Live Report: First round, Accenture Match Play

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Camilo Villegas advanced to the second round with an impressive 4 and 3 win over red-hot Dustin Johnson.

MARANA, Ariz. -- PGATOUR.COM is on the scene at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. We'll provide live updates throughout Wednesday's first round of 32 matches, as well as the remainder of the competition days at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, so check back often. (Timestamps are Eastern Time)
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McGOWAN PULLS OFF SHOCKER (6:50 p.m.) The last match of the day is finally complete, and what a doozy it was. The lowest-seeded player of the tournament, England's Ross McGowan, knocked off the top overall seed, American Steve Stricker, in 19 holes.

McGowan

It's just the second time the No. 1 overall seed has lost in the first round of this event.

McGowan rolled in a par putt of 29 feet, 6 inches while Stricker, whose second shot was plugged into a greenside bunker, could not get up and down to save par.

McGowan would not have even been in this tournament had Phil Mickelson opted not to take a family vacation this week. As for Stricker, he wouldn't have been the top overall seed had Tiger Woods been in the field.

McGowan's win completes a banner day for the nine English golfers in the field, with six winners, including Lee Westwood, who beat compatriot Chris Wood. -- Mike McAllister

BATTLE OF SOUTH AFRICANS SET (6:45 p.m.): Ernie Els' 4-and-3 victory over Ryan Moore sent him into a second-round match with his long-time friend and countryman, Retief Goosen.

"It's kind of bittersweet, isn't it," Els said. "I love to play a guy like Retief later in the tournament. We've been good friends for a long time. Tomorrow we';re not going to be good friends for 18 holes. As I say, it's a spring. You've got to stay in the tournament somehow."

The South Africans are both two-time U.S. Open champs and Presidents Cup veterans. oosen's record in the Accenture Match Play Championship is 13-10 with a best finish of third in 2005 while Els, who reached the quarterfinals last year, is 10-10 and finished fourth in 2001.

"Obviously, I'm up against one of the big match play players tomorrow," Goosen said. "But you've got to go out there and try to make a birdie on every hole and see what happens." -- Helen Ross

WEIR'S PUTTING ... INCREDIBLE (6:37 p.m.): Mike Weir credits a new heel-shafted putter as the cause for his ridiculous display of long-range putting in Wednesday's 8 and 6 rout of Alvaro Quiros.

Weir

Weir birdied nine of his first 10 holes and in the process, rolled in five putts of 26 feet or longer.

"I hadn't been putting very well to start this season," Weir said. "I got a heel-shafted putter to get a little more swing in the putter and it seemed to be going in.

"I felt bad for Alvaro to come all this way; I just got hot today." -- Mike McAllister

BIG UPSET LOOMING? (6:30 p.m.): Ross McGowan just missed an 11 foot, 8 inch putt for birdie at the 18th that would have knocked off the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Steve Stricker.

As a result, the match will go into overtime, with Stricker hoping to avoid becoming just the second top overall seed to be knocked out in the first round.

Tiger Woods was the top overall seed in 2002 when he lost to Peter O'Malley 2 and 1 in the first round. -- Mike McAllister

OGILVY HAS EASIER TIME (6:10 p.m.): Two-time and defending champ Geoff Ogilvy generally makes things look easy at the Accenture Match Play, but first-round matches haven't always been a breather for him.

Ogilvy

So on Wednesday it was nice for Ogilvy not to work up too much of a sweat in beating Alexander Noren 7 and 5. In each of his two previous wins, he had to go 19 holes to win his first-round match.

"I've never had a first round like that in this tournament," Ogilvy said. "... It's a good result, match-wise, and it's a good result, I felt, because of the way I was playing at the end of it. -- Mike McAllister

FURYK WINS (6:02 p.m.): Jim Furyk became the second of the top four No. 1 seeds to safely move on, beating fellow American Scott Verplank 2 and 1. Earlier, Martin Kaymer downed Chad Campbell.

As for the other two No. 1 seeds, Lee Westwood is in good shape against Chris Wood (2 up through 14) but Steve Stricker is in a tight battle against fellow Englishman Chris Wood. That match is all square through 16. -- Mike McAllister

NO-GO KARTS (5:52 p.m.): Hogan bracket top seed Martin Kaymer, who won his first-round match against Chad Campbell 4 and 2, missed some time last year because of a foot injury stemming from a go-kart accident. He was racing at a track in Scottsdale and the crash left him with a couple of broken toes.

