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World Match Play 2012: Luke Donald crashes out in shocking defeat to Ernie Els
February 23, 2012 | 
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On a day of profuse British bloodletting at Dove Mountain, Luke Donald was an instant casualty.
World Match Play 2012: Luke Donald crashes out in shocking defeat to Ernie Els
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Luke Donald’s world No1 spot under threat after Ernie Els blows him away
• Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy through in World Match Play
• Paul Lawrie defeats Justin Rose in final-hole thriller
The madness of matchplay claimed another victim here as Luke Donald, the defending champion and world No1, was run out of town by the man formerly known as the Big Easy.
Nothing has come easy to Ernie Els for a while now, although the South African looked more than a shadow of his former self in beating – make that, hammering – the Englishman on the opening day of the World Match Play. His 5&4 margin of victory was emphatic and slightly flattering to Donald, whose extensive collection of poor shots included a shanked tee shot into the water at the par-three 3rd. He followed that with another shot into the water and conceded the hole to go one down.
The tone set, Els went about building on his advantage, reaching the turn with a two-hole advantage. Donald’s woebegone bogey at the par-five 11th extended the lead, and Els birdied two of the next three holes to secure the win.
For Donald, the consequences of the loss could be far-reaching. After sitting atop the world rankings for eight months he could be replaced by either Lee Westwood or Rory McIlroy were they to win this tournament on Sunday. It goes without saying that is a big “if” but the Englishman and the Northern Irishman came through Wednesday’s first round with victories against Nicolas Colsaerts and George Coetzee. The pair are scheduled to meet in the semi-final – a prospective contest that would have an extra edge given the rather frosty nature of their personal relationship these days. Not that either man would be so presumptive as to look that far ahead.
Westwood, for one, was content to bask in the satisfaction of winning a “proper matchplay game” 3&1. “I was very happy with the way I played,” he added. “There were a lot of tricky chip shots out there and I played all of them. I also holed a few putts so I’m very happy.”
Matching the world No3 in happiness was Paul Lawrie, whose career revival continued its upward trajectory with a victory over Justin Rose. Like many of Wednesday’s 32 matches, theirs was a tight affair, albeit that the Scot held the upper hand throughout by virtue of his superior ball-striking. Yet Rose, to his credit, did not give up, battling valiantly over the back nine when all seemed lost. His end came on the final hole when Lawrie hit what he described as his best shot of the year – quite an accolade given the number of good shots he has hit thus far in 2012.
“A seven-iron, 187 yards, off a hanging lie, to a tight pin,” said the understated Scot when asked to describe an approach to the 18th green at the Ritz-Carlton club that finished seven feet from the flag. In layman’s terms – a beauty, a pearler, a winner. Even the under-stated ScotLawrie was impressed. “It’s been a while since I’ve played in tournaments like this so obviously I’ve got to try and do the best that I can,” he said. “There is no point in playing these events if you are not going to play very well. It’s all very well playing in them, but you have got to perform in them, too. Hopefully I can keep it going.”
At least he will have the chance. The same cannot be said for the likes of Ian Poulter, who was abject in succumbing to a 4&3 defeat at the hands of South Korea’s Bae Sang-moon, and Graeme McDowell, who played well but was still beaten by Bae’s countryman YE Yang. The Northern Irishman had six birdies but lost on the 17th green. “What time is it? Eleven o’clock on a Wednesday morning and I’m about to pack up and leave my hotel. It feels strange,” McDowell said afterwards. “I just ran into a man who played really, really well. But you run into the wrong guy on the wrong day and you have got your work cut out. That’s the beauty of this format. Or not the beauty, in my case.”
Of the other home players, Robert Rock impressed more than most, eventually beating Adam Scott on the 18th. The elegant Englishman has become something of a cult figure in the US after holding off Tiger Woods in the final round of last month’s Abu Dhabi Championship – although his sudden popularity is based more on his attention to sartorial detail than his golf. Perhaps the balance will shift after this impressive victory over the Australian who was fancied by many to go far this week.
