Gary Player Group:

E Els (SA) bt J Spieth (US) 4&2

Sam Snead Group:

V Dubuisson (Fr) bt G McDowell (NI) 1up

Sunday's semi-final line-up

J Day (Aus) v R Fowler (US)

E Els (SA) v V Dubuisson (Fr)

2/22/2014

McDowell Makes More Magic

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Graeme McDowell came from behind once again to reach the WGC World Match Play quarter-finals with a win over Hunter Mahan after 21 holes.

The Northern Irishman fought back from two down with two holes to play before beating Mahan on the third extra hole.

He will now face France's Victor Dubuisson, who beat Bubba Watson, in the last eight.

McDowell won the last two holes against Mahan to square the match and, after saving par on the second extra hole, won it with a birdie on the third.

He came from three down with three to play to beat Gary Woodland in round one and came back from two holes behind on the 14th to win on the final green against Hideki Matsuyama.

McDowell, whose win over Mahan sealed the 2010 Ryder Cup for Europe, said: "It's entertaining but I'd rather have it easier, believe me.

"I was sure I was beaten against Gary Woodland and walking off the 16th I thought I was beaten again.

"I've just robbed three players at this tournament and I can't believe I'm still in it."

Oosthuizen powered past Webb Simpson 5&4 and he will meet Australian Day, who George Coetzee 3&1.

Els beat Jason Dufner on the final hole and Spieth beat fellow American Matt Kuchar 2&1.

After overcoming Harris English, Furyk meets Fowler, who beat Sergio Garcia on the final hole.

Garcia pulled off a surprise on the seventh hole when he conceded a 20-foot par putt to Fowler when the Spaniard, who had a four-footer for par, had a chance to move three holes ahead.

Fowler won the match with a birdie on the last but Garcia, who felt he had held play up as he waited for a drop on the sixth, insisted he was not sorry for halving the seventh.

"I don't regret it at all. He played better on the last 10 holes and deserved it. It's a gentleman's game and lately it hasn't felt like that.

"This is the way I was brought up playing golf by my dad. It was the only thing I could do to make myself feel better [after the sixth]."

Bobby Jones Group:

L Oosthuizen (SA) bt W Simpson (US) 5&4

J Day (Aus) bt G Coetzee (SA) 3&1

Ben Hogan Group:

J Furyk (US) bt H English (US) 1up

R Fowler (US) bt S Garcia (Sp) 1up

Gary Player Group:

E Els (SA) bt J Dufner (US) 1up

J Spieth (US) bt M Kuchar (US) 2&1

Sam Snead Group:

G McDowell (NI) bt H Mahan (US) 1up (21 holes)

V Dubuisson (Fr) bt B Watson (US) 1up

Quarter Finals
Louis Oosthuizen v Jason Day
Rickie Fowler v Jim Furyk
Ernie Els v Jordan Spieth
Graeme McDowell v Victor Dubuisson

2/21/2014

GMAC Runs the Gauntlet Again

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Graeme McDowell was a relieved man to reach the third round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Arizona.

McDowell, who had rallied from four down to beat Gary Woodland in the first round, was forced to show his fighting qualities once again against Hideki Matsuyama.

The Northern Irishman was two down after 14 holes but he hit back to finish one-up after a parred the 18th at Dove Mountain.

"Why do it the easy way when the hard way will do?" McDowell said.

"I just got off to a slow start again, probably less so today. Hideki opened up three-three, so I was two down walking off the second green.

"I was quite proud of myself when I got a half on three, so I was only two down after three, as opposed to three down. But I made a bad swing on six, hit it in the right bunker there."

Having been three down after six holes, McDowell registered five birdies over the remaining 12 holes - with two crucially coming at the 15th and 17th.

"I played really clean golf," McDowell said. "I tried to go out there today and execute my game plan and try not to give him any room, try not to make any mistakes.

Massive putt

"And he kind of played the same kind of golf back. He played very, very well. I made big putts on 15 and 16, especially on 16, that was a massive putt to give me the opportunity.

"I feel very fortunate again today. I've certainly expended all my energy and emotions the last couple of days. But thankfully it's early in the season and I've plenty left in the tank."

McDowell's reward is a mouth-watering clash with Hunter Mahan - with 34-year-old having beaten the American in the decisive singles match to clinch the 2010 Ryder Cup for Europe.

"There's a decent chance he might be out for a shade of revenge tomorrow, who knows?" added McDowell. "It's been a long time, a lot of water under the bridge since 2010.

"He's a quality player. He's got a great record around this golf course and he's going to be a tough nut to crack.

