The World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship will have a decidedly new look as the quarterfinals begin early Saturday morning.
That's because Bubba Watson eliminated one of the tournament's most accomplished players in Geoff Ogilvy, who had a 20-3 record entering Friday's match. That's what two wins and a runner-up finish will do for your record.
Now that Ogilvy is gone, though, we're essentially in uncharted territory. Only one of the remaining eight players has ever played a quarterfinal match -- Miguel Angel Jimenez, who was beaten in that one way back in 2000.
The No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking is up for grabs if Martin Kaymer can get through to the finals. But thanks to a scheduling change due to oncoming weather conditions, two grueling rounds on Saturday await both potential finalists, who will have to battle the whims and the winds of Mother Nature in the afternoon.
Accenture Match Play: Preview of quarterfinal matches
9:10 a.m. RYAN MOORE vs. LUKE DONALD
Accenture Match Play records: Moore is 3-1. Donald is 13-6.
Donald has been playing steady golf all week -- making 14 birdies and just a trio of bogeys, all three of which came in his second-round match with Edoardo Molinari. No player in the field has made fewer bogeys through the first three rounds. The Englishman has yet to play the 18th hole but Moore needed it -- and one more -- to dismiss Nick Watney as both players shot 7 under in a nail-biter on Friday. Donald has twice reached the third round, only to be eliminated so he joins the 2004 U.S. Amateur champ in making his first quarterfinal appearance.
9:22 a.m. MATT KUCHAR vs. Y.E. YANG
Accenture Match Play records: Kuchar is 4-1. Yang is 4-2.
Each man knocked out glitzier opponents on Friday -- Kuchar downing the colorful Rickie Fowler and Yang ousting world No. 3 Graeme McDowell. That's how they like to do their jobs, though -- head down and moving forward. Yang made birdies in bunches against the Northern Irishman, including four straight to end the match, while Kuchar's putter was relatively quiet. Eliminating mistakes will be the key for both.
9:34 a.m. MARTIN KAYMER vs. MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ
Accenture Match Play records: Kaymer is 5-3. Jimenez is 9-9.
The two Ryder Cup teammates appeared to save their best golf for the third round. Kaymer seven birdies and just one bogey while knocking off Hunter Mahan 2 and 1. Jimenez blitzed Ben Crane, closing out the match on the 12th hole. Kaymer has a carrot dangling -- he'll be No. 1 in the world if he reaches the title tilt but with that comes pressure, as well.
9:46 a.m. BUBBA WATSON vs. J.B. HOLMES
Accenture Match Play records: Watson is 3-0. Holmes is 3-1.
Fans of the long ball got their wish when these two won their third-round matches. Watson ranks first in driving distance with an average of 314.8, which is 4.3 yards longer than Holmes, who has already unleashed one of more than 370 in the thin air at Dove Mountain. "It should be fun," Holmes said. "We'll get out there and see who hits it the furthest." Holmes, ranked No. 66 in the world, was the last man in when Tim Clark withdrew on Tuesday. He didn't even get a practice round but he knows desert golf, with a pair of victories at TPC Scottsdale.