“We probably didn’t play that great – there were better matches out there I’d say – but you have got to somehow still recognise that you’re playing against somebody else, rather than get depressed on how you play, like you would do in a strokeplay tournament,” he said.
Rock will face the unheralded American Mark Wilson in Thursday’s second round. And this being a matchplay event there is only one certainty – the English dandy will look the part.
Today’s draw
64) Ernie Els v (33) Peter Hanson; (49) Kyle Stanley v (17) Brandt Snedeker (57); Robert Rock v (40) Mark Wilson; (9) Dustin Johnson v (41) Francesco Molinari; (4) Martin Kaymer v (29) David Toms; (13) Matt Kuchar v (20) Bubba Watson; (5) Steve Stricker v (28) Louis Oosthuizen; (53) YE Yang v (21) Hunter Mahan; (2) Rory McIlroy v (34) Anders Hansen; (50) Miguel Angel Jimenez v (18) Keegan Bradley; (7) Jason Day v (39) John Senden; (10) Charl Schwartzel v (42) Bae Sang-moon; (3) Lee Westwood v (30) Robert Karlsson; (14) Nick Watney v (19) Tiger Woods; (59) Matteo Manassero v (38) Martin Laird; (54) Ryo Ishikawa v (43) Paul Lawrie.
Paul Lawrie’s pearler floors Justin Rose at World Match Play
• Lawrie defeats Rose with seven-iron to the 18th
• McDowell, Poulter and Clarke also sent packing
In a season of good shots Paul Lawrie produced his best of the lot to defeat Justin Rose on the final hole their contest on the opening day of the Accenture World Match Play in Arizona.
“A seven-iron, 187 yards, off a hanging lie, to a tight pin,” said the understated Scot when asked to describe an approach to the 18th green at the Ritz-Carlton club that finished seven feet from the flag. In layman’s terms – a beauty, a pearler, a winner. Even Lawrie was impressed: “The best shot I’ve hit all year.”
Poor Rose, who battled valiantly over a back nine in which he seemed down and out more than once only be finally repelled by his opponent’s superior ball-striking. Even on the last hole, where the Englishman needed to hole his shot from the depths of a greenside bunker to have a chance of extending the match, he came close, shaving the hole on the way past.
Lawrie, one up at that stage, had two putts to win the match and used both. The Scotsman, for whom this was the first competitive round in the US for eight years, will play the Ryo Ishikawa in Thursday’s second round – another chance to continue the run of form which has seen him return to the elite club after a long absence. He is currently No45 in the world rankings.
“It’s been a while since I’ve played in tournaments like this, so obviously I’ve got to try and do the best that I can. There is no point in playing these events if you are not going to play very well. It’s all very well playing in them, but you have got to perform in them, too. Hopefully I can keep going,” Lawrie said before heading back to his hotel for an afternoon nap to offset the effects of jet lag. “I woke up at 2.30 this morning and didn’t get back to sleep.”
The Scot said this with a smile, as well he might. Like every other player in the field he is well aware of the vagaries of this format, where you can play badly and win, or play well and lose. Graeme McDowell fell into the latter category, producing six birdies in his match against the tough South Korean YE Yang only to lose on the 17th green. “What time is it? Eleven o’clock on a Wednesday morning and I’m about to pack up and leave my hotel. It feels strange,” the Northern Irishman said afterwards.
“I just ran into a man who played really, really well. But you run into the wrong guy on the wrong day and you have got your work cut out. That’s the beauty of this format. Or not the beauty, in my case.”
At least McDowell had some kind of excuse for his loss. Ian Poulter, a past winner of this event, succumbed with barely a whimper to Bae Sang-moon of South Korea. The Englishman was three-over for the first four holes of the back nine and shook hands on the 5th – a loser by a score of 4&3. So much for his early morning declaration via his Twitter feed: “Love the feeling you get in Matchplay when can look ur (sic) opponent straight in the white of his eyes (and) get that buzz.”
