MARANA, Ariz. -- Martin Kaymer, a No. 7 seed, said he was nervous during his first-round match against 10th-seeded George Coetzee. But the German overcame his nerves to beat the South African, 2 and 1.

Kaymer, who reached the finals here two years ago, will now play Rafael Cabrera-Bello in the second round of the Player bracket.

Kaymer lost the fourth hole with a bogey and 1 down down through six. But he squared the match at the seventh hole when he stuck his approach shot to within 5 feet. He grabbed the lead with a birdie at the par-5 11th and extended it when he eagled the par-5 13th, rolling in a putt from inside nine feet after a spectacular second shot from 257 yards.

He lost the next hole with a bogey but won the decisive 17th after another great approach shot to inside two feet.

Asked why he felt nervous, Kaymer replied, "It was very strange. I never had that before, so I don't think it will stay like this. But I haven't played tournaments for two weeks and then I practiced a lot and my expectations were very high."

 

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

MARANA, Ariz. -- When qualifying ended 10 days ago for the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, George Coetzee figured he would have to face defending champion Luke Donald. Coetzee, after all, was the last man in the field and Donald was guaranteed the top overall seed.

But because the brackets were not set until after the Official World Golf Ranking came out Sunday, Coetzee moved ahead of Ernie Els in the rankings. That left Els to face No. 1 Donald in the Bobby Jones bracket while Coetzee now faces Rory McIlroy, the No. 1 seed in the Gary Player bracket. That match begins at 2:25 p.m. ET.

"I was kind of prepared to play against Luke," the South African said this week.

Coetzee, whose biggest win came last year at the Telkom PGA Championship on the Sunshine Tour, said he doesn't know much about McIlroy's game. That's because he's never seen the reigning U.S. Open champ play in person.

"It's tough to know how a guy plays when you watch him on TV," Coetzee said. "I'm sure he's a great golfer. And obviously I aspire to the things that that he's achieved in his golf.

"But I guess he's pretty solid in every part of his game. And hopefully on Wednesday, I'll be pretty solid in every part of mine."

Tuesday, Feb. 21 (all times Eastern) 11 a.m. – Bill Haas 11:30 a.m. – Charl Schwartzel Noon. – Lee Westwood TBD afternoon – Robert Rock 4:30 p.m. – Rory McIlroy 5 p.m. – Luke Donald 5:15 p.m. – PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem (presenting Donald and Bradley with 2011 awards) 5:30 p.m. – Keegan Bradley 5:45 p.m. – Tim Finchem press conference regarding The First Tee 6 p.m. – Martin Kaymer