Accenture Match Play: Luke Donald Dispatches New World No. 1 Martin Kaymer In Final

Luke Donald righted the ship early on the back nine and went into the 16th hole three-up over Martin Kaymer. Considering that there are only three holes left at that point, that was bad thing for the world's new No. 1-ranked golfer: Donald got his birdie putt close enough for Kaymer to concede it, giving Donald a 3 and 2 victory in the Accenture Match Play.

Donald recovered from losing three of four holes entering the turn to win three of the first five on the back nine. He birdied the 11th, parred the 12th to win after a Kaymer bogey, and rolled in a birdie on the 15th to make the 16th a must-win situation for Kaymer.

Donald's win in the Accenture Match Play is his first World Golf Championship, and he'll did it without trailing in any match all week. That might be unprecedented, but this is: Donald won each match without playing the 18th hole this week, a first in the history of the Accenture Match Play

In the third place match, Matt Kuchar's steady play earned him a 2 and 1 victory over Bubba Watson. Kuchar took his two-up advantage early in the round, and held it until the 16th, when Watson won only his second hole of the round. Kuchar answered with a birdie on the 17th to secure his victory.

Early on in the final match of the 2011 Accenture Match Play Championship, it looked like Luke Donald would dust new world No. 1 Martin Kaymer as he has the rest of his competition this week. But Kaymer rebounded on the second half of the front nine to make it a virtual nine-hole match.

Donald built a three-up lead with birdies on the second and fourth holes and a par on the fifth, then saw it evaporate with a bogey on the sixth, a par on the eighth that Kaymer birdied, and a double bogey on the par 5 ninth. Donald has yet to trail this week, but if his last four holes are indication, he might be trailing soon.

In the undercard, Matt Kuchar has a two-up lead through 11 holes on Bubba Watson in the third place match, and Watson's game seems to have mostly deserted him on the weekend. Watson's got just one red number on his card — an eagle 3 on the par 5 second hole — and has allowed Kuchar to score without doing all that much for himself.

But Watson obviously has the scoring and shotmaking skills to stage a rally.

Today's Accenture Match Play Championship final between Luke Donald and new world No. 1 Martin Kaymer promises to be a matchup of two talented golfers. But inclement weather conditions mean neither will be scoring very much early on.

Donald is one-up through three holes — he birdied the second, while Kaymer has parred all three holes so far — but the final spent some time in weather delay at the moment while a "wintry mix" of rain and hail pelted the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club course. Hail on the greens forced a suspension of play.

Amusingly, that "wintry mix" is coming down in Arizona — Marana, specifically, where the Ritz-Carlton course is.

In the third place match between Matt Kuchar and Bubba Watson, the players are all square through four holes. Watson birdied the second hole to take an early one-up lead, but Kuchar answered with a birdie on the third that tied things up.

We'll have updates for you  in this StoryStream as the day progresses. As weather permits, anyway.

The final two matches of the Accenture Match Play Championship are set to tee off on Sunday as Martin Kaymer and Luke Donald battle it out for the tournament title. The action begins early on Sunday afternoon with the consolation match, with Bubba Watson and Ryan Moore hitting the course with third-place on the line.

Kaymer and Donald each survived 36 holes of play on Saturday as weather worries forced tournament organizers to rearrange the schedule in an effort to get play in without a delay. Kaymer beat Miguel Angel Jimenez in the quarterfinals before outlasting Bubba Watson in the semifinals. no matter what happens on Sunday, Kaymer will take over the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Donald made it through to the finals with ease, beating Ryan Moore, 5&4, in the quarterfinals and cruising by Matt Kuchar, 6&5, in the semifinals. Donald has played only 73 holes in his five matches this week, breezing through the bracket and setting a new tournament record for fewest holes played en route to a championship match.

Here's the schedule for Sunday's matchups. All times are listed in Mountain Time, local to the course.

Coverage begins at 2 p.m. Eastern on NBC, coinciding with the beginning of the consolation match. The broadcast is set to end right around 6 p.m. Eastern, or whenever the final match ends.

For more on the tournament, check out our Accenture Match Play Championship StoryStream.

On Saturday, Martin Kaymer outlasted Bubba Watson in a hard-fought Accenture Match Play Championship semifinal, and with the 1-up win, the German will be rewarded with the world No. 1 ranking. Kaymer will be the top-ranked golfer in the world, regardless of whether he wins the tournament final against Luke Donald on Sunday.