That contest was one of few one-sided affairs on a day of close contests. Only Darren Clarke, who was hammered 5&4 by Nick Watney, turned in a more abject performance in the early-morning matches. The 30-year-old American advances to face Tiger Woods, who saw off Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño in a match that had more swings and roundabouts than Disneyland.
The Spaniard took an early lead, winning the first two holes, then Woods edged ahead only for his opponent to win a couple of holes after the turn – courtesy of Woods’ errors – and regain the advantage. It was not classic golf but it was vintage matchplay, compelling in the intensity of the competition. Woods was one-up atb the end of it.
Such intensity was to be found all over the course, where the first six matches all went at least as far as the 17th hole. And three of those went to extra holes, including the match between Thomas Bjorn and Francesco Molinari, which was settled when the Italian chipped in to secure the victory.
Robert Rock, a recent winner in Abu Dhabi, was another who was taken to final hole before securing an excellent win over Adam Scott. Rock is becoming something of a cult figure in the US following that victory in the desert, known as much for his attention to sartorial details as for the way in which he held off Woods over the final round in Abu Dhabi.
After his defeat of Scott, fancied by many to win this event, greater emphasis might be placed on the Englishman’s game from here on in.
World Match Play 2012: Paul Lawrie continues to exhibit the form of his life at Dove Mountain
On a day of early British bloodletting at Dove Mountain, Paul Lawrie proves his survival instincts.
World Match Play 2012: Paul Lawrie continues to exhibit the form of his life at Dove Mountain
The Accenture World Match Play in Arizona: who will win, and why | Lawrence Donegan
Only a fool would try to predict the outcome of 32 matches involving 64 of the world’s best golfers. So here goes
It is that time of year again. With the first round of the Accenture World Match Play set to tee off, the old rule still applies – only a fool would try to predict the outcome of 32 matches involving 64 of the world’s best golfers. So here goes.
Luke Donald, England v Ernie Els, South Africa
Don’t mistake a soft home counties accent for modesty or a disinclination for sporting combat. Donald is a certified terrier in matchplay golf. Els is a shadow of the player he used to be. Donald wins.
Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland v George Coetzee, South Africa
The steady rise of South Africa’s new generation of golfers is one of the great under-reported trends in modern golf. Coetzee is one of the lesser known of the clan but a fine player nonetheless. However, he’s not fine enough to beat the sport’s next dominant player. McIlroy wins.
Lee Westwood, England v Nicolas Colsaerts, Belgium
There are always upsets in the first round of this event. The trick is how to spot them. Colsaerts hits the ball miles, is in form and, as he showed in the Volvo World Match Play in Spain last year, he is good in this format. He has a better chance against Westwood than you might think. The Belgian wins.
Martin Kaymer, Germany v Greg Chalmers, Australia
The German, who was world No1 at the time, made the final here last year, ultimately going down to Luke Donald when many thought him far too good for the Englishman. Kaymer’s game and ranking have shaded slightly in 12 months but he’s still far too good for the likes of Greg Chalmers.
Steve Stricker, United States v Kevin Na, United States
Most people will look at the rankings and the respective records of the two players and pick Stricker. But like many of these first-round contests, it’s not quite as straightforward as that. Stricker hasn’t played for five weeks, and Na is one of those pernickety characters who can get under the skin. It’ll be close but Stricker wins.
Webb Simpson, United States v Matteo Manassero, Italy
Another “toss-up” in a first round that has more than its usual share of potentially close contests. Simpson played brilliantly last year and has started well this year. He should win. But Manassero has shown an appetite for the matchplay format in his short career and he putts well. Simpson wins. Just.
Jason Day, Australia v Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Spain
Cabrera-Bello won recently in the desert, holding off a strong field in Dubai, and won last year on the European Tour. In short, he has a pedigree. However, he has not played much in the US and may require a period of adjustment. Jason Day, on the other hand, is undeniably one of the best players in the world. Day wins.
