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Hunter Mahan Defeats Rory McIlroy; Wins Accenture Match Play Championship

While the focus was on Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood potentially taking over the top spot in the Official World Golf Rankings, Hunter Mahan (@HunterMahan) was quietly taking care of business. Mahan finished it off by taking down McIlroy 2&1 on Sunday afternoon to earn his first victory since the 2012 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. 

(Hunter Mahan earned his first victory since 2010. Photo GolfTV) 

Mahan's Road To Victory

Mahan started the event ranked 21st in the OWGR and was the #6 seed in what some considered the "Bracket of Death"- The Ben Hogan Bracket. 

In round one Mahan face the #11 seed, Zach Johnson. It looked as though Mahan would make an early exit as he quickly fell 2-down to Johnson through the first five holes. He went on to win holes six and seven to bring the match to even and was 1-up through 16 before Johnson made birdie on the 17th to win. It took extra holes but on the 19th Mahan closed out the match in what would be his only trip to the 18th hole all week. 

After going the distance with Johnson, Mahan faced the #14 seed Y.E. Yang. Yang had defeated the #3 seed, Graeme McDowell in round one and was looking for another upset. After finding himself down early again, Mahan put won holes 4 thru 8 and 13 thru 15 to breeze to a 5&3 victory and move on to the third round.

 Mahan's third match was against fellow American Steve Stricker. Stricker, ranked 5th in the OWGR, was the #2 seed in the bracket and the first opponent seeded higher than Mahan. For the first time in the tournament it was Mahan who would take the lead and he didn't look back making quick work of Stricker, 4&3.

His win over Stricker earned him the right to play another talented American, Matt Kuchar. Kuchar had knocked off the #1 seed in the bracket, Martin Kaymer, to advance and face Mahan. In what was a highly anticipated match, Mahan left little doubt as he blew Kuchar away with 6&5 victory. Mahan made six birdies and didn't lose a single hole in closing out the match on the 13th hole.

In the semifinals Mahan went head-to-head with the winner of the Bobby Jones Bracket, Mark Wilson. Wilson proved to be the toughest test for Mahan since the first round as the two exchanged birdies and holes as the match went on. A birdie on the 15th by Mahan put him 2-up and he would go on to win 2&1. 

The win earned Mahan $1,400,000 along with 550 FedEx Cup points. He jumped 13 spots in the Official World Golf Rankings and is now ranked 9th. 

 

Accenture Match Play Full of Round One Upsets

The first round of the Accenture Match Play Championships was full of surprises on Wednesday as nearly half of the 32 matches ended with the lower seed winning. The most noticeable may have been the top ranked golfer in the world, Luke Donald, falling 5&4 to Ernie Els. Donald won the event in 2011 and was the top seed this year. 

 

(Ernie Els knocked off top seed Luke Donald)

 

Bobby Jones Bracket

In the Bobby Jones Bracket Adam Scott (#2), K.J. Choi (#4), Thomas Bjorn (#6), Bo Van Pelt (#7) and Jason Dufner (#8), all fell to their lower seeded opponents. Dustin Johnson, the #3 seed, needed extra holes to defeat Jim Furyk. 

Thursday match to watch: Kyle Stanley (#13) v. Brandt Snedeker (#5). Snedeker knocked off Stanley in a playoff just a few weeks ago at the Farmers Insurance Open. 

Ben Hogan Bracket

The Ben Hogan Bracket was the most friendly bracket for the top seeds on Wednesday. Graeme McDowell (#3) was the only player to be "upset" when he lost to Y.E. Yang 2&1. Yang will advance to face the Hunter Mahan, the #6 seed.

Thursday Match to Watch: Bubba Watson (#5) v. Matt Kuchar (#4). Two of the top players in American golf will go head-to-head for the right to move to the quarterfinals.

 Gary Player Bracket

The story in the Gary Player bracket was Jason Day. Day, the #2 seed, found himself 3-down with four to play before staging his impressive comeback. He went on to win holes 16,17,18 and closed out opponent Rafael Cabrera-Bello on the 19th hole. 

Sergio Garcia (#4) lost 2&1 to fellow countryman Miguel Angel Jiminez (#13) while Ian Poulter (#6), Simon Dyson (#7), and Kyung-Tae Kim (#8) all fell in their matches.

