WGC Accenture Match Play Round 1 Picks and Tee Times-Fantasy Golf
In last year’s WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, Tiger Woods with his tee shot on the fourth hole. Find out my picks for round 1 right here. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
The WGC Accenture Match Play gets underway a day earlier than most tournaments start so we’ve got a full day of golf on Wednesday of this week. Match play tournaments like this are always lots of fun and incredibly unpredictable. In each of the last three years, at least one #1 seed has lost IN THE FIRST ROUND. You never know who will win, but I’ll do my best to pick the winners.
I’ll give you my picks for each match everyday with a brief rundown of why I’m picking who I am. To join our bracket challenge group and find my overall picks for the bracket click here. Here’s my picks for Wednesday’s matches
Match 1, 7:25 AM: Thongchai Jaidee over Sergio Garcia
Let’s get started with the upsets right away shall we? Jaidee has three top tens in his four starts this calendar year and five in his last six tournaments on the European tour. He hasn’t been in the field since his run to the elite eight in 2010. Garcia is a regular but has had mixed results making it to the final four in 2010 but losing in the first round last year. Jaidee has the form to get the win so I’ll take him in the upset in match 1.
Jan 13, 2013; Honolulu, HI, USA; Matt Kuchar watches his tees shot on the seventh hole during the final round of the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Match 2, 7:35: Matt Kuchar over Hiroyuki Fujita
Fujita lost his debut last year to Robert Karlsson while Kuchar has won each of his last three first round matchups and the last two years made deep runs. I think he’s got another solid run in him this year since he continues his consistent play. Kuchar is a solid pick to win any tournament any week since he always seems to be around the leaderboard at the end.
Match 3, 7:45: Ian Poulter over Stephen Gallacher
Poulter is a match-play beast who won this event in 2010. He’ll face Gallacher who is a 18-year pro out of Scotland. He won the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this month for his second career win in Europe. This will be his first Accenture.
Match 4, 7:55: Bo Van Pelt over John Senden
For a pair of players that have been on tour for a while, neither has much experience in the Match Play Championship. Senden picked up a couple wins last year before losing to Bae Sang-Moon while Bo Van Pelt lost in round one to Mark Wilson who went to the final four. BVP is coming off a t16 in Phoenix while Senden missed the cut at the Northern Trust Open.
Match 5, 8:05: Charl Schwartzel over Russell Henley
Schwartzel is red-hot and my pick to win it all, but Henley has been impressive in his rookie year on tour and is far from a push-over. Henley is the only player in the field of 64 who is playing his first WGC event.
Match 6, 8:15: Jason Day over Zach Johnson
Jason Day has won in the first round each of the last two years and has a pair of top tens in his three starts on tour this season. Zach Johnson made a run to the semifinals back in ’06 but he’s lost the last two years in the first round although this is the highest seed he’s had in a while.
Match 7, 8:25: Jason Dufner over Richard Sterne
Dufner is playing extremely well and will look for his first Accenture win after losing last year in the first round to Peter Hanson. Dufner showed some match-play skills at the Ryder Cup and I think he’ll get a couple rounds deep in this format this year. Sterne is making his second appearance and first since 2009.
Feb 26, 2012; Marana, AZ, USA; Hunter Mahan celebrates with the Walter Hagen cup after besting Rory McIlroy (not shown) 2 and 1 during the championship match of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship at Ritz-Carlton GC. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
Match 8, 8:35: Hunter Mahan over Matteo Manassero
Mahan won last year and is playing well coming into this year’s tournament. He doesn’t get an easy draw though as Matteo Manassero has earned his reputation as a giant-killer by taking out Steve Stricker, Charl Schwarzel, and Webb Simpson the last two years. This will be one of the better matchups of the day, but I think Hunter pulls it out in extra holes.
Match 9, 8:45: Justin Rose over K.J. Choi
Rose doesn’t have a great history in this event with a 5-7 lifetime record and losses in three of his last four first-round matches. Choi is 1-1 in the first round in the last two years. Rose has a pair of top 20’s in his two European Tour events this season.