"But I certainly feel I've had a pretty good workout the last couple of days, and I should be in good shape going into tomorrow."

Full English for McIlroy

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Rory McIlroy went out of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship after being taken to a 19th hole by American Harris English.

The world number seven appeared to have victory in his second-round match at Dove Mountain within his grasp as he hit form on the back nine.

The Northern Irishman won four out of five holes to lead by one after 16 but English, impressive winner over Lee Westwood in round one, replied to take the contest to sudden death.

It was at the first extra hole that McIlroy's touch deserted him as he failed to recover from a poor tee shot.

He went wide to the left and could then only pitch into desert rough between a bush and a tree. From there he overshot the green and there was no way back.

It was a disappointing end to a high-quality contest in which few other holes had been settled by mistakes.

McIlroy might have rued a missed putt at the ninth that would have put him ahead when English struck out by taking the 10th and 11th.

But McIlroy, whose iron play had been outstanding, found his touch on the greens to win the 12th, 14th, 15th and 16th, all with birdies, and edge ahead for the first time.

Justin Rose also saw his bid end at an extra hole, with the reigning US Open champion beaten by veteran Ernie Els on the 20th.

There had been little between the two players throughout. However Rose's undoing came as he failed to get his third shot to the par-five hole out of a bunker while Els chipped superbly from just wide of the same sand to set up a birdie.

Top seed Henrik Stenson also fell by the wayside when he went down 4&3 to Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa.

McIlroy's fellow Ulsterman Graeme McDowell had better fortune though as he produced a stirring comeback for a second day in succession to beat Hideki Matsuyama on the 18th.

McDowell was four down after seven holes of his first round against Gary Woodland and a similar scenario unfolded as Matsuyama won three of their first six.

Yet McDowell had not been playing badly and he was certainly out of luck as Matsuyama chipped in from the rough at the second.

The 2010 US Open winner maintained a steady course and birdies at the eighth and ninth set up a tight back nine.

Matsuyama eventually cracked when he missed a short putt at the 17th to allow McDowell back level and the Japanese player compounded that error by putting his tee shot at the last into a bunker.

McDowell parred the hole to complete another fine fightback.

Sergio Garcia overcame American Bill Haas 3&1 having been two down after seven, but was back to all square after 11. He then won four of the next six holes to take victory on the 17th.

Garcia will next play Rickie Fowler, who won a high-quality match with this season's form player Jimmy Walker one up.

The pair traded holes throughout but Fowler edged ahead by taking the 14th, 16th and 17th.

French Ryder Cup hopeful Victor Dubuisson saw an early three-hole lead wiped out but recovered his poise to beat Peter Hanson 3&1.

American Jordan Spieth, the 2013 PGA Tour rookie of the year, was always in command against Denmark's Thomas Bjorn before wrapping up a comfortable 5&4 victory.

Also in the Gary Player group Matt Kuchar beat Ryan Moore on the 18th.

Bubba Watson, who led by three after just four holes, survived a late wobble before seeing off Jonas Blixt two up.

Blixt threatened to make life difficult by winning the 12th and 14th, but short missed putts at the 15th and 16th and a penalty drop on the last ended his hopes.

Tale of Two Matchplay MAC's

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Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy enjoyed different results chasing places in the round of 16 at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on Thursday.

Jordan Spieth made it look like child's play. Graeme McDowell aged another 10 years with another stunning escape. And it proved too difficult for No. 1 seeds Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy, two of whom lost in extra holes on another wild day at Dove Mountain.

"I thought I was dead and buried both days," McDowell said.

“I was hoping to not expend as much emotion but that didn’t happen,” said McDowell.

“It was another emotional day but I guess I am just happy to still be standing.”

One day after he rallied from 3 down with three holes to play to win in overtime, McDowell was two holes behind on the 15th tee when he made an 8-foot birdie, halved the next hole with a 10-foot par, won the 17th with a birdie and then holed a 6-foot par putt on the 18th for a 1-up win over Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.

In two matches, McDowell has stood on the tee with his match all square only four times -- and two of those were at the start of the match.

Jason Day already has played 40 holes in two rounds. He won a tough match against Thorbjorn Olesen in the opening round, then rallied from 3 down early in his match against Billy Horschel and beat him 22 holes.

"Doesn't matter how you get it done," Day said. "Find a way to win."

The top seeds lost their way.

Stenson, the reigning FedExCup champion and No. 1 overall seed, fell behind early against Louis Oosthuizen and never caught up in a 4-and-3 loss. It was the sixth straight year, dating to Tiger Woods winning the Accenture Match Play Championship in 2008, that the top seed failed to make it out of the second round.

