Former PGA Champion, Y E Yang has sent Graeme McDowell home early for a second year running after handing the former U.S. Open winner a 2 & 1 defeat on the opening day of the WGC – Accenture Match-Play Championship.
The McDowell/Yang match was the first one out in this year’s championship and it was also the first finalised with McDowell already planning his way back to Florida long before fellow Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy had even teed up.
McDowell was level pegging with the Korean after winning the fourth and fifth holes to go 1 up on the Dove Mountain course.
But that’s as good as it got for McDowell who then lost the sixth, seventh and then hopelessly double bogeyed the ninth hole to find himself 2 down at the turn.
McDowell did birdie the par three 12th hole to get back to 1 down but Yang, who defeated McDowell last year 3 & 2 in the third round, then captured the 17th to win 2 & 1.
Korean Y E Yang delivers G Mac the knock out blow for a second year running in Arizona. (Photo - Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)
The Northern Irishman went into the $US 8.5m event with one of the best match-play reocrds of any player but strangely for the man who holed the 2010 European Team winning Ryder Cup putt, the desest Arizona course is not one of his favourites.
On the eve of the event McDowell described Dove Mountain as a ‘Mickey Mouse’ course and no doubt he hasn’t changed his mind after wishing Yang well for his continued progress.
“Ths my fourth year here, and I made six birdies today, played decent golf but I ran into a man that played extremely well,” said McDowell.
“I felt like I had to follow Y E all day long, and I did most of the day, but he didn’t put a foot wrong. That’s the beauty of this tournament. It’s not the beauty.
“It could be the beast of this tournament, as well. You just run into the wrong guy on the wrong day, and you have got your work cut out. I had my work cut out today, and I didn’t take care of business, so disappointed, yeah.
“I’m going to go and pack my bags here. What time is it? It’s five past 11:00 on Wednesday, so I’m leaving this golf course and going somewhere else, so I’m not going to be sad to see the back of this place. I love this resort. They take care of it beautifully, but this golf course has not been good to me.
“It just doesn’t inspire me to make a ton of birdies. What, I have I won three matches here in four years? That’s disappointing. I have played better than that every year I have been here, but, you know, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles with this tournament. I feel like I’ve had this conversation way too often standing right by this water fountain here. Disappointing.
“You know what? It’s start of a great run of golf. I’m very happy where my game is at. I made some great clutch putts out there today. Everything is taking over. This just gives you nothing, this tournament, if you run into the wrong guy.
“And as I said earlier in the week the course also gets a little Mickey Mouse as it’s not a bombers track so players like Luke Donald and ‘Poults’ have won because they don’t hit it a long way and that gives me a bit of confidence going back there.”