Match 10, 8:55: Bill Haas over Nicolas Colsaerts
Haas is coming off a nice week at the Northern Trust where he couldn’t defend his title but did finish t3. Colsearts is a long-hitter from Belgium who has played two PGA events this season with a t44 in the Farmers and a missed cut in the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Match 11, 9:05: Tim Clark over Adam Scott
Scott finished third in 2003 and made it to the round of 16 the next year but he’s struggled recently winning just three matches in his last seven years. He won the WGC event at the Bridgestone Invitational in 2011, but has struggled since the event moved to Dove Mountain. Tim Clark has made it to the round of 16 in his last two trips to the Accenture although he missed last year’s tournament. Clark finished runner-up at the Sony Open earlier this season, but missed the cut last week at the Northern Trust where Scott finished t10. Scott’s the better overall golfer, but I think in this event Clark can pull the upset.
Match 12, 9:15: Jamie Donadlson over Thorbjorn Olsen
Both these players are making their debut in the Accenture. Donaldson won at Abu Dhabi and has a pair of top ten’s in his last four European Tour events. Olesen finished t2 at the Abu Dhabi and followed it up with a t3 on Dubai. Since Donaldson won at Abu Dhabi, I think he’ll win this one, but it could easily go either way.
Match 13, 9:25: Bubba Watson over Chris Wood
Watson reached the semis in 2011 and won in the first round last year too. Wood won in Qatar, and Watson struggled in the Northern Trust missing the cut. I still think Buba wins though since he’s had success here in the past.
Sept. 23, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Ryan Moore waves to the crowd after putting the 6th green during the final round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
Match 14, 9:35: Ryan Moore over Jim Furyk
Moore made it to the quarterfinals in 2011 in his last trip to Dove Mountain. Furyk has started his season well, but doesn’t have a great track record here losing in the first round in half of his 12 trips to the Accenture.
Match 15, 9:45: Lee Westwood over Rafael Cabrera-Bello
Westwood had struggled mightily before making the semifinals last year. He has won in the first round each year since 2007, but hadn’t gone beyond the second until last year. Cabrera-Bello took #2 seed Jason Day to extra holes last year in his only previous appearance here.
Match 16, 9:55: Martin Kaymer over George Coetzee
Kaymer has won four first-round matchups in a row and lost in 2011 to Luke Donald in the final. Last year, he beat Greg Chalmers and David Toms before losing to Matt Kuchar. Coetzee made his first appearance last year in a 2up loss to Rory in round one.
Keep Reading for matches 17-32
Aug. 5, 2012; Akron, OH, USA; Keegan Bradley reacts after making a birdie on the 16th green during the final round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club-South Course. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
Match 17, 10:05: Keegan Bradley over Marcus Fraser
Bradley got his first Accenture win last year over Geoff Ogilvy in his debut last season before losing in round two. Fraser makes his debut in the Match Play Championship this year but is coming off three top 25 finishes in his last three European Tour events including a t5 in Dubai.
Match 18, 10:15: Fredrik Jacobson over Ernie Els
Els pulled off the upset of the year last year knocking off Luke Donald who had won the previous year and was the #1 overall seed. Els has won his first match in every year since 2008, but I think that run comes to an end this year. So far this year, Els has played two European events finishing t39 and 73 and last week was t13 at the Northern Trust. Jacobson bested him though finishing t3 giving him back-to-back top tens in the last two weeks. He seems to be peaking coming into this year’s event so I’ll take him to pull the upset over Els.
Match 19, 10:25: Steve Stricker over Henrik Stenson
Stricker hasn’t played since the season opener and is just 5-7 since winning this event in 2001. He’ll take on another former Champ in Stenson who won in 2007 but has dropped his first-round match in his last three appearances.
Match 20, 10:35: Nick Watney over David Toms
Jan 25, 2013; San Diego, CA, USA; Nick Watney plays a shot out of the sand on the 14th hole during the second round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Both of these players have had success in the past although Watney’s has been over a much more limited timespan. In his three career appearances, Watney has made the third round every time. Toms has only lost one first-round matchup in his 11 career appearances, so I can easily see this one going to extra holes. Watney has the tools to make another extended run, so I’ll take him to get the win in this one in what should be a very good matchup.
Match 21, 10:45: Dustin Johnson over Alexander Noren
DJ has struggled since his opening win in Hawaii but should be able to get the win here over Alexander Noren who lost in 2010 to Geoff Ogilvy in the first round in his only other appearance at this event. Johnson got to the third round last year after three straight first-round exits.