Thursday Match to Watch: Jason Day (#2) v. John Senden (#10). Day struggled for most of his round but was able to pull it together. Will he ride momentum to another victory or take his foot off the gas peddle as he looks to advance past the second round?

 Sam Snead Bracket

All eyes were on Tiger Woods in the Sam Snead Bracket and Woods didn't disappoint. In a back and forth match, Woods found himself 2-down through two but battled back to go 1-up on the 8th. The lead was short lived as Gonzalo Fdez-Castano won holes 10 and 11. It wasn't until Woods won the 15th and 16th that he reclaimed the lead and held on for victory. 

Some of the biggest surprises came from the Snead Bracket as Webb Simpson (#2), Bill Haas (#3), Justin Rose (#6) and Alvero Quiros (#7) were all eliminated by higher seeds. Haas defeated Keegan Bradley and Phil Mickelson in a playoff on Sunday to win the Northern Trust Open.

Thursday Match to Watch: Tiger Woods (#5) v. Nick Watney (#4). Coming into this event both players had struggled this season. Watney took care of business winning 5&4 while Woods showed his mental toughness coming from behind to win. The winner of this match could go on to face top seed Lee Westwood.

Accenture Match Play Championship updated bracket

Accenture Match Play Championships Bracket & Preview

The World Golf Championship- Accenture Match Play Championship kicks off this week and the 64 player field is set. The best players in the world will go head-to-head in match play format with the final match playing 36-holes. 

 

(2012 WGC Accenture Match Play Bracket)

Bobby Jones Bracket

The Bobby Jones Bracket is home to the top ranked player in the world and top seed at this event, Luke Donald. Donald is the defending champion but will be tested in round one as he takes on Ernie Els. Els has been struggling with his putter lately but is a Hall of Fame golfer who can win at any time.

If Luke Donald is going to defend, he'll have to get past Adam Scott and Dustin Johnson. Scott is the number two seed and currently 8th in the OWGR. He takes on Robert Rock who is making his first match play appearance. Dustin Johnson has dropped to to 10th in the OWGR and is the number three seed. Johnson will face Jim Furyk who has struggled at this event in years past. 

Winner: Brandt Snedeker

Ben Hogan Bracket

The Ben Hogan Bracket is home to some of the most talented veterans in the game. Martin Kaymer is the top seed and currently fourth in the OWGR. Kaymer lost in the finals here last year to Donald and will take on Greg Chalmers who is making his first appearance here in 11 years.

Steve Stricker is the number two seed and currently fifth in the OWGR. He won this event in 2001 but has been struggling with back and neck pains since the beginning of the season. In the first round he will take on one of the youngest stars in the game, Kevin Na. 

The Ben Hogan bracket offers a combination of talented youth and veterans. Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson and Aaron Baddeley are some of the young stars while Matt Kuchar, David Toms, and Zach Johnson make up some of the age.

Prediction: Martin Kaymer 

The Gary Player Bracket

 The Gary Player Bracket features two players with high expectations in 2012. Rory McIlroy, the top seed, showed what he is capable of in 2011 when he nearly won The Masters and blew away the field at the U.S. Open. He's the number two player in the OWGR and seems to be a man on a mission. The number two seed is Jason Day, another guy with high expectations. Although Day hasn't won since 2010, he finished second at The Masters and the U.S. Open. He's currently ranked seventh in the OWGR. 

Trying to take down the top two seeds are two of last years major championship winners: Keegan Bradley and Charl Schwartzel. Bradley won the PGA Championship last year and nearly earned his first victory of 2012 just days ago. Schwartzel is the reigning Masters champion, something McIlroy will not forget if the two meet this week. 

Finally, we can look at Sergio Garcia. Garcia has potential to "upset" anyone and looked great in his final round on Sunday. Is it time for him to break through with a big time victory?

Prediction: Jason Day

Sam Snead Bracket

It doesn't take much to find excitement in the Sam Snead Bracket. We can begin with Tiger Woods who has a 32-8 record in match play and has won this event three times. Now ranked 20th in the OWGR, Tiger is no longer the favorite and finds himself in a bracket filled with talent. 

Lee Westwood is the top seed in the Snead Bracket and he's struggled at this event. Right behind him is one of the hottest golfers on the planet, Webb Simpson. Simpson is making his first appearance and has a wide open group to break through in. Bill Haas, won on Sunday and joins Nick Watney and Justin Rose as players to watch.