Kaymer acknowledged today that he loved driving those karts but will not attempt to slide behind the wheel again until after the Ryder Cup. -- Brian Katrek

KARLSSON KNOCKS OFF SABBATINI (5:35 p.m.): Rory Sabbatini's frustrations in the Accenture Match Play continued as he lost to Robert Karlsson in 20 holes in a well-played match.

Karlsson

It's the third consecutive year Sabbatini has lost in the first round. Only once in seven starts has he advanced past the second round.

Although the match remained tight throughout, Karlsson never trailed, carding four birdies and an eagle on the first nine holes and then winning the decisive 20th hole when he rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-5 second. -- Mike McAllister

YELLOW FEVER (5:25 p.m.): Tim Clark is playing a yellow golf ball in his match against Vijay Singh. No, he didn't have to go to a local golf shop and buy whatever they had left, it was a planned effort.

The folks at Srixon, Clark's sponsor, have done lots of research on the matter. The research shows the yellow ball, with a slight green tint to it, actually calms the nerves. It certainly has my attention. -- Brian Katrek

ANOTHER OVERTIME (5:10 p.m.): Robert Karlsson and Rory Sabbatini are all square through 18 holes and will need at least one extra hole to decide the winner.

It's the third match that has needed extra holes in the first round. Zach Johnson beat Francesco Molinari in 21 holes, while Ian Poulter knocked off Justin Leonard in 19 holes. -- Mike McAllister

CASEY ON FACING WEIR (4:45 p.m.): Paul Casey "heard lots of roars" behind him during Wednesday's first round. That's because Mike Weir, playing in the match immediately after Casey, was torching the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.

Weir produced nine birdies in his first 10 holes in an 8 and 6 rout of Alvaro Quiros. That sets up the Canadian for a second-round matchup against ... Casey, who beat Stephen Ames 5 and 4.

"Hope he watches the Olympics tonight and gets tired," Casey said. "That's very impressive. I think I have to be prepared for Mike Weir to come out and do the same tomorrow." -- Mike McAllister

TITANIC THAI (4:35 p.m.) A year ago in his Accenture Match Play Championship debut, Ross Fisher reached the consolation round where he lost to Stewart Cink.

Jaidee

Not so in 2010. The talented young Englishman was eliminated in the first round by Thongchai Jaidee as the veteran from Thailand took a 5-and-4 victory on Wednesday.

Jaidee never trailed in the match -- winning Nos. 1, 2, 6 and 7 with pars and the eighth with an eagle. He is playing in the match play event for the first time. -- Helen Ross

McILROY ON WIN (4:30 p.m.): "I was pretty forunate to get through today. I'll need to play a lot better if I want to progress into the final stages of the tournment." -- Helen Ross

CLOSED OUT (4:18 p.m.): Forget that 77 Sergio Garcia shot Sunday in the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The Spaniard appears to be back on track after beating David Toms 2 up in the first round.

Garcia never trailed in the hard-fought and well-played match. He made a tidy four birdies and a lone bogey, and sealed the victory with a string of five straight pars. -- Helen Ross

MAJOR UPSETS TAKE 2 (4:10 p.m.): Anders Hansen, who is the 12th seed in the Ben Hogan bracket, has just parred the 17th hole and beaten Lucas Glover 2 up. The reigning U.S. Open champion missed an 8-footer to extend the match. -- Helen Ross

SINGH SIZZLES (4:06 p.m.): Jeev Milkha Singh kicked off his first tournament as a PGA TOUR member in a big way when he beat three-time major champion Padraig Harrington 3 and 1.

Singh, who recently became a father for the first time, has lost in the first round in his two previous Accenture Match Play Championship appearances.

Singh pulled away on the back nine, winning the 13th hole with a birdie and the 14th with a par. The quiet man from India closed out the match when he made an 8-footer for a final birdie on the 17th hole. -- Helen Ross

MAJOR UPSETS? (3:58 p.m.): So far, only one of last year's four major champions has made it through to the second round.

In the matches that are finished, PGA champion Y.E. Yang defeated Soren Kjeldsen 2 and 1 but Adam Scott took a 3 and 2 win over the reigning Masters champ, Angel Cabrera.