Adam Scott, Australia v Robert Rock, England
“Rocky” proved he can withstand pressure in holding off Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy over the final 18 holes in Abu Dhabi. But Arizona is a long way from home, and jet lag might be a problem. Scott wins.
Dustin Johnson, United States v Jim Furyk, United States
New generation American against old generation. Johnson seems like an obvious winner, being both a bigger hitter and an intimidating presence. Yet there remains a doubt in some minds about his temperament. However, there is no doubt about Furyk’s doggedness. Furyk wins.
Charl Schwartzel, South Africa v Gary Woodland, United States
One of the easier matches to predict. Schwartzel is a Masters champion, a terrific player. Woodland has just split with his long-time swing coach. A South African win.
Bill Haas, United States v Ryo Ishikawa, Japan
Never expect too much from a player who has just won. Haas prevailed in a play-off in Los Angeles on Sunday, while Ishikawa was well down the field. But in matchplay great putting often counts for more than great from. Ishikawa – just.
Graeme McDowell, Northern Ireland v YE Yang, South Korea
This may well be a case of “count the spectator” but the lack of local interest in this contest might be in inverse proportion to the intensity of the competition itself. It would be fair to say that McDowell and Yang are two terriers. A toss of the coin. Yang wins. Possibly.
Matt Kuchar, United States v Jonathan Byrd, United States
There won’t be many fist-pumps on show in this one. Two of the least demonstrative figures in American golf go head to head. Byrd is underrated, and Kuchar is overrated (at least if the world rankings are anything to go by). Of the two, Byrd has been showing better early-season form. He wins.
Nick Watney, United States v Darren Clarke, Northern Ireland
Common sense suggests this should be an easy win for the younger American but you never know where Clarke is concerned. He’s endured a torrid time with his form over the last few months but this might be the week it clicks. Then again it might not be. Watney wins.
Sergio García, Spain v Miguel Angel Jiménez, Spain
The tortoise and the hare of Spanish golf. García is younger and flashier and is undoubtedly more talented, but there is a doggedness about Jiménez that serves him well in this format. Still, his younger compatriot should just about have enough to see him off. García wins.
KJ Choi, South Korea v Kyle Stanley, United States
Choi has a good record in this event, without ever fulfilling the expectations of those who have believed in the past that he is a potential winner. Stanley, meanwhile, has won on the PGA Tour already this year and is in terrific form. It’s just a hunch, but Choi’s persistence sees him through.
Brandt Snedeker, United States v Retief Goosen, South Africa
Snedeker is another winner on the PGA Tour this year. He is a fine all-round player and an especially good putter. Goosen’s career is on the slide. An easy win for the American.
Keegan Bradley, United States v Geoff Ogilvy, Australia
The aficionados would argue this is one of the more intriguing matches of the first round. Bradley is in form – having almost won in LA at the weekend – but Ogilvy is a past winner of this event and excels in this format. Advance Australia fair.
Tiger Woods, United States v Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, Spain
For all that Woods has had troubles and for all that the Spaniard is mining a rich seam of form, this appears one of the easier matches to predict. Woods has the class and the aura to win easily.
Bubba Watson, United States v Ben Crane, United States
Crane is famous for playing painful slowly and Watson is famous for being temperamental. It so happens that both excel in different aspects of the game – Crane putts superbly, Watson is the bomber supreme. A close one but Watson likes this course a lot, which should give him the edge.
Hunter Mahan, United States v Zach Johnson, United States
It is not quite true that men have gone broke underestimating Johnson but he is more than capable of beating anyone in a head-to-head contest, the nature of which appeals to him greatly. Mahan should win on raw talent, but he won’t. Johnson to progress.
Justin Rose, England v Paul Lawrie, Scotland
Who has not been captivated by the Scotman’s unexpected return to the world’s elite? Lawrie is playing wonderfully well just now, but Rose also looked good last week in his first tournament of the year. The proverbial toss-up. But Lawrie wins on the 12th extra hole.
