The Live Report, Round 3: Accenture Match Play
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
MORE ON THE BIG EASY (6:30 p.m.): That tie for 51st last week at the Northern Trust Open admittedly wasn't up to Ernie Els' usual standards. He feels the competition, though, has helped him reverse his fortunes at the Accenture Match Play Championship.
Els had lost in the first round each of the last four years and Friday's 2 up win over Luke Donald represented just his second foray into the third round in nine appearances. Yet he's won the European Tour's match play event at Wentworth, England, where he makes his home, seven times.
So what's the difference?
"I think I've got a good game here this week," Els said. "My previous years for some reason I came here first week from a bit of a break. I either flew from South Africa or flew from somewhere in the world, so it's a long flight.
"Normally I don't have too much game yet. So ... last week ... I didn't score very well, I didn't finish very well, but I felt like I got a lot out of the week in my game. I started really hitting the ball sweetly. So I felt comfortable with my ball striking and then obviously started working on the putter.
"So I've had a week on this putter, so just a bit more comfortable. And finally maybe I got a golf course that I can play."
The last one, Els said, was the Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia. Els lost to Pierre Fulke in the semifinals of that Accenture Match Play Championship and then dropped his consolation to finish fourth. -- Helen Ross
THIRD ROUND COMPLETE (5:56 p.m.): The third round of the Accenture Match Play Championship is now complete with Paul Casey beating Peter Hanson 4 and 2 and Sean O'Hair rallying to beat Ian Poulter 2 and 1 in the day's final match.
O'Hair, down 2 early against Poulter, made five birdies over his final 12 holes to erase the deficit. With each player making par on the 17th, the match was closed out.
Looking ahead, second-seeded Geoff Ogilvy will take on No. 4 seed Rory McIlroy in the Bobby Jones bracket tomorrow morning, while the Ben Hogan bracket's No. 4 seed, Ernie Els, will play sixth-seeded Stewart Cink. On the other side, in the Gary Player bracket, sixth-seeded Paul Casey will take on No. 12 seed Sean O'Hair, the lowest seed still left in the tournament. Meanwhile, No. 7 seed Justin Leonard will take on ninth-seeded Ross Fisher in the Sam Snead bracket. -- Brian Wacker
ELS ON DONALD'S INJURY (5:51 p.m.): Ernie Els was obviously pleased to have won his match with Luke Donald. He's just sorry that the talented Englishman had to retire and concede the match on the 18th tee after tweaking his left wrist.
Donald had season-ending surgery on the same wrist last August. He injured it during the final round of the PGA Championship and had to withdraw.
"First of all, I got to just say that hopefully Luke hasn't hurt his wrist too badly," Els said. "He's a great player as we know, and he's just coming into his own now with his career and stuff. He's playing really great golf. So hopefully he's going to be okay.
"I really think that he did the right thing. The situation, okay, he was 1 down; healthy, he's got a big chance obviously the way he's been playing to maybe win the hole. But the shot he hit out of the 17th bunker; it wasn't the normal shot that he plays. He kind of thinned the shot out there and kind of ended up there over the green. So he obviously couldn't swing the club properly." -- Helen Ross
MORE MATCHES COMPLETE (5:45 p.m.): Oliver Wilson's run is now over, thanks to Justin Leonard. In a match that was all square most of the day with neither player able to forge more than a 1 up lead, Leonard outlasted the Englishman in 19 holes.
Playing the par-4 first hole, both players hit nearly identical drives down the right side of the fairway before Leonard two-putted for par. Wilson, whose approach landed on the back fringe, was unable to save par. -- Brian Wacker
CAMILO GOING HOME (5:39 p.m.): After hitting his tee shot left of left on No. 17, Camilo Villegas found the desert sand again on his second shot. As a result, he made bogey on the hole and just lost to Geoff Ogilvy, 2 and 1.
Ogilvy, a past champion in this event, now moves on to the round of eight, where he'll face teen phenom Rory McIlroy. -- Brian Wacker
REMAINING MATCHES (5:35 p.m.): There are still three matches on the course, but all of them could end momentarily with Paul Casey leading Peter Hanson 4 up through 14, Sean O'Hair 3 up on Ian Poulter through 15 and Geoff Ogilvy 2 up with two to play. -- Brian Wacker
DONALD ON HIS INJURY (5:18 p.m.): When Luke Donald hit his tee shot on the 17th hole in his match against Ernie Els, he felt a little twinge in his surgically repaired left wrist. His next shot, out of the bunker, didn't feel that good either.