It was a familiar pairing, as Kaymer won the 2010 PGA Championship after a three-hole playoff with Watson. Kaymer was met with another strong challenge from Watson on Saturday, and needed a rally on the back nine to seal the win. He pulled ahead with a birdie on the 15th hole, and benefited further from a Watson bogey on the 16th. Watson managed to shoot birdie to give himself a fighting chance on the 18th, but both shot even and Kaymer emerged with the win.

As Kaymer was ranked No. 2 entering the day, he figures to switch places with Lee Westwood, the former No. 1. Kaymer has earned his place in the top echelon of all-time German golfers. He's only the second German to earn the No. 1 ranking.

If Kaymer can manage a win against Luke Donald on Sunday, he will have the 18th win of his professional career.

You can view the full Accenture Match Play Championship bracket here. Follow along with this StoryStream for further updates. And for all things golf, be sure to check out SB Nation's golf blog, Waggle Room.

On Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Luke Donald has advanced to the final of the Accenture Match Play Championship, and will face either Bubba Watson or Martin Kaymer in the final. The schedule of the tournament, which follows a bracket rather than a conventional leaderboard, has been accelerated due to the threat of snow, so two rounds -- the quarterfinals and semifinals -- are being decided on Saturday.

Donald, a 3-seed, first defeated 12-seed Ryan Moore in 14 holes to reach the semifinals, where the Englishman bested Matt Kuchar in 13 holes. Kuchar will face the loser of the Watson-Kaymer match in the third-place match on Sunday.

Here are the results as of 5:20 p.m. Eastern on Saturday:

QUARTERFINALS
Luke Donald def. Ryan Moore (5 and 4)
Matt Kuchar def. Y.E. Yang (2 and 1)
Martin Kaymer def. Miguel Angel Jimenez (1 up)
Bubba Watson def. J.B. Holmes (19 holes)

SEMIFINALS
Luke Donald def. Matt Kuchar (6 and 5)
IN PROGRESS: Martin Kaymer vs. Bubba Watson

You can see the entire Accenture Match Play Championship bracket here. Follow along with this StoryStream for further updates. And for all things golf, be sure to check out SB Nation's golf blog, Waggle Room.

The Accenture Match Play Championship is down to the final eight as it moves into the quarterfinals, set to take place early on Saturday morning. The tee times were moved up ahead of Saturday's quarterfinal in an effort to get two rounds of play in on Saturday before Sunday's final round. With bad weather, and possibly snow, looming, tournament officials are scrambling to avoid a weather delay and finish on schedule.

With as many upsets as there have been thus far --  Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood, Phil Mickelson are gone -- the Accenture Match Play Championship is there for the taking for world No. 2 Martin Kaymer. Miguel Angel Jimenez and Kaymer square-off in the Gary Player bracket with the right to advance to the semifinals on the line. In other action, Ryan Moore, a 12-seed, and Y.E. Yang, an 11-seed, each made the round of eight with two-straight upsets in the first two rounds.

Here's the full schedule for Saturday morning's quarterfinal matches, to be immediately followed by the semifinal round, weather permitting. All tee times are listed in Mountain Time.

Coverage will begin at 9 a.m. Eastern on the Golf Channel before NBC takes over the broadcasting duties at 2 p.m. Eastern, taking you through the semifinal matchups.

For more on the tournament, check out our Accenture Match Play Championship StoryStream. For all things golf, check in with SB Nation's golf blog, Waggle Room.

Dealing with the threat of snow, Accenture Match Play Championship organizers were forced to scramble on Thursday, moving around the final three rounds of play in hopes of avoiding a weather delay. Instead of playing the semifinals on Sunday, the quarterfinal matches will tee-off early on Saturday morning, with the semifinals set to take place almost immediately following the morning matches.

The weather is forecast to be blustery, rainy and, perhaps, snowy this weekend, adding an element of intrigue to the tournament. In addition to playing 54 holes over the next two days, for those that survive, the cold and wet weather makes the weekend matches more of a mental task for the final eight players.

It’s been a week of upsets and surprises at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club just outside of Tucson, with world No. 2 Martin Kaymer the only No. 1 seed left in the tournament. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood were all knocked off in the first two rounds as upsets cam fast and furious. With the match play format offering something different to golf fans, it’s been an interesting week at the Accenture Match Play, to say the least.

