Golf: Interesting Third Round Match-Ups At The WGC-Accenture

Shane Lowry has hit the jackpot. First, he dispatched his “old buddy” from Northern Ireland, in the first round of The WGC-Accenture Match Play Championships, then took care of  Carl Pettersson on Friday, now he gets his mentor from Ulster, Graeme McDowell. Oh! did I mention, his old buddy was World Number One, Rory McIlroy. How hard can it be now?

After breaking McIlroy’s heart with his short game, and putting him on an airplane to Florida, Lowry beat Sweden’s Carl Pettersson 6 & 5 on Friday to set up a date with McDowell on Saturday. Graeme McDowell finally got past 30 year old Alexander Noren from Sweden, but it took him 20 holes to get the job done.

You would think Lowry would start to show some nerves, but the 25 year old Ulsterman hasn’t broken a sweat. He came to The Dove Mountain Golf Resort expecting to leave early, and now you almost have start believing in him. This should be a good match, and if he can get past McDowell, you might have to start thinking he is on a mission to win it all.

After getting taken 22 holes by Jim Furyk, you have to wonder if Bubba Watson has enough left in the tank for a resurgent Jason Day. The 2012 Masters Champion will need to be on his game  if he plans to get to the fourth round. Jason Day has struggled for the past couple of years, but has found some of the old magic he had back in 201o when he was a regular on leaderboards around the tour.

This is not a gimme match for Watson. I think he can take the youngster from New Zealand, but he will need be on his game to get the job done. Jason took 19 hole in the second round to get past the pesky Russell Henley.

The good news is, Matt Kuchar was able to take care of Sergio Garcia on Friday, but the bad news is, now he gets to take on Nicolas Colsaerts. The youngster from Belgium hasn’t performed to well early in his first season as a member of the PGA tour, but match play is his speciality, and I promise you, he will give Matt Kuchar some fits. Colsaerts is scary long off the tee, especially in the high altitude of the Arizona mountains, and understands how to play in this format. He was a Captains pick for the 2102 Ryder Cup, and became the first player from Belgium to play the event.

Steve Stricker has been resting, and looks to have his game back in order, but if Scott Piercy can bring the game he had on Friday when he man-handled, and embarrassed Luke Donald 7 & 6 at Dove Mountain, Stricks may be in trouble. Steve beat Nick Watney in the second round, but took 21 holes to do so. He won’t get the same game from Piercy. If Stricker wants an invite to the Presidents Cup, he will need to find a way to defeat Scott Piercy.

Have a great day watching these matches. If you are a true golf fan, you should be rewarded with some good matches on Saturday.

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