Matteo Manassero
Steve Stricker turned 44 years old on Wednesday, but after being upset by the youngest player to ever play in a World Golf Championships event, he was hardly in any mood to celebrate.
The veteran TOUR pro could never get untracked as he suffered a first-round loss for the second consecutive year.
Stricker's highlights came during a two-hole stretch just before making the turn, when he eagled the par-5 eighth and won the ninth with a par. That put him 1-up going into the back nine. But he bogeyed the 10th when his tee shot and approach shot each found the native, allowing the 17-year-old Italian teen to square the match.
The 16th turned out to be the pivotal hole, as Stricker missed a 6-foot, 8-inch par putt to fall 1 down. Manassero then closed out the match in style, rolling in a 21-foot, 7-inch birdie putt at the 17th. Next opponent for Manassero: Charl Schwartzel-Ryo Ishikawa winner
EDOARDO MOLINARI (6) def. MARTIN LAIRD (11), 3 and 2
Molinari found himself 2 down after a bogey at the sixth hole. But from there, he went on a birdie fest to wrestle control of the match away from the Scotsman. Molinari birdied five of the next seven holes as he took full advantage of Dove Mountain's par-5 holes.
The Italian had a hot putter during the stretch, making birdie putts of 14 feet, 3 inches; 12 feet, 7 inches; and 20 feet, 10 inches. When the match reached the 14th hole, Molinari was 3 up, and Laird had nothing left for a late comeback.
Next opponent for Molinari: Luke Donald
RORY McILROY (2) def. JONATHAN BYRD (15), 4 and 2
McIlroy couldn't win the second hole with a birdie and didn't lose the third hole with a bogey. But when he eagled the par-4 fourth hole -- his tee shot came up just short of the 339-yard hole and he holed out from the fairway -- the Northern Irishman had a lead that he would not relinquish for the rest of the round.
"I played very solid golf," said McIlroy, who reached the quarterfinals two years ago in his Accenture Match Play debut. Byrd, who won earlier this year at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions, had his chances. He squared the match when he birdied the eight, but promptly fell behind again when he missed a three-footer for par at the ninth. After that, he could never put another red number on his card.
Next opponent for McIlroy: Adam Scott-Ben Crane winner
RYAN PALMER (14) def. JIM FURYK (3), 2 up
You could see this coming. Furyk has struggled out of the gate this season, and his play on Wednesday must have left him frustrated. After what could have been a confidence-boosting eagle at the par-5 second, Furyk soon embarked on a nine-hole birdie-free stretch in which he posted four bogeys and two double bogeys. When Palmer got up and down at the par-5 11th for birdie, he found himself 3 up. Furyk did respond with a birdie at the 12th and a Palmer bogey at the 14th cut his lead to 1 up. But Furyk ended with bogeys on two of his last three holes. The usually accurate Furyk hit just 8 of 18 greens in regulation as he lost in the first round for the fifth time in his last eight starts in this event.
Next opponent for Palmer: Miguel A. Jimenez-Yuta Ikeda winner