Prediction: Webb Simpson

 Final Four:

Snedeker v. Kaymer = Kaymer

Simpson v. Day = Day

Finals

Kaymer v. Day = Kaymer 

Bill Haas Wins The Northern Trust Open

Bill Haas came from behind to win the Northern Trust Open in dramatic fashion on Sunday. Haas made a 45-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to defeat Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley (@Keegan_Bradley) to earn his first victory of 2012.  

(Bill Haas wins in dramatic fashion. Photo: WN.com)

 It looked like Haas's round of 2-under (69) on Sunday would be enough to claim victory in regulation. Haas made birdie on the 17th hole after making back-to-back bogies on 12 and 13 to take the outright lead. After his round he went to the range as 54-hole leaders Mickelson and Bradley battled it out. 

Both Mickelson and Bradley needed to make birdie on the 18th to shoot even par and force a playoff. Mickelson left himself a 25-foot putt while Bradley needed only 12-feet. As they both dropped their putts the crowd went wild and Haas, who was on the range, knew they were headed to a playoff. 

 Haas was the only player to hit the green in regulation on the second playoff hole, the 10th hole, a 315 yard par 4. His tee shot landed left of the green and forced Haas to "lay up" to 45-feet away. Mickelson and Bradley had the chance to tie but Mickelson, from a greenside bunker, came up short while Bradley burned the edge of the cup with his putt from just off the green.

The win earns Haas $1,188,000 and 500 FedEx Cup points. It's his fourth career PGA Tour victory and marks his third consecutive season with a win. 

Northern Trust Open News

Sergio Garcia (@TheSergioGarcia) shot a 7-under (64) on Sunday to finish in a tie for 4th place. It was Garcia's first start of the 2012 season and first top 10 finish in the United States since he finished in 7th at the 2011 U.S. Open. 

Luke Donald (@LukeDonald), the worlds top ranked golfer, was 6-over (78) during his final round on Sunday. His first PGA Tour event of the season left him in a tie for 56th. Donald has finished in the top 25 in his previous eight PGA Tour starts dating back to July of last season. 

The PGA Tour is split next week as players head to Mexico and Arizona. In Mexico, Johnson Wagner looks to defend his 2011 Mayakoba Golf Classic title while Luke Donald will try to defend his World Golf Championship- Accenture Match Play title in Arizona.

Northern Trust Open Preview & Groups To Watch

The golf world is still buzzing over Phil Mickelson's comeback win last week as they tee it up at Riviera Country Club for the Northern Trust Open (@NTrustOpen). Aaron Baddeley (@AaronBadds) is the defending champion and will look to follow up his top five finish last week with another good showing here. 

 

The world's top ranked golfer, Luke Donald (@LukeDonald), makes his 2012 PGA Tour debut. Donald had two PGA Tour wins in 2011 and earned the money titles both in the USA and Europe. Jason Day and Adam Scott join Donald in making their first starts of the season. Day is currently ranked 7th in the world and is searching for his first win since the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship. Scott, ranked 8th in the world, is coming off a great 2011 in which he won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and had seven top 10 finishes. 

Three Groups To Watch at the Northern Trust Open

 3. Kyle Stanley, Phil Mickelson & Brandt Snedeker: The three most recent PGA Tour winners will have a lot of the focus on them. Stanley was known briefly for his collapse on the 72nd hole allowing Brandt Snedeker to win the Farmers Insurance Open. Fortunately he followed it up with a win at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. For me this group is all about Mickelson who earned his 40th career PGA Tour victory last week at Pebble Beach.

2. Dustin Johnson, Aaron Baddeley & Bubba Watson: We mentioned Baddeley being the defending champion and his top five finish last week. Dustin Johnson (@DJohnsonPGA) finished in a tie for 5th at Pebble Beach and will look to continue momentum and Waston (@BubbaWatson) has not finished outside the top 20 in all three of his starts this season. 

1. Luke Donald, Nick Watney & Adam Scott: These are three of the most exciting players in the game. Can Donald continue to play the way he did in 2011 and possibly win a major this year? Will Adam Scott continue to win and possibly earn his first career major? Nick Watney struggled at the end of 2011 and it hasn't been a great start to 2012. Hopefully playing with Donald and Scott will help get him going.

Picks to Win:

@WAMGolfs: Bubba Watson