Day 3 of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship narrowed the field to eight. Ryan Ballengee wraps up Friday’s matches at Dove Mountain. (Click for: Running blog | Scoring)
HOGAN: Matt Kuchar (4) d. Martin Kaymer (1), 4 and 3 – After taking the lead at the sixth, Kuchar moved to 4 up by the 12th tee. Kaymer won one hole early but got buried quickly.
HOGAN: Hunter Mahan (6) d. Steve Stricker (2), 4 and 3 – Mahan never trailed in the match, draining eight birdies on the round. Stricker was overwhelmed and finished quickly.
SNEAD: Lee Westwood (1) d. Nick Watney (4), 3 and 2 – Westwood took the first two holes in the match, then cruised through the middle of the front nine. Wins at Nos. 8-10 put Westwood up for good.
SNEAD: Martin Laird (10) d. Paul Lawrie (11), 3 and 1 – Laird won the first two holes, then managed to hang onto his lead with a string of pars. A win at No. 12 put Laird up by three and Lawrie could never pull closer than down two.
JONES: Peter Hanson (9) d. Brandt Snedeker (5), 5 and 3 – Hanson won the first three holes and was 4 up before Snedeker managed to take three in a row from Nos. 8-10. Hanson immediately rallied, however, with four wins in five holes – all with birdie – to end the match.
JONES: Mark Wilson (10) d. Dustin Johnson (3), 4 and 3 – Despite the massive distance advantage Johnson had over Wilson, it was the Chicago native who scored better. Wilson took four holes in a row after tying the opening pair. Though Johnson birdied three of four par-5 holes on the day, Wilson won all three par-3 holes in the match.
PLAYER: Rory McIlroy (1) d. Miguel Angel Jimenez (13), 3 and 1 – McIlroy took a 3-up advantage at the turn, earning two par-4 wins at the seventh and ninth with birdies. Some loose play to begin the back nine let Jimenez back into the match, but McIlroy was good enough to play the final four holes in 2 under and advance.
PLAYER: Sang-Moon Bae (11) d. John Senden (10), 1 Up – The only match on Friday to go the distance, the PGA Tour rookie had a 2-up lead through six holes. Senden battled back to square with birdie wins at the seventh and eighth holes. Seven of the final 10 holes were halved, but Bae’s second back-nine win at the par-3 16th was the final margin.
Watch live coverage of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on Golf Channel, Saturday noon-2PM ET; Sunday 8AM-1PM ET. NBC coverage can be seen live Saturday/Sunday, 2-6PM ET.