Ian Poulter, England v Bae Sang-moon, South Korea
In the places where golf people gather there is a sense that the Korean could turn out to be a very special player indeed, and that he may have the beating of Poulter. Don’t believe the second part of that sentence. To misquote Vince Vaughn in Swingers, the Englishman is money in matchplay golf. Poulter wins.
Thomas Bjorn, Denmark v Francesco Molinari, Italy
Molinari is a very tidy player but tidy might not be enough on a golf course where straight driving and accurate iron play are not at a premium, especially against a player like Bjorn. The Dane, like Paul Lawrie, is enjoying a second life at this level and – a hunch – he might go all the way to the final.
Bo Van Pelt, United States v Mark Wilson, United States
This match is likely to set an all-time record for smallest gallery in this tournament, which is really saying something given the sparse attendances through the years. As for a winner – it is hard to care but, since you insist, Van Pelt.
Simon Dyson, England v John Senden, Australia
Senden is steady without ever being eye-catching. Dyson is a good player who gets better with every passing year. If the Englishman can control his temperament he should go through.
Alvaro Quirós, Spain v Martin Laird, Scotland
Two big hitters, neither of whom has been in particularly good form over the first few weeks of the year. Yet Quirós looked to be hitting fairly well on the practice range and has a decent matchplay record. A Spanish win.
Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa v Aaron Baddeley, Australia
The South African is as talented as he is apparently diffident – a pity because he could win an event like this were he to truly engage with the task at hand. Baddeley, on the other hand, makes the most of what he has – principally a terrific putting stroke. Australia wins.
David Toms, United States v Rickie Fowler, United States
The hyping of Rickie Fowler is one of the more curious, and potentially damaging, aspects of the American golf scene. There is a lot of pressure on this likable young man, and he doesn’t appear to be handling it too well. Toms has been there and done that, and will do it again in this first-round tie.
Robert Karlsson, Sweden v Fredrik Jacobson, Sweden
One for the Swedish aficionados. Karlsson wins.
KT Kim, South Korea v Anders Hansen, Denmark
Kim starred for Greg Norman’s International team at last year’s President’s Cup, much to the surprise of most people but not his Asian team-mates who were aware of his appetite for matchplay golf. Hansen is no mug in this format either, but Kim progresses.
Jason Dufner, United States v Peter Hanson, Sweden
It is hard to believe Dufner almost won last year’s PGA Championship, and it is hard to believe he is anything other than a decent PGA Tour journeyman. Hanson, on the hand, is just one notch below being a truly top-class player and he should certainly have enough to win this match.
Tiger Woods brushes off criticism from Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano ahead of Matchplay clash
Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño may live to regret his comments about the 14-time major winner.
Tiger Woods brushes off criticism from Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano ahead of Matchplay clash
Paul Lawrie: ‘I wanted to prove they had got the wrong idea about me’
The 1999 Open winner gears up for the World Match Play after stinging criticism spurred him back to victory on the European Tour and a return to world’s top 50 golfers
Congratulations to the anonymous commenter on the Guardian sports blog who took the time out to remark blithely that Paul Lawrie was the “third worst” major champion in history; you have helped create if not a monster then certainly a man with a mission.
Like most top-class professional golfers Lawrie, who won the 1999 Open Championship by birdieing Carnoustie’s notorious 18th, the final hole of a play-off, has deep reserves of self-belief but he is no different to anyone else in that he cares about what others think of him. “I know I shouldn’t read these things but you can’t help yourself, can you? That’s a pretty silly thing for anyone to write but you want people think of you with some respect. Not much respect there, was there?” he says. “So I think it is fair to say that comment got me highly motivated to prove to some people they have got the wrong idea about me.”
