|
ARIZONA: Tiger Woods kept his bid for an
eighth-straight US PGA Tour victory on track Wednesday with a
first-round victory over J.J. Henry in the Accenture Match Play
Championship.
World No. 1 Woods defeated Henry
3 and 2 to advance to a second-round clash South African Tim Clark
in the eight million-dollar World Golf Championships event.
Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk,
like Woods the top seeds in their sections of the draw, both
advanced.
But Shaun Micheel lived up to his
reputation as a match play upset artist as he ousted Adam Scott, the
top seed in the Snead quarter, in 21 holes.
Micheel, the 2003 US PGA
Champion, made headlines last September when he beat Woods in the
first round of the World Matchplay Championship at Wentworth.
South Africa’s Ernie Els, a
two-time US Open champion, was also among the big names making an
early exit on Wednesday.
Bradley Dredge, the unheralded
60th seed from Wales posted an emphatic 4 and 2 victory over Els in
a match that offered little in the way of drama.
Neither player made a birdie on
the front nine, but Dredge pounced after the turn, winning the 10th
and 11th holes with birdies to go 2-up and take control.
“We were both pretty slow on
the front nine getting going,” Dredge said. “Ernie missed a few
putts, which is unlike him, and then I managed to take advantage of
that and hit a few nice shots and hole a few putts when I needed.
“As a professional I’ve
hardly played match play golf,” added Dredge. “The only time I
get to play is for 20 quid at my home course against a few
friends.”
extra hole to defeat European
Ryder Cup teammate Lee Westwood of England.
Other winners from the 19-strong
European continent included England’s Luke Donald, Justin Rose and
Paul Casey, Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie, Sweden’s Henrik
Stenson and Niclas Fasth and Spaniards Jose Maria Olazabal and
Sergio Garcia.
Olazabal needed 19 holes to
defeat American Paul Goydos, booking a second-round encounter with
defending champion Geoff Ogilvy of Australia, who beat Steve
Stricker 4 and 3.
Despite the departure of Els,
several players remained to fly the flag for South Africa, including
Clark - a 2 and 1 winner over Aussie Robert Allenby—Retief Goosen,
Rory Sabbatini and Trevor Immelman.
Immelman trounced Thomas Bjorn of
Denmark 6 and 5, Goosen posted a convincing 5 and 4 win over Scott
Verlank and Sabbatini defeated England’s David Howell 2-up.
|