Rose (No. 2) and McIlroy (No. 4) followed him.

In one of the best matches of the day, Ernie Els poured in one clutch putt after another to stay in the match, and then beat the reigning U.S. Open champion. Els got up-and-down on the 18th hole by making a 6-foot par putt. Els and Rose both made 10-foot birdie putts on the 19th hole, and then Els finally got a break to go his way in a format that has haunted him over the years.

His approach settled on the slope of the bunker's collar, and while the shot didn't go as planned, it was close to perfect.

"It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime shots, really," Els said. "I caught it a smidgen thin, and it just came out perfectly. It hit the bank and just trickled over to about 4 feet. It was an impossible shot, but it was obviously the right one at the time."

Rose left his shot in the bunker.

McIlroy had his hands full against English, who has two PGA TOUR wins in the last nine months. Boy Wonder managed a strong comeback, however, winning three straight holes for a 1-up lead with two to play. English responded with a 20-foot birdie putt to square the match, and off they went to overtime.

McIlroy went from the left rough to the desert on the 19th hole, and his only hope was to play an explosion shot that came off perfectly. It didn't, sailing over the green by the television tower. He made double bogey and was headed home to Florida, though hardly depressed.

"He played really solid today and didn't really do much wrong, didn't really give me anything," McIlroy said. "I don't feel in any way disappointed leaving so early because I feel like my game is there. I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks."

Sergio Garcia at No. 5 is now the top seed remaining after his 3-and-1 victory over Bill Haas. Next up for Garcia is Rickie Fowler, who is finding this format to his liking. Coming off three straight missed cuts, Fowler outlasted one of golf's hottest players, Jimmy Walker, in 18 holes.

Kuchar had a 1-up victory over Ryan Moore in a match so close that 15 of the 18 holes were halved. Kuchar, the defending champion and a former U.S. Amateur winner, improved to 17-3 in this tournament. Hunter Mahan didn't take his first lead until the 17th hole in a 2-up win over Richard Sterne of South Africa.

Kuchar and Mahan are the only players to reach the third round in each of the last four years.

Next up for Kuchar is Spieth, who has been a factor in four of the five tournaments he has played this year. Mahan faces McDowell, which prompted one British writer to jokingly ask McDowell if they had ever played each other.

McDowell beat Mahan in the final match of the Ryder Cup four years ago in Wales, making a 15-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole.

2/20/2014

GMAC Just Beats Neighbour

Graeme McDowell pulled off the biggest surprise Wednesday in an opening round of comebacks in the World Golf Championship-Accenture Match Play Championship.

"The Cadillacs were circling," he said. They must have looked like buzzards.

McDowell was 4 down through seven holes and still three holes behind with three to play when he staged an improbable rally against Florida neighbour Gary Woodland. McDowell seized on Woodland's mistakes to win the next three holes, and then put him away with a 6-foot birdie putt on the 19th hole.

"I'm sure he's extremely disappointed right now -- and I'm extremely elated," McDowell said. "I'm surprised to be sitting here, having won. Yeah, I hit a couple of quality shots down the last couple of holes, but he had mistakes, as well. It's a brutal format."

It's certainly brutal for 32 players that were headed home, a list that included Zach Johnson (3), Dustin Johnson (6) and Steve Stricker (9) among the top 10 seeds.

Eleven of the 32 matches went at least 18 holes, with five of them decided in overtime.

PGA champion Jason Dufner also rallied with some help. He was three down with five holes to play when Scott Stallings chopped up two holes, Dufner made a key birdie, and Dufner won on the first extra hole with a par.

Eight players trailed with six holes remaining and went on to win. That included Henrik Stenson, who avoided becoming the third straight No. 1 seed to lose in the opening round of golf's most unpredictable tournament.

Stenson, awarded the top seed because Tiger Woods and Masters champion Adam Scott chose not to play, trailed Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand with five holes to play. The big Thai struggled with his putter, however, missing a 4-footer for par on the 14th to lose the hole, and an 8-footer for birdie on the 15th that would have given him the lead. Stenson made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 16th, and won the match when Aphibarnrat failed to match his birdie on the 17th by missing from 5 feet.

"I'm still in shock," Stenson said. "It was a tough match."

Second-seeded Justin Rose held off Scott Piercy, and No. 4 seed Rory McIlroy had little trouble against Boo Weekley to advance to the round of 32 on Thursday.