Anders Hansen is 2 up through 16 holes on U.S. Open winner, Lucas Glover. British Open champ Stewart Cink has just birdied the 14th hole to square his match with Eduardo Molinari.

Cink has finished third and second in the last two Accenture Match Play Championships. -- Helen Ross

ZACH COMES BACK (3:30 p.m.): Francesco Molinari gave Zach Johnson quite a scare before the American won on the 21st hole.

Molinari led 2-up as late as the 14th hole before Johnson began his comeback in earnest. Molinari conceded No. 15 after he had to take a drop in the desert to the left of the fairway and Johnson squared the match with a par at the next.

The two men then halved the next four holes with pars before Johnson took the lead -- for the first and most important time -- on the third extra hole. Molinari was unable to get up and down from a greenside bunker so Johnson won the match with his sixth straight par. -- Helen Ross

WEIR WALLOPS QUIROS (3:10 p.m.): While Canada's attention is turned to the Olympics, the country might want to stop for a moment and appreciate the performance of Mike Weir on Wednesday.

Weir beat long-hitting Spaniard Alvaro Quiros 8 and 6 with a near-flawless effort in the first 10 holes. Weir birdied his first five, suffered a bogey at the sixth, then answered with a run of four more birdies to go 7 up through 10 holes.

It's one of the largest margins of victory in the history of the Accenture Match Play. -- Mike McAllister

THREE MORE ENGLISHMEN ADVANCE (3:05 p.m.): Besides Luke Donald, fellow Englishmen Ian Poulter, Paul Casey and Oliver Wilson also have won their matches.

Poulter outlasted Justin Leonard in 19 holes; Casey knocked off Stephen Ames 5 and 4 and Wilson upset Miguel Angel Jimenez 3 and 2.

So far the English have yet to lose a match today. -- Mike McAllister

McDOWELL ON LOSS TO DONALD (2:45 p.m.): "Luke played beautifully today," Graeme McDowell said after his 2 and 1 loss to Luke Donald. "He just kept making them from outside me. Every time I'd smell a sniff of a chance, he'd just make a great putt." -- Mike McAllister

SCOTT, VILLEGAS WINNERS (2:33 p.m.): Despite a double bogey and three bogeys, Adam Scott never trailed in his match against Angel Cabrera, eventually winning 3 and 2.

Meanwhile, Camilo Villegas knocked off the red-hot Dustin Johnson 4 and 3 in impressive faqshion, with five birdies in his last six holes.

Scott now faces the Ian Poulter-Justin Leonard match that's headed into overtime, while Villegas will face defending champ Geoff Ogilvy. -- Mike McAllister

JOHNSON-MOLINARI HEADED TO OVERTIME (2:25 p.m.): Zach Johnson and Francesco Molinari are all square through 18 holes, making theirs the first match at this tournament to go at least an extra hole.

Molinari was 2 up when Johnson bogeyed the par-4 14th, but the American was conceded the 15th hole and then squared the match when Molinari bogeyed the par-3 16th. -- Mike McAllister

ALLENBY ON HIS WIN (2:04 p.m.): "I was in total control," Robert Allenby said of his 4 and 2 win over Peter Hanson. "Every time he won a hole, I came back and won another one ... I made some unbelievable par saves and some good birdie putts." -- Mike McAllister

DONALD, GAY WINNERS (1:55 p.m.): Luke Donald and Brian Gay will move on after winning their first-round matches.

Donald beat Graeme McDowell 2 and 1 in a match in which he never trailed. Donald will now play Robert Allenby in the second round.

Gay beat fellow American Kenny Perry 2 and 1, rallying on the back nine with birdies on the two par-5 holes, the 11th and 13th. Gay plays the winner of the Zach Johnson-Francesco Molinari match. -- Mike McAllister

OGILVY KEEPS ROLLING (1:38 p.m.): Hey, maybe triple bogeys aren't such a bad thing after all.

After carding a six at the par-3 sixth hole that squared his match against Sweden's Alexander Noren, defending champion Geoff Ogilvy stepped up his game and stepped on the gas.

He won the next seven holes with three birdies and four pars to close out Noren 7 and 5. It's the largest margin of victory in Ogilvy's Accenture Match Play career, in which he is now 18-2.