That comment appeared on the opening day of the Dubai World Championship last December which saw Lawrie finish at the top of a very strong leaderboard. From there his small but devoted army of sceptics no doubt expected him to fall like the proverbial brick. Duly motivated the Scot did nothing of the sort, playing beautifully over the next three days to finish the tournament in second place behind Alvaro Quirós.
Better was to come when he returned to the Middle East for January’s Qatar Masters, where another strong field had assembled. Once again the 43-year-old Lawrie started well but this time he pushed on, eventually winning the tournament by four shots. The victory saw him return after an absence of more than eight years to the world’s top 50 (he currently stands 43), a self-perpetuating elite which is granted automatic entry to the majors and world golf championships, where world ranking points are most abundantly available.
Lawrie will have a chance to improve his ranking on Wednesday in Tucson, where he will face Justin Rose in the first round of the Accenture World Match Play. Another good week and inevitably there will be talk of another Ryder Cup appearance for the Scot who played brilliantly the only other time he was involved against the United States, in the notorious contest at Brookline in 1999. Lawrie has always been a good matchplay competitor, as he proved that week in winning three and a half points.
“I’m really not thinking about the Ryder Cup or anything like that. There’s a long way to go and I’ve been around long enough to know what golf can do to you, that as soon as you think you have got it cracked it’ll sort you out,” he says.
Yet if Lawrie refuses to look forward to the 2012 Ryder Cup he is happy to look back to the peripheral role he played in the 2010 edition and how it helped his return to form after his world ranking had fallen to 242.
“At Celtic Manor Sky asked me to do a bit of commentating and as much as I enjoyed it, and as much as everyone at Sky was really good to me, I thought this is not what I want to do with my life right now. I just didn’t want to give up playing,” he says.
His ambition reinvigorated, he took himself into the gym, where he lost a stone and a half, and returned to the driving range with renewed purpose. “I’ve never hit so many golf balls in my life,” he says.
But for all that better conditioning and concentrated practice underpins Lawrie’s revival, nothing has mattered so much as events in his private life, not least the death of his long-time coach and friend Adam Hunter last year. The pair had worked together for more than a decade, bound together by the experiences they shared as European Tour players and by that memorable day in Carnoustie, where Hunter followed his charge’s progress from outside the ropes, as nervous as an expectant father.
“I think about Adam a 100 times a day. On the golf course if I find myself in a tricky situation or if something hasn’t gone quite right I ask myself: ‘What would his advice be?’” he says. “It’s a huge motivation for me knowing that Adam’s wife, Caroline, and his girls will be looking out for my scores and following my progress. I feel a real responsibility and would take a real pride if I can do everything I can to keep their father’s memory in the public’s mind.”
As for his own family, Lawrie has two teenage sons, Michael and Craig, both of whom are keen (as well as low-handicap) golfers. Their unlimited enthusiasm for the sport has dragged their old man out on the course far more often than was previously the case. “I used to be more of a practiser when I was home but now that the boys are at an age when they know what the game is about, and you can teach them a little bit, I play a lot more rather than just standing there on the range slashing balls all day. And that has been a great help, I think,” he says.
A great help, perhaps, but also a great humbler. It has been two years since Lawrie suffered the most significant defeat of his life but he remembers it as if it happened yesterday.
“We were playing the short nine-hole course at Deeside when it dawned on me playing the last that Craig was two shots ahead of me. I tried to put him off with a bit of gamesmanship going down the last but, fair play to him, he held it together and holed a five-footer for bogey to win,” he recalls. “I don’t mind saying I was shocked. I was thinking: ‘Hey I’m a tour pro and here I am being beaten by a 14-year-old. That’s not very good, is it?’”
There have been plenty of other games since then, and a few defeats for the tour professional. But if Craig, now a scratch player, and Michael, who plays off five, have celebrated their moments of familial glory they should take even greater joy from the contribution they have made to the career comeback of their dad. “I can’t tell you how much I love going out and playing golf with my boys, and teaching them about the game,” Lawrie says. “And I can’t tell you how much that has helped my own golf.”