Richard Sterne of South Africa had no trouble against Zach Johnson in a 5-and-4 victory. It was the fourth straight year the American lost in the first round. Dustin Johnson fell behind early to Peter Hanson and never caught up in losing, 4 and 3. Dustin Johnson now has lost in the opening round five times in six appearances.

Stricker, who only decided to come to Match Play after his brother had liver transplant surgery over the weekend, lost to George Coetzee of South Africa.

The day was filled with blowouts and overtime.

Sergio Garcia missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to beat Marc Leishman. They wound up playing the longest match of the opening round, which Garcia won in 22 holes with a 6-foot birdie on No. 4.

Brandt Snedeker never led in his match against David Lynn of England. He halved the match with a par on the 17th hole, and then won in 20 holes when Lynn failed to birdie the easy par-5 second hole.

Harris English beat Lee Westwood in 15 holes, while Matteo Manassero sent Luke Donald home after only 14 holes.

Rickie Fowler, coming off three straight missed cuts, caught Ian Poulter on a bad day and sent the Ryder Cup star packing with a 2-and-1 victory. "It feels like a big win after those missed cuts," Fowler said. "It was nice to be the underdog. I had nothing to lose."

Jordan Spieth made back-to-back birdies and then put away Pablo Larrazabal on the 18th hole when both drove into the same bunker. Larrazabal's shot went 5 yards further and was blocked by the lip. "That could easily have been me," Spieth said.

Bubba Watson was giving holes away early before winning three straight holes on the back nine in a 2-and-1 win over Mikko Ilonen of Finland.

Still, no match epitomized the wild nature of this format than McDowell's win over Woodland.

They live down the street from each other at Lake Nona. They practiced together last week. They flew out to Arizona together. And they had to play each other in the first round on a course where Woodland figured to have a big advantage with his length. McDowell played a practice round with Brooks Koepka, the first alternate, to get used to being outdriven by some 50 yards.

His worst fears were realized. Woodland already was 4 up through seven holes. McDowell pecked away at the lead, but still thought he had blown it when Woodland made his 8-foot birdie on the 15th hole, and McDowell missed from 6 feet.

"I thought it was over," McDowell said. "You're not coming back from 3 down against a guy that's playing as well as him. Yeah, I'm still going to try to hit my shots. But it required a mistake from him to give me half a sniff, even."

Woodland obliged. His shot on the par-3 16th sailed over the green, and it took two chips to get on the putting surface. Woodland had wedge into the 17th and pulled it well to the left. McDowell made a 12-foot birdie, and then squared the match when Woodland went from the left bunker to the right bunker on the 18th and conceded the hole.

One birdie later, it was over.

"It feels like a Sunday afternoon on Wednesday," McDowell said.

2/19/2014

Rory to Attack Dove Mountain

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Rory McIlroy is preparing to attack right from the word go when he begins his WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship campaign against Boo Weekley in the first round on Wednesday.

The Northern Irishman has declared that he is hitting the ball better than he has for a long time, and he is hoping to go one better at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain than two years ago, when he lost to Hunter Mahan in the final.

“You have to get off to a fast start,” said the 24 year old. “You have to be ready to go from the get go. If it’s a 72 hole stroke play event, the first six holes to nine holes you can just try to play your way into the round and there's a long way to go.

“But in 18 hole match play, you have to attack from the very start and be aggressive. Obviously you have to choose the right time to be aggressive, but you have to try to make as many birdies as you can.”

After near-misses in the Middle East last month – a tied runner-up finish in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and tied ninth in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic – the two-time Major Champion has many reasons to fancy his chances in Arizona.

Comparing his form now to 12 months ago, when he was struggling with new clubs and lost in the first round to Shane Lowry, McIlroy said: “My game is much more settled. Everything is in a good place. The game is in great shape and I haven't hit the ball as well for a long time.

“I was a little disappointed with how I putted at the weekend in Dubai, so I’ve spent a couple of days with Dave Stockton here. We’ve tried to keep it as simple as possible and it feels really good.

“It was a good start to the season and I guess I've just tried to continue that over the last couple of weeks and practised hard. This is such a different format from what we’re used to, and it’s nice to have a change. I’m really looking forward to it and hopefully I can get past Boo tomorrow.”

McIlroy’s distance will be an advantage at Dove Mountain, particularly on the driveable par four 15th, but he warned that a razor sharp short game is required to succeed.

“The greens are a little firmer, so you’re going to have to chip the ball really well,” he said. “You’re going to have shots that bounce through the green. There’ll be times when you feel like you’ve hit a good shot but it might not be on the putting surface. So a good chipper will have an advantage this week.

2/23/2014

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