That makes seven straight Match Play wins for Ogilvy dating back to last year. He now plays the winner of the Camilo Villegas-Dustin Johnson match. Villegas is currently 3 up through 12 holes. -- Mike McAllister

POULTER-LEONARD UPDATE (1:42 p.m.): Ian Poulter and Justin Leonard are in the middle of one of the best matches of the day. Poulter just took a 1 up advantage at the 14th hole, but both players have fought back from deficits of 2 down.

Poulter gained the edge early with birdies on his first two holes. Leonard answered with two of his own on Nos. 3 and 4, though,and then went 1 up when Poulter doubled the par-3 sixth. A par at the eighth hole then put the American Ryder Cup veteran 2 up.

But Poulter has gotten his game back in gear now. He has irdied three of his last four holes to win the 11th, square the match at the par-5 13th and go back to 1 up at the 14th. Keep an eye on this one. -- Helen Ross

RORY ROARS BACK (1:30 p.m.): Rory McIlroy isn't going down without a fight. The 20-year-old from Northern Ireland was 4 down through six holes to Kevin Na, but he's just won three of his next four holes.

McIlroy won the seventh with a par and has gone eagle-birdie-birdie to turn the tide. The 29-footer for eagle moved the deficit to 2 down and the second birdie, which came from 14, won another hole for McIlroy.

But a bogey at the 11th now has McIlroy 2-down.-- Helen Ross

TOP SEEDS GET STARTED (1:24 p.m.): Germany's Martin Kaymer has just teed off in his match against American Chad Campbell. Kaymer, the top seed in the Hogan bracket, is the first of the four No. 1 seeds to tee off in the first round.

Jim Furyk, the top seed in the Snead bracket, tees off at 1:43 p.m. against Scott Verplank. Steve Stricker, top seed in the Jones bracket and the No. 1 overall seed, goes off at 2:02 p.m. against Englishman Ross McGowan. And Lee Westwood, top seed in the Player bracket, is in the penultimate group of the day at 2:21 p.m. against fellow Englishman Chris Wood.

For more on the top seeds, click here. -- Mike McAllister

NO PARS FOR WEIR (1:25 p.m.): Mike Weir still doesn't have a par on his card through 8 holes. The Canadian left-hander birdied the first five holes of the day to run out to a 4-up lead on Alvaro Quiros.

Then Weir bogeyed 6 but bounced back with a birdie at 7 and another at 8. So through 8 holes, Weir has zero pars. -- Brian Katrek

ALLENBY CLOSES OUT HANSON (1:20 p.m.): Robert Allenby has won the first match of the day -- that went more than one hole, that is. Earlier, Henrik Stenson, who is suffering from flu-like symptoms, had conceded his match with Ben Crane after one hole.

The Assie got up and down for par from the left greenside bunker at the par-3 16th to seal his 4-and-2 victory over Peter Hanson. The win evened Allenby's Accenture Match Play Championship record at 9-9 overall in his 10th appearance.

Allenby, who led by as many as 5 up over Hanson, will play the winner of the match between Luke Donald and Graeme McDowell. Donald currently leads 3 up through 14 holes. -- Helen Ross

MOLINARI BROTHERS UPDATE (1:15 p.m.): The Molinari brothers -- Eduardo and Francesco -- are playing in their first Accenture Match Play Championship. Most figured the Italians would be one-and-done in their debuts.

Molinari brothers

But Francesco, the elder of the two Italians, currently leads Zach Johnson 2 up through 12 holes. Neither pro is playing particularly well -- Francesco has made four bogeys and three birdies while Johnson's tally is five bogeys, an eagle and two birdies.

In match play, though, it's all about timing, not scores and the Italian owns the upper hand.

Meanwhile, Eduardo, who is a former U.S. Amateur champion, has won the first hole of his match with Stewart Cink, who has finished second and third the last two years. -- Helen Ross

CRANE STILL PLAYING (1 p.m.): A follow up to the Henrik Stenson withdrawal ... Ben Crane is entitled to play all 18 holes today and is out there as a single. That is something you don't see in regular events. Occasionally, on the weekend, a player will go off first as a single. But Crane has matches in front and behind him. No doubt enjoying a nice stroll through the desert. -- Brian Katrek

SCOTT WINNING BUT IT ISN'T PRETTY (12:57 p.m.): Adam Scott has made three birdies, two bogeys and a water-logged double bogey -- but he's still leading Masters champion Angel Cabrera 3 up through 10 holes.

Both players exited the tournament in the first round a year ago. Scott is looking to regain the form that once made him a top-10 player in the world and a strong run through this match play affair would be a huge confidence boost.

