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McDowell bows out in Tuscon

22/02/2012 - 19:07


Graeme McDowell was the first player to tee off in the Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson today – and the first player to make his exit.

For the second year running Northern Ireland’s former US Open champion lost to Korean YE Yang, this time by a 2&1 first round margin.

McDowell led after five holes, but Yang took control with birdies on the next two and then a par at the 476-yard ninth, where Europe’s Ryder Cup hero double-bogeyed.

A six-foot birdie putt on the short 12th brought the gap back to one, but it was the closest McDowell could get and a superb approach to four feet on the 17th allowed the 2009 USPGA champion to close things out with a birdie.

“I’m playing good – today is a big mountain over,” said Yang.

McDowell was out of the 64-man event before top two seeds Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy had even started against South Africans Ernie Els and George Coetzee respectively.

In the first of six all-European clashes Scot Paul Lawrie led England’s Justin Rose by two with four holes to play.

Rose struck first with a par on the 208-yard third, but three bogeys left him two down after eight and, even with a double bogey on the 10th, Lawrie maintained the upper hand.

Tiger Woods, beaten on the opening day by Thomas Bjorn last year, found himself two down after two to Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

Woods was the closer of the two on the first, but missed from seven feet after Fernandez-Castano – currently on course for a Ryder Cup debut in September – had holed from 10.

The Madrid golfer then carved his drive down the long second into the desert, but Woods followed him and had to play his second shot left-handed.

England’s Robert Rock, conqueror of Woods and the world’s top four in Abu Dhabi last month, trailed Australia’s world number eight by one after eight, while 2010 winner Ian Poulter was all square with Korea’s Bae Sang-moon with eight holes remaining.

Their compatriot Simon Dyson lost the first two holes to Australia’s John Senden and Open champion Darren Clarke bogeyed the long second and then hit his tee shot into the lake on the next to fall two down to American Nick Watney.

Lawrie’s fellow Scot Martin Laird, meanwhile, was on level terms with big-hitting Spaniard Alvaro Quiros after eight.

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