So instead of risking further injury, Donald -- after taking a couple of practice swings -- opted to withdraw before hitting a shot at the 18th, thus conceding the hole to Els, who won the match 2 up.
"I wanted to play it safe," said Donald, who had surgery on his left wrist last summer.
Els said he noticed Donald was having problems on his bunker shot on the 17th.
"It wasn't the normal shot that he plays," Els said. "He kind of thinned the shot out there ... He obviously couldn't swing the club properly. So he couldn't play the 18th hole properly, so that was that."
Donald said he hadn't experienced any problems with the wrist up to this point, and his play on the PGA TOUR coming into this event certainly reflected that. Donald has finished top 25 or better in his first four starts, and has top 10 finishes in his last two starts, the Buick Invitational and Northern Trust Open.
"It felt 100 percent healthy," Donald said. "No problems."
Donald said he would probably travel to New York tonight to get his wrist checked.
"I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope it's just a minor little strain," Donald said. -- Mike McAllister
CINK FINISHES OFF MICKELSON (5:10 p.m.): On the 18th, Phil Mickelson drove it into nearly the same spot Stewart Cink did, short of the fairway bunker. Lefty yelled for the shot to get left, but it didn't.
Mickelson's approach found the left side nearly pin high and around 20 feet away. Cink hit his long, however, and he had a long putt from the top shelf.
Cink hit a great putt, though, and Mickelson conceded the tap in. Trying to extend the match, Mickelson missed it on the low side, ending his run in a 1 up loss.
Cink will now face Ernie Els in the quarterfinals. -- Brian Wacker
McILROY ADVANCES (4:59 p.m.): Northern Ireland teenager Rory McIlory continued his impressive play at the Accenture Match Play Championship, downing Tiger-beater Tim Clark 4 and 3 to reach the quarterfinals.
McIlroy was virtually flawless on Friday, with five birdies and no bogeys in the 15 holes of the match. He was 4 up through six and never allowed Clark to make any kind of a rally.
In his last 23 holes at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, McIlroy is a bogey-free 9 under. -- Mike McAllister
CINK NOW 1 UP (4:56 p.m.): Phil Mickelson hit his tee shot on the 17th into the right fairway bunker, while Stewart Cink found the fairway on the left. Neither player, however, was able to find the green and its tough front left pin position.
From the waste bunker right of the green, Mickelson inexplicably thinned the shot and flew it over the green and through the handicapped seating area. Naturally, Mickelson hit one of his incredible flop shots to 5 feet.
Cink, meanwhile, failed to get up and down from the bunker. However, Mickelson missed his putt and as a result, Cink took a 1 up lead to 18. -- Brian Wacker
MICKELSON SQUARES MATCH (4:45 p.m.): A sneeze from the gallery caused Stewart Cnk to back off his tee shot on the 16th tee, while some shutterbugs during his swing caused Phil Mickelson's caddie to speak to them about clicking during the shot.
Cink's shot came up short and left. Mickelson yelled for his shot to cut and it did, leaving him a 20-foot birdie attempt.
After Cink failed to get up and down from the rough -- he left his pitch well short -- Mickelson had two putts to even the match and he did with a par. -- Brian Wacker
FISHER THROTTLES FURYK (4:39 p.m.): Playing in his first Accenture Match Play Championship, Englishman Ross Fisher has advanced to the quarters by downing Jim Furyk 4 and 3.
Other than a bogey at the fifth hole, Fisher was spectacular, posting seven birdies in his 15 holes played. A birdie at the 12th put him 3 up. Furyk fought back, winning the 13th hole with a birdie, but Fisher answered with birdies at the par-4 14th and 15th holes. -- Mike McAllister
ELS FIRST TO REACH QUARTERS (4:32 p.m.): Ernie Els has defeated Luke Donald 2 up to claim one of the eight spots in the quarterfinals.
Els was 2 up after an eagle at the 13th but saw his lead cut in half with a bogey at the next hole. But after the 17th hole, Donald decided that he could no longer continue due to a wrist problem, and he conceded the 18th hole to Els without hitting a shot.
Donald had surgery on his left wrist last summer but looked to be in competitive form, having finished top 25 or better in each of his first four starts on the PGA TOUR this year.
For Els, this is the first time since 2001 that he has reached the quarterfinals. -- Mike McAllister
| Ernier Els results at the Accenture Match Play | ||||||||
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CINK NOW 1 UP (4:27 p.m.): On the driveable par-4 15th, Phil Mickelson went for the green and missed left, landing in some desert scrub. Stewart Cink, meanwhile, chased his drive right up the throat of the green.