For more on the tournament, including results from Friday’s matches, check out our Accenture Match Play 2011 StoryStream.

On Friday at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, the world's No. 2 golfer, Martin Kaymer, advanced past Hunter Mahan to reach the fourth round of the Accenture Match Play Championship. Bubba Watson is one of the other familiar faces to advance to the next round.

Kaymer survived despite dropping the first two holes of the day to Hunter Mahan. He recovered by the sixth hole, and after once again falling behind by two, the German won four of the final five holes to render the 18th hole unnecessary and win the round.

Watson, meanwhile, advanced past Greg Ogilvy in convincing fashion. After winning the first three holes, Watson won five straight, clinching the round by the 14th hole. He'll move on to face fellow American J.B. Holmes, who is looking for his first PGA Tour win since 2008.

Here are the full results from Friday's action:

No. 12 Ryan Moore def. No. 8 Nick Watney (19 holes)
No. 3 Luke Donald def. No. 15 Matteo Manassero (3 and 2)
No. 4 Matt Kuchar def. No. 8 Rickie Fowler (2 and 1)
No. 11 Y.E. Yang def. No. 2 Graeme McDowell (3 and 2)
No. 1 Martin Kaymer def. No. 5 Hunter Mahan (2 and 1)
No. 6 Miguel Jimenez def. No. 10 Ben Crane (7 and 6)
No. 5 Bubba Watson def. No. 8 Greg Ogilvy (6 and 4)
No. 6 J.B. Holmes def. No. 10 Jason Day (1 up)

You can view the full Accenture Match Play Championship bracket here. Stay tuned to this StoryStream for tee times, results, and more. And for all things golf, check in with SB Nation's golf blog, Waggle Room.

The 2011 Accenture Match Play has been losing big names left and right — Tiger Woods lost his first round match, and Phil Mickelson fell on Thursday — but at least one of the PGA Tour's more colorful characters around on the weekend, now that Bubba Watson is through to the round of eight.

Watson beat Geoff Ogilvy 6 and 4 to secure his place in the quarterfinals of the Accenture Match Play, continuing a hot streak that dates back to 2010. Watson won the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year and played well in 2010's Ryder Cup and season-ending unofficial events. He's long been regarded as one of the golf world's more interesting young talents, and could take a major step up with a win in this event.

Watson will face the winner of the J.B. Holmes-Jason Day match in the round of eight, and could play Martin Kaymer or Hunter Mahan in the semifinals if he wins.

The third round of the Accenture Match Play 2011 Championship begins on Friday, but the bracket is missing some star power after some of golf's finest had rough outings over the first two days. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood are all gone, victims of upsets during the first two rounds. Even Rory McIlroy, within striking distance of the top-spot in the rankings, saw his tournament end on Tuesday, never putting up a fight in an 8 and 7 loss.

Martin Kaymer was the only No. 1 seed left in the tournament after defeating Justin Rose in 20 holes on Tuesday. Of the two seeds, only one remains, as well, with Graeme McDowell the lone man left on the seed line. It's been a tournament of upsets and wild finishes thus far, leaving a bracket few could've predicted.

The updated bracket for the Accenture Match Play Championship can be found here.

On Friday, the final 16 hit the course, paired-off in match play format. It all gets started at 10:35 a.m. local time, 12:35 p.m. on the East Coast. The full tee times for Friday's Accenture Match Play tournament:

10:35 am Fowler, Rickie Kuchar, Matt
10:47 am McDowell, Graeme Yang, Y.E.
10:59 am Ogilvy, Geoff Watson, Bubba
11:11 am Day, Jason Holmes, J.B.
11:23 am Watney, Nick Moore, Ryan
11:35 am Manassero, Matteo Donald, Luke
11:47 am Kaymer, Martin Mahan, Hunter
11:59 am Crane, Ben Jimenez, Miguel A.

Coverage begins at 2 p.m. Eastern on Golf Channel, with four hours of live coverage from the course. For the latest information, check out our Accenture Match Play 2011 StoryStream.

Tiger Woods left the first round of Accenture Match Play 2011, followed shortly after by Phil Mickelson. Lee Westwood was the next No. 1 seed to exit the bracket in Thursday’s scores, falling by 1 to Nick Watney. All eyes turned to Martin Kaymer, the lone remaining top seed, who beat Justin Rose in extra innings, needing 20 holes to survive.

