Thirty-two winners. Thirty-two losers. That’s the simple math on Day 1 of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Ryan Ballengee wraps up all 32 matches Wednesday at Dove Mountain. (Click for: Tiger Tracker | Running blog | Scoring)
HOGAN: Y.E. Yang (14) d. Graeme McDowell (3), 2 and 1 - In a match filled with birdies early, Yang took advantage for good at the seventh. McDowell is bounced by Yang for the second straight year.
SNEAD: Ryo Ishikawa (14) d. Bill Haas (3), 1 up – Down three with five to play, Ishikawa made three birdies in four holes and a par at the last to take down the Riviera winner.
SNEAD: Paul Lawrie (11) d. Justin Rose (6), 1 up – Rose led for one hole the entire match, but managed to keep close with the Qatar winner. A par at the last locked up the Scot’s win.
PLAYER: Charl Schwartzel (3) d. Gary Woodland (13), 4 and 2 - Schwartzel never trailed in this match, taking three of the first five holes. A conceded closing birdie at the par-3 16th finished Woodland.
HOGAN: Hunter Mahan (6) d. Zach Johnson (11), 19 holes – After testy pars to get to extra holes, a flared drive by Johnson at the first hole of sudden death left him unable to recover.
PLAYER: Sang-Moon Bae (11) d. Ian Poulter (6), 4 and 3 – Never trailing, Bae won four of five holes after being All Square through 10 holes – just one requiring a birdie.
JONES: Dustin Johnson (3) d. Jim Furyk (14), 20 holes - A pair of chip-ins by Johnson at 13 and 16 won holes and helped chip away at a 3 Down drought. Taking an unplayable after his drive at the 20th hole, Johnson recovered for the winning par when Furyk left himself short-sided with his approach. It is Johnson’s first ever win in the event.
HOGAN: Steve Stricker (2) d. Kevin Na (15), 2 and 1 – Neither player was more than 1 Up in the match until a birdie at the par-4 15th gave him enough for the final margin.
JONES: Francesco Molinari (11) d. Thomas Bjorn (6), 20 holes - After missing a short par putt at the first hole of sudden death, Molinari chipped in for eagle at the par-5 2nd – the 20th hole of the match – for the sudden victory over the Great Dane.
SNEAD: Matteo Manassero (15) d. Webb Simpson (2), 3 and 2 – The Italian teen took three of the first four holes, then Simpson took a pair to slash the lead before Manassero made a pair of winning threes at Nos. 15 and 16 to win the match.
HOGAN: Louis Oosthuizen (7) d. Aaron Baddeley (10), 2 and 1 – A back-and-forth match and close the whole way, a 2-foot miss for birdie at No. 15 by Baddeley opened the door for Oosthuizen to win the match with a par at No. 17.
JONES: Mark Wilson (10) d. Bo Van Pelt (7), 3 and 2 – Falling down early by one, Wilson won six holes in an eight-hole stretch against BVP. Three of those wins came with birdies on par-5 holes.
SNEAD: Martin Laird (10) d. Alvaro Quiros (7), 1 up – After both players bombed their tee shots to the last hole, Laird stuck his approach to within two feet. A Quiros three-putt left Laird with a conceded birdie for the win.
PLAYER: John Senden (10) d. Simon Dyson (7), 4 and 3 – The Aussie took four of the first five holes against Dyson, never looking back. After winning the 11th to go 5 Up, Senden made four straight pars to end the match.
JONES: Robert Rock (15) d. Adam Scott (2), 1 up – Battling back and forth, Rock took the 15th and 16th with birdies to take the lead. Scott pushed his approach to the last, which opened the door for a cozy Rock win.
SNEAD: Nick Watney (4) d. Darren Clarke (13), 5 and 4 – This was never a contest. Watney was 4 Up before Clarke won a hole at the eighth – his only win of the match.
HOGAN: Bubba Watson (5) d. Ben Crane (12), 3 and 2 – Watson putted and chipped spectacularly against his fellow Golf Boys member. A chip-in at the par-3 16th sealed the win for last year’s semi-finalist.