With his ball under a bush, Mickelson wasn't able to get it to the green, leaving it in the rough. and it looks like the landscapers have a bush to replace, too, after what mickelson's attempt did to the brittle bush. Cink cozied his eagle putt up to the hole and Mickelson conceded it, putting Cink 1 up with three to play. -- Brian Wacker
CINK, MICKELSON HALVE THE 14TH (4:15 p.m.): After Stewart Cink found the left trap off the tee on no. 14 and Phil Mickelson landed in the first cut on the right, Mickelson hit it to about 20 feet, while Cink hit his approach almost over the top of the flag, but about 35 feet away.
The crowds following this group haven't shrunk, despite another hot day. There are also plenty of Cink fans with chants of "Come on Stew" and "Stewey."
Both two-putted for another halve, with Cink draining a six-footer to save par. -- Brian Wacker
CAMILO ON UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY (4:13 p.m.): Looks like Camilo Villegas will play some of the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club that he's only seen in practice rounds this week.
The 27-year-old Colombian won the first hole in his match with Geoff Ogilvy on Friday but he finds himself 3 down at the turn. Ogilvy birdied the third and fourth holes to go 1 up, won No. 6 with a par and then took the par-5 eighth with a birdie.
Villegas had not gone past the 14th hole in his first two matches with Rod Pampling and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Ogilvy is a formidable opponent, though, with a 12-2 record and the 2006 Accenture Match Play Championship title. -- Helen Ross
| A Sip of Maginnes | |
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CINK MISSES CHANCE TO TAKE LEAD (3:58 p.m.): There was an exchange by Phil Mickelson and his caddie as to whether to hit 3-wood off the tee on No. 13 because Mickelson could reach the fairway bunker on the left, but he missed it.
Mickelson tried to chase a long second shot on, but Stewart Cink got a roar when his second, after using driver off the tee, landed to within 15 feet. Meanwhile, Mickelson's flop from the rough released to about 8 feet.
Cink's eagle attempt, however, lipped out, while Mickelson made his birdie to halve the hole. Mickelson gave a fist pump then moved on as the match remains all squared. -- Brian Wacker
MICKELSON, CINK ALL SQUARE: On the downhill par-3 12th, Phil Mickelson came up short again as his ball hit the front of the green and rolled back. He may have again misjudged the wind, which was quartering into the players. Stewart Cink hit an identical shot and likewise was short.
They haven't been the only ones to come up short on this tricky hole. As they made their way to their balls, Cink and Mickelson discussed the tricky wind.
Mickelson chipped up tight and Cink conceded the par before hitting it to about six feet. Forced to make it for the halve, Cink slid it just by. Miickelson is now all square with Cink. -- Brian Wacker
ELS REBOUNDS (3:37 p.m.): After a bogey at the par-3 12th dropped his lead to 1 up, Ernie Els bounced back with an eagle at the par-5 13th to regain his 2 up advantage over Luke Donald in the opening match of the day.
For Els, that's his first eagle of the week. But he's been a birdie machine at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club -- he currently leads all players with 15 birdies this week. -- Mike McAllister
CINK IN THE DESERT (3:30 p.m.): Phil Mickelson's caddie, Jim "Bones" Mackay, just lightened his load on the 11th tee by emptying out a few sleeves of balls and giving them to one of the standard bearers in the group.
As for Stewart Cink, his tee shot found the desert when he missed the fairway to the left. After studying the lie, Cink decided to pitch out, except he didn't make it to the fairway. Mickelson, on the other hand, bombed his drive to the end of the fairway before hitting his second short and left of the green, leaving him a short piitch.
Cink found the desert again on his approach and was forced to take an unplayable. After failing to hole out from off the green, Cink conceded the hole once Mickelson hit it to tap-in distance. Cink is now 1 up. -- Brian Wacker
CASEY UP QUICKLY (3:26 p.m.): England's Paul Casey has jumped out to a 3 up lead over Sweden's Peter Hanson, with the match now on the sixth hole. Hanson bogeyed the first, then Casey carded birdies at the second and fourth holes.
Casey has a following here in the desert; he went to Arizona State and still has a residence in Scottsdale. After failing to win a match in his first four starts at the Accenture Match Play Championship, he reached the quarterfinals in 2007 and the Round of 16 last year. -- Mike McAllister
TIGHTEST MATCH RIGHT NOW (3:21 p. m.): That would be the Justin Leonard-Oliver Wilson match, which is all square through the first eight holes. Neither player has been able to take the lead -- both birdied the second hole and bogeyed the fifth. -- Mike McAllister
MICKELSON'S APPROACH SHORT (3:15 p.m.): After outdriving Stewart Cink by about 40 yards on No. 10, Phil Mickelson inexplicably left his approach short of the green.