Luke Donald to face Ernie Els in Match Play Championship
• Defending champion handed tricky first-round tie
• Tiger Woods faces Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño
The defending champion Luke Donald faces Ernie Els in the first round of the Match Play Championship. Tiger Woods is to play Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño.
The seeding for the first World Golf Championship of the year is based on the world ranking released Sunday.
Donald, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westood and Martin Kaymer are the top four seeds. Woods, a three-time winner of the Match Play is the No19 seed, the first time he has played this event without being among the top three seeds.
The 64-man field begins on Wednesday at Dove Mountain. Phil Mickelson and Paul Casey are not playing.
The Donald-Els match is the highest-profile for an opening round since Woods played Nick Faldo in the inaugural event in 1999.
Bill Haas pips Phil Mickelson to PGA Tour title with play-off victory
• Haas sinks 43ft birdie putt to see off Mickelson and Bradley
• Sergio García fires final-round 64 to share fourth place
Bill Haas clinched his fourth PGA Tour title by beating his fellow Americans Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in a gripping sudden-death play-off for the Northern Trust Open on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Haas sank a curling 43ft birdie putt at the second extra hole, the driveable par-four 10th, to seal victory in bright afternoon sunshine at Riviera Country Club.
Mickelson, seeking a second consecutive PGA Tour win, missed his birdie chance from the back right bunker and Bradley’s attempt, a 15-foot putt, slipped past the right edge of the cup.
The trio had finished the 72 regulation holes on seven-under-par 277, Haas closing with a two-under 69. Mickelson and Bradley each birdied the par-four last for matching 71s.
Spain’s Sergio García fired a best-of-the-week 64 that included two eagles to share fourth place at five under with the Americans Dustin Johnson (71) and Jimmy Walker (69), and Australian Jarrod Lyle (70).
Jbe Kruger keeps nerve to break European Tour duck at Avantha Masters
• South Africa’s Kruger bogeys 17th but wins by two shots
• Scot Peter Whiteford disqualified for infraction in third round
Jbe Kruger claimed a maiden European Tour victory at the Avantha Masters in New Delhi on Sunday, a day that saw Scotland’s Peter Whiteford disqualified for moving his ball late in the third round.
Whiteford, one of the lead at the start of the day, was removed from contention after TV replays of his third shot to the 18th showed that his ball rolled a fraction before he played to the green. Because he signed his card it meant disqualification.
Officials reviewed the matter as the 31-year-old from Kirkcaldy, who led after the first and second days, began the final round and he was given the bad news just after bogeying the short 3rd.
It was a happier day for the South African Kruger, whose final-round 69 was enough to finish 14-under and with a two-stroke victory.
He almost lost his nerve at the end, despite carrying a three-shot lead to the 17th tee. A bogey on that hole followed by a loose drive on the 18th gave him cause for concern, but he rescued par to take the title.
Spain’s Jorge Campillo signed for 67 – the joint best of the day – to finish tied for second with Germany’s Marcel Siem. Marcus Fraser, of Austria, and the Spaniard José Manuel Lara finished three off the lead.
Reflecting on the decision to disqualify Whiteford, the European Tour’s chief referee John Paramor said: “Peter felt his ball may have moved and for confirmation asked his caddie, a fellow competitor and a TV cameraman, who said they didn’t think it had, and so he continued on to finish the hole.
“Overnight several viewers contacted the Tour website. This was reviewed by the rules committee, who were able to determine that the ball had in fact moved. He should have incurred a penalty of one stroke and replaced the ball.
“As he did not do so, he was disqualified for signing for a score lower than taken for failing to include the penalty he had incurred. If he had contacted a member of the rules team before signing his scorecard, the footage would have been reviewed at the time and he would have averted the disqualification penalty.”
Whiteford said: “I should have reviewed it. You can see it when you look at TV. John spoke to me before I went out, so to be honest my head wasn’t in it from the 1st tee. I’m not cheating obviously. It’s one of those things, but disappointing.”