Match 22, 10:55: Graeme McDowell over Padraig Harrington
In this all-Ireland matchup, I’ll go with the Northern Irishman who has taken four of his last six first-round matches and seems to beat everyone but Y.E. Yang here in the desert. Harrington hasn’t made it out of round 1 in his last three appearances.
Match 23, 11:05: Webb Simpson over David Lynn
Between the two of them, these players have just one previous appearance which was a first-round loss by Simpson last year to Matteo Manassero. Lynn hasn’t played on the European Tour this calendar year and is just 2-4 in making cuts on the PGA with his best finish being a t34 at the Farmers at the end of January.
Match 24, 11:15: Thomas Bjorn over Peter Hanson
Bjorn knocked of Tiger in 2011 but has just a 5-6 lifetime record at the Accenture. Even with last year’s run to the quarterfinals, Hanson is only 5-5 so this should be a fairly evenly-matched game. I think Hanson pulls it out though as he continues last year’s success. He’s had better recent results on the European Tour as well.
Match 25, 11:25: Richard Ramsay over Louis Oosthuizen
In my opinion, here’s the most likely #1 to lose. Oosty has a win on the European Tour already this year but just a 1-3 all-time record in this event. Ramsay has won twice in his career in Europe including a runaway in the Omega European Masters last year. If a #1 goes down this year, I think its in this match.
Match 26, 11:35: Branden Grace over Robert Garrigus
Aug. 2, 2012; Akron, OH, USA; Branden Grace (left) and his caddie on the first hole during the first round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club-South Course. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports
Garrigus and Grace are both players who can get hot and make an extended run here but either one could struggle and make an early-round exit. Grace won four times in Europe last year and has four top 15s in his last five events. Garrigus has been one of the better early-season standouts on the PGA with four top 25’s in four events with a high-point of a t6 at the Farmers and a low of t22 at Pebble Beach in his last tournament. Whoever wins this, I think will win the next round too, and I’ll take the big South African to get the win in this match where extra holes seems like a good possibility.
Match 27, 11:45: Luke Donald over Marcel Siem
Donald won this event in 2011 and I think he’s primed for another long run this year. Last season he dropped his opener to Ernie Els but Siem doesn’t have that experience or current form. If Siem pulls the upset, it will be out of nowhere, but that’s been known to happen at times in the Match Play Championship.
Match 28, 11:55: Scott Piercy over Paul Lawrie
Piercy has been playing well on the PGA Tour this year and finished t2 at the WGC-HSBC Championships last year. Lawrie is a veteran who made the third round last year but hadn’t had a ton of success before that.
Match 29, 12:05 PM-Rory McIlroy over Shane Lowry
Feb 25, 2012; Marana, AZ, USA; Rory McIlroy plays his approach to the first during the quarterfinal round of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship at Ritz-Carlton GC. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
Rory is the top overall seed in the event and takes on Lowry in another all-Ireland matchup. I think Northern Ireland goes 2-2 though and gets the win in this one as well. It’s not unheard of for the #1 overall to go down in the first round like in the NCAA tournament, but Rory has a nice history (10-4) at this event while Lowry is making his first appearance.
Match 30, 12:15 PM-Rickie Fowler over Carl Pettersson
Fowler lost in the first round last year after getting two wins in 2011. Pettersson has been playing well on tour this year but has only one win in his three previous Accenture appearances and hasn’t had much WGC success.
Match 31, 12:25 PM-Tiger Woods over Charles Howell III
Woods is 33-9 in this event and has won it three times. He’ll face familiar foe CH-triple sticks who he dueled in the famous 1996 US Amateur Championship. Woods has lost twice in round one before but is in good form and should be ready for a good run. I have him getting to the eight before losing to Hunter Mahan in my bracket.
Match 32, 12:35 PM-Francesco Molinari over Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
In the final match of the day, Molinari looks for his second first-round win in a row as he takes on the Spaniard Fernandez-Castano who pushed Tiger to 18 holes last year in his first appearance. Fernandez-Castano has won six times in his career in Europe including his second career win at the BMW Italian Open last September. Molinari has won three times in Europe including a 2010 WGC event. He’s a bit more accustom to this event and to playing in the US, so I think he’ll get the win in this one.