Mickelson said to caddie "Bones" Mackay that he didn't feel the wind, but there clearly was a lot of it, pulling Mickelson's ball down. No harm was done, however, as Mickelson got up and down with both players making par. -- Brian Wacker
UPSETS BREWING (3:10 p.m.): With Ross Fisher now 3 up on Jim Furyk and Stewart Cink 2 up on Phil Mickelson, there are at least a couple of potential upsets (according to the Official World Golf Rankings) on the horizon Friday.
Despite seeing two No. 1 seeds (Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh) knocked out in the second round, there were just five upsets on Thursday, the fewest ever in the second round of this event. -- Mike McAllister
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CINK NOW TWO UP (2:54 p.m.): Stewart Cink just drilled a 16-foot birdie putt at the ninth hole and now leads Phil Mickelson 2 up. It's Cink's fourth birdie on the front nine.
We're sending our Brian Wacker out to follow the Cink-Mickelson match the rest of the way. -- Mike McAllister
MAKING THE TURN (2:40 p.m.): The first match of the day has just hit the back nine with Ernie Els leading Luke Donald 3 up. Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, has cut Stewart Cink's once 3 up lead to just 1 up as the two play the ninth hole. Mickelson parred No. 7, while Cink made bogey, and birdied No. 8. Through seven holes, Ross Fisher leads Jim Furyk 3 up. -- Brian Wacker
ALL MATCHES UNDER WAY (2:18 p.m.): All eight of today's matches are now on the course after Peter Hanson and Paul Casey just teed off a few minutes ago.
Rory McIlroy, the Irish teenager who won in Dubai earlier this season, is 2 up on Tiger-slayer Tim Clark after just three holes. Clark bogeyed the opening hole to fall one down, then McIlroy made a birdie on No. 2.
Ross Fisher, meanwhile, leads Jim Furyk 2 up through five holes after Furyk posted a couple of early bogeys. -- Brian Wacker
HOW MANY WILL CAMILO PLAY? (2:01 p.m.): Camilo Villegas, who has yet to play more than 14 holes in either of his first two matches today, just teed off against Geoff Ogilvy.
Only three other players in the previous 10-year history of this event won their first two matches without either one going beyond the 14th hole: Dudley Hart in 2001, Fredrik Jacobson in 2004 and Jonathan Byrd last year.
Villegas won 14 holes combined over his first- and second-round matches. That's the most holes won in a player's first two matches since Stephen Leaney won 15 in 2003. Leaney won eight holes in his first-round match against Bob Estes and seven against Justin Leonard in the second round. Villegas won 14 out of 26 holes (53.8 percent), which is the highest winning percentage in the first two rounds since 2003.
Can Villegas make it three straight days without playing more than 14 holes? He's off to a good start after a birdie on the first hole to take a 1-up lead. -- Brian Wacker
CINK UP BIG (1:45 p.m.): After playing 23 holes against Lee Westwood yesterday, Stewart Cink is trying to have a much shorter day today. He's birdied the last three holes and now leads Phil Mickelson 3 up through four holes. That already equals the number of birdies he had all of yesterday. -- Brian Wacker
| A Sip of Maginnes | |
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ELS UP EARLY (1:25 p.m.): Ernie Els jumped out to an early 1 up lead for the third straight day after birdieing the par-5 second hole for a second straight day.
Els, who like Phil Mickelson has been working closely with Butch Harmon, now has 12 birdies and just one bogey in 35 holes this week. Els has also gone back to the same style of putter and putting stroke that he used in the 1990s, when he won seven times on the PGA TOUR between 1994 and 1999, including two U.S. Opens.
The Big Easy had Callaway make him a replica of the putter he used back then, right down to the shaft and length (35 inches). -- Brian Wacker
MICKELSON CARRYING THE FLAG (1:15 p.m.): Phil Mickelson is the highest-seed American (and player) left in the field here at the Accenture Match Play Championship, where he's looking to reach the round of eight for the fifth time in his career and first time since 2006.
Mickelson, who survived a couple of late-round collapses each of the past two days, just teed off in his match against Stewart Cink, who beat Lee Westwood in 23 holes yesterday. They're all square after both players opened with a par. -- Brian Wacker
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