|
|
|
|
WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
| David topples another Goliath in match-play format  PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents MARANA, Ariz. -- Shaun Micheel began the week with four putters in his golf bag. "Poor Tony was carrying around an extra three or four pounds," Micheel said with a wry grin. Luckily for his caddy -- and himself -- Micheel found a putter that worked on Tuesday and put it into play during the first round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship.  Shaun Micheel continued his match-play success with a win over Adam Scott on Wednesday. (Action Images/WireImage)
The result was the day's biggest upset as Micheel, ranked No. 63 in the world, defeated No. 4 Adam Scott, who was top-seeded in the Sam Snead bracket, with a clutch par on the 21st hole. Micheel's victory was one of just two major unravelings on an opening day that otherwise went essentially according to form. A total of 13 of the top-16 seeded players won their matches on this spectacular sun-kissed day in the high desert. The other two victims were No. 2 Ernie Els, beaten 4 and 2 by Welshman Bradley Dredge, who was playing in his first Accenture Match Play Championship, and No. 4 Davis Love III, a finalist a year ago, who was beaten 3 and 1 by Ben Crane. "I drove the ball well but I putted extremely well today," said Micheel, who nearly won in regulation only to see his 22-footer for birdie and a 2-up victory slide just left of the hole. Scott then rammed his own putt home to extend the match. "I made all the putts that you have to make. You know, I made a 15 footer on one hole for par to tie the hole, and I made a great putt on the 21st hole to win the match: A downhill slider, six footer." An extended session on the practice green before his match Wednesday gave Micheel the confidence he needed. And the 2003 PGA champion needed to find some in the worst way. "You're talking to somebody that used three putters all of last year, and I think that I had more putters in my bag on Monday than I used last year," Micheel explained. "It's not a good feeling. I don't enjoy that." Micheel says he doesn't like going to the equipment trailer except to get his grips changed or have his lofts and lies checked. Yet, he had a new set of clubs made several days ago -- and that may have been the wake-up call Micheel needed. "I got back to my hotel, and I thought, What are you doing? What am I doing? It's the second month of the year and I'm having new clubs made," he said. "It ultimately comes down to the Indian, not the arrow, and the sooner I figure that out, the better off I'll be." Micheel may have entered the week as the 16th seed, but he had some match play success to fall back on. He is the man who beat Tiger Woods in the first round of the HSBC World Match Play the week before the Ryder Cup last year, after all. Micheel went on to reach the finals of that tournament before falling to Paul Casey -- beating Luke Donald and Robert Karlsson along the way. "The whole week really in London was pretty special," Micheel recalled. "Beating Tiger, certainly I carried a lot of momentum with me going into that round against Luke and then Robert Karlsson.
"Then on Sunday I just was really worn out. I think Paul probably was, as well, but he was really on top of his game, and it showed. But I enjoy match play. We don't get a chance to play it very often." And Micheel, who made five birdies and a lone bogey in Wednesday's well-played match, knows he came close to missing out on this opportunity. The field of 64 is based on the Official World Golf Ranking as of the Monday after the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Micheel started that week at No. 63 but was home in Memphis to be at the birth of his second child, a daughter named Marin. "But in the end it worked out, and I'm excited to be a part of this," Micheel said. "These events are very special for all of us to play in, so you can't help but feel good about yourself about even getting an opportunity to play." He doesn't even mind being the underdog. And depending on the outcome of his match Thursday with Rod Pampling, Micheel could be headed for a third-round date with Casey, who plays Colin Montgomerie in his second round match. "Sometimes ... I think, it's easier to play as an underdog," Micheel said. "I don't mind it. That's just the way it is. I really admire the guys who are able to handle that pressure week in and week out. I mean, look at Jim Furyk and Vijay, and of course Tiger, dealing with all the stuff that he deals with on a daily basis. "You know, it's a lot easier on me mentally, I think, to know that if I don't win it's okay, because I wasn't expected to anyway. But at some point, I would like to get up there at the top and feel what it feels like to have that, and that's why we're out here working." |
Headlines |