Scott did end the 2009 season with three straight top-10s, including a win at the Australian Open. -- Helen Ross

CASEY THROTTLING AMES (12:52 p.m.): Paul Casey appears to have picked up right where he left off last year during Wednesday's first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship.

Casey

The Englishman reached the championship match in 2009, losing to Geoff Ogilvy 4 and 3. He lasted until the third round in 2008 and the quarterfinals in 2007.

Casey is currently 3 up through seven holes of his match with Stephen Ames. He two-piutted from 20 feet for birdie at the par-5 second, then won the next hole with another birdie as Ames hit his tee shot into the water.

Casey gave one hole back on No. 5 when he left a shot in the bunker, but got that back with a par on the par-3 sixth. The rib cage injury that kept him out of action for nearly six months last year isn't 100 percent but Casey said it doesn't bother him when he's hitting shots -- and it showed on Wednesday. -- Helen Ross

ALLENBY MAKING IT LOOK EASY (12:42): Robert Allenby has lost in the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship the last three years. But it looks like his fortunes are changing on Wednesday in 2010's leadoff match.

Allenby

Allenby just won the 11th and 12th holes with pars to go 4 up with five holes to play in his match with Peter Hanson. The Aussie used birdies on Nos. 2 and 3 to gain the upper hand early and he's continued to apply the pressure.

Allenby did lose the sixth hole wen he made bogey on the par 3. But a par on the seventh and a 36-foot birdie putt on No. 8 has given him a cushion that he hasn't relinquished. -- Helen Ross

OGILVY PULLING AWAY (12:37 p.m.): Sweden's Alexander Noren may have the toughest task of any player Wednesday in trying to knock off defending champ Geoff Ogilvy, who owns a 17-2 match play record in this event.

Noren held his own through the first six holes, with each player winning three holes (Ogilvy took triple bogey at the par-3 sixth). But Ogilvy has won the seventh, eighth and ninth holes with one birdie and two pars to take a 3-up lead at the turn. -- Mike McAllister

NA ON FIRE VS. McILROY (12:30 p.m.): Kevin Na, who came into the Accenture Match Play Championship seeded 15th, has made an eagle and two birdies in his first five holes to take a 4-up advantage over Rory McIlory, the young phenom from Northern Ireland.

Na won the par-5 second with a 5-foot eagle putt and the third when McIlroy hit his tee shot at the par-3 in the water on the water on the way to a double bogey. A 10-footer for birdie on the fourth then gave Na the 3-up lead and he increased that advantage with a 25-footer on the sixth.

Na is playing in his first Accenture Match Play Championship. McIlory reached the quarterfinals in his debut last year. -- Helen Ross

STENSON CONCEDES DUE TO ILLNESS (12:15 p.m.): Henrik Stenson has conceded his match with Ben Crane after one hole.

The reigning PLAYERS champion has the flu. Since he played one hole, Stenson is not considered to have withdrawn from the tournament.

Crane will now play the winner of the match between PGA champ Y.E. Yang and Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark. -- Helen Ross

NOT INTIMIDATED (Noon): Padraig Harrington warmed up for day one right next to Alvaro Quiros. Not everyone feels comfortable standing next to the long hitting Spaniard while he puts a serious hurt on range balls. But Harrington had no problem with it. Am I the only one who thinks Quiros resembles Sacha Baron Cohen's character in "Talladega Nights"? -- Brian Katrek

VILLEGAS STARTS STRONG (11:55 a.m.): Dustin Johnson came to Arizona playing as well as anyone on the planet. He had just won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and tied for third the previous week at Riviera.

Villegas

Camilo Villegas, on the other hand, is making his 2010 PGA TOUR debut. He had played twice in the Middle East, though, and tied for 19th and ninth.

Villegas has wasted no time in getting the upper hand in his first-round match with Johnson. He's 4 up after four holes after the American has conceded on each.

Johnson had an adventure in the desert behind the first hole while Villegas forced the action at the par-5 second with an approach that landed 3 inches from the pin.

The young Colombian's tee shot at the par-3 third was again on target, settling 4 inches from the pin while Johnson left his second shot in a greenside bunker.

And Johnson's tee shot at the 342-yard par-4 fourth sailed OB while Villegas was just short of the green, 43 feet from the pin.-- Helen Ross