Two little slips in the world ranking – Rory McIlroy down from sixth to seventh, and Graeme McDowell from 15th to 17th – have contrived to ensure the only two Irish players in this week’s WGC-Accenture Matchplay Championship can only meet if they both make it all the way to the final in Tucson.
With three of the world’s top-four ranked players – Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson – staying away, Sweden’s Henrik Stenson is the top seed in the championship and McIlroy is actually the top-ranked player in the Ben Hogan bracket, where he will open his quest for the matchplay title against American Boo Weekley.
McDowell is seeded fourth in the Sam Snead bracket, on the opposite side of the draw to McIlroy, where he has a first round encounter with the big-hitting American Gary Woodland.
Two-week break
McIlroy returns to action after a two-week break, following his tied-ninth finish in the Dubai Desert Classic. An indicator of McIlroy's determination to push his body came in the interim when he attended the Human Performance Lab established by GlaxoSmithKline, and "focused on applied and discovery research" to help professional athletes achieve their full physical potential.
Whilst McIlroy – who has finished second and ninth in his two outings in the Gulf Swing, in Abu Dhabi and Dubai – has improved his physical conditioning, he has always worked on sharpening his game. Last year, as world number one, he made a first-round exit at the hands of Shane Lowry. In 2012, he was a finalist when he lost out to US Ryder Cup player Hunter Mahan.
The winner of the McIlroy-Weekley first-round match will meet whoever emerges from the Lee Westwood-Harris English encounter.
McDowell – whose best finish at Dove Mountain was in reaching the quarter-finals last year – opens his quest for a maiden WGC title with a match against Woodland, with the winner facing either Hideki Matsuyama or former US PGA champion Martin Kaymer.
Having just made the cut in the Northern Trust Open, Bubba Watson’s peerless display of golf over the weekend – two 64s without dropping a shot – gave the left-hander his first win on tour since he captured the US Masters in 2012.
Of rediscovering the winning habit, Watson, who missed a short putt on the final green to forced a play-off in the Phoenix Open two weeks ago, confessed: “You never know when your last win is going to be. My last win could have been the Masters, which would have been a great way to go out. But winning (the Northern Trust Open) is nice, any time you can get another win, it’s very nice.
“I never looked down, I never felt down that I haven’t won yet but just kept plugging along and somehow it fell into my lap, adding: “I’m always going forward now. You’re always trying to go forward.”
Watson has moved on to the WGC-Accenture matchplay as one of the favourites, especially given his form with the driver. Watson ranks first in driving distance (averaging 320 yards) but has also improved his accuracy, and was ranked fifth in driving accuracy at Riviera. Watson opens his matchplay quest with a first round meeting with Finland’s Mikko Illonen.
Although he has switched from playing to caddying, the Northern Trust Open also proved to be a good one for Bray native Keith Nolan. The one-time US Tour player was on the bag of Jason Allred, who secured a place in the field through the Monday qualifying tournament.
Exceeded
Allred finished third behind Watson, which earned him a $388,600 cheque that exceeded the total he had made in his previous 153 events on tour.
“I’m so thankful to have Keith Nolan, my buddy, and a great caddie on the bag, really helping me,” said Allred, whose third-place finish earns him an invite into the Honda Classic in two weeks’ time.