PLAYER: Jason Day (2) d. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (15), 19 holes – Cabrera-Bello had the upset in hand with three holes to play. The Spaniard’s poor play into the house gave Day the final three in regulation. A birdie at the first hole of sudden death capped the unlikely comeback.
HOGAN: Matt Kuchar (4) d. Jonathan Byrd (13), 1 up – The Sea Island residents traded waves of momentum, ultimately leading to a showdown at No. 18. Kuchar made birdie at the last after being bunkered to take the match from Byrd.
JONES: Kyle Stanley (13) d. K.J. Choi (4), 2 and 1 – Just eight holes in this match were won. Stanley took two to start the match, lost three to lose the lead, then won the last three to advance past Choi.
PLAYER: Keegan Bradley (5) d. Geoff Ogivly (12), 4 and 3 – Bradley was in control throughout, winning in blocks – three of the first five and from Nos. 10-12. Bradley was 8-under par on his own ball in the match.
SNEAD: Tiger Woods (5) d. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (12), 1 up – This was a match filled with ups and downs and, frankly, poor play from both players. Woods opened the door frequently - going 2 Down through two holes - for the Spaniard and didn’t walk through too many reciprocated for him.
HOGAN: Martin Kaymer (1) d. Greg Chalmers (16), 4 and 2 – Last year’s runner-up only had to win five holes in the match to take down the Aussie. Chalmers didn’t win a hole until the 14th, but Kaymer won the last two to end it and to shoot 5-under par on the round.
PLAYER: Miguel Angel Jimenez (13) d. Sergio Garcia (4), 2 and 1 – The Mechanic and Garcia traded five straight holes in the middle of the round after the 48-year-old secured an early advantage. A closing win at the 17th by Jimenez locked up the match, ending a streak of five consecutive halved holes.
SNEAD: Robert Karlsson (8) d. Fredrik Jacobson (9), 6 and 5 – In the match of Swedes, Jacobson looked rusty in his ’12 PGA Tour debut. Karlsson won seven holes, losing just one and played 5 under as he cruised to the second round.
JONES: Ernie Els (16) d. Luke Donald (1), 5 and 4 – Els probably had his best putting day ever with the belly putter. All Square after eight holes, Els ripped off five wins in the final seven holes to close the match.
HOGAN: David Toms (8) d. Rickie Fowler (9), 1 up – This was, by far, the best-played match of the day. Just five holes in the match were not won. Toms played 7 under compared to Fowler’s 5 under – including five birdies in the last six holes.
SNEAD: Lee Westwood (1) d. Nicolas Colsaerts (16), 3 and 1 – Westwood wins just his eighth match in 12 appearances, and did so comfortably while playing 6 under. The world No. 3 jumped out to a 3-up lead before Colsaerts made a minor comeback that he could not sustain.
JONES: Brandt Snedeker (5) d. Retief Goosen (12), 21 holes – Not a pretty match, more holes were halved (12) than won (9). Snedeker made three fours in the extra frames to secure a reprisal of his playoff with Kyle Stanley from San Diego.
PLAYER: Rory McIlroy (1) d. George Coetzee (16), 2 up - Trading blows for the first six holes, McIlroy secured a big advantage when he won four straight from No. 11.
PLAYER: Anders Hansen (9) d. Kyung-Tae Kim (8), 5 and 3 - Kim made just one birdie in the first 14 holes, leaving himself desperate for a Jason Day-style comeback. It never came. Hansen won with ease against a struggling opponent.
JONES: Peter Hanson (9) d. Jason Dufner (8), 2 and 1 - A match filled with halves, Dufner and Hanson halved the final three holes to close an uneventful match.
Watch live coverage of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on Golf Channel, Thursday/Friday 2-6PM ET; Saturday noon-2PM ET; Sunday 8AM-1PM ET. NBC coverage can be seen live Saturday/Sunday, 2-6PM ET.