Friday’s Bobby Jones bracket matchups will pit Watney against Ryan Moore and Matteo Manassero drawing Luke Donald. Ben Hogan’s territory will see Graeme McDowell against Y.E. Yang and Rickie Fowler playing Matt Kuchar.

The Sam Snead bracket has Geoff Ogilvy taking on Bubba Watson as Jason Day faces J.B. Holmes. Ben Crane will get Miguel Jimenez in the Gary Player bracket, with that winner to be matched up against the winner of Watney vs. Kaymer.

To keep up with the action, follow the PGA’s leaderboard, join SB Nation’s Waggle Room, and stay tuned to this Accenture Match Play 2011 StoryStream.

Paul Casey is out at the Match Play Championships. Casey, who has reached the finals for the past two years, fell to tenth seeded Jason Day four and two. Day made six birdies throughout the round, and dropped just two holes, ending the match with a birdie at the par-3 sixteenth. Day will face J.B. Holmes in the third round. 

Holmes, who was initially an alternate, has played well in his first two matches, beating both Camilo Villegas and Ernie Els. In his match against Els, neither players were able to take more the a one hole lead throughout the round. All square going into the sixteenth, Holmes' par edged Els' bogey, which was all the American needed. The pair split the final two holes, giving Day a one-hole win.

In the top half of the bracket, Bubba Watson had no trouble with Mark Wilson. Wilson, who already has two wins on tour this season, was unable to win a hole. Watson ended the match on the thirteenth hole, giving him a six and five victory. Watson will be up against either Thomas Bjorn or Geoff Ogilvy in the round three.

Rory McIlroy, who had the opportunity to pass Tiger Woods for the world's No. 3 ranking, fell to Ben Crane eight and seven in the second round of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship. It was the second worst loss in the history of the tournament, falling just short of Tiger Woods' nine and eight defeat over Steven Ames five years ago.

McIlroy trailed from the start. Crane, ranked No. 38 in the world, steadily increased his lead throughout the round. After winning the first hole, Crane was able to take three of the next six holes, then proceeded to win the final four holes, ending with McIlroy conceding after he failed to reach the green. Crane's 5-under 31 was the best front nine so far today. 

In two rounds of match play, Crane has only given up one hole, while winning 13. Crane will play Miguel Angel Jimenez, who defeated Ryan Palmer, in the round of sixteen. 

Phil Mickelson is out of the Accenture Match Play running, losing to Rickie Fowler in round two by a score of 6 and 5. That’s sure to be the most surprising of the day’s results, especially since Tiger Woods’ early exit left Mickelson as the event’s biggest name.

The real loser in all this: Accenture, who sponsored a golf tournament that featured a total of three rounds from Woods and Mickelson.

Other finals are in, with Ben Crane beating Rory McIlroy 8 and 7, Graeme McDowell topping Ross Fisher 4 and 2, Y.E. Yang over Stewart Cink 4 and 3, and Jason Day upsetting Paul Casey 4 and 2.

In matches drawing to a close, Ryan Palmer is 4 down after 13 holes to Miguel Jimenez, Luke Donald is 2 up on Luke Molinari after 14, and Ernie Els is 1 down to J.B. Holmes after 16.

To keep up with the action, follow the PGA’s leaderboard, join SB Nation’s Waggle Room, and stay tuned to this Accenture Match Play 2011 StoryStream.

The first round of 16 match at the Accenture Open 2011 is set with Graeme McDowell and Y.E. Yang advancing in the bracket on Thursday to face each other Friday. They are the first two winners from the second round. The remaining 14 day two matches are still in progress.

McDowell took out Ross Fisher 4 and 2 with a strong back nine. Fisher was 1 up early in the match, but McDowell came back and went 4 up on the 16th hole to win the match.

Yang topped Stewart Cink 4 and 3 in a match he controlled the entire way.

After Tiger Woods became the only one-seed to fall in the opening round, two other one-seeds are in trouble in the second round. Lee Westwood, the world’s top-ranked golfer, is 2 down on the front side in his match against Nick Watney. Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson is struggling against Rickie Fowler. Lefty is 4 down to the young American on the back nine.

For the full bracket and scores, head here.

The second round of Accenture Match Play 2011 tees off on Thursday at 9:20 a.m. MT (11:20 ET) with the pairing of Graeme McDowell and Ross Fisher. (Complete tee times are below.) There are 16 matches scheduled for the second round after the bracket was cut in half on Wednesday. The full Accenture Match Play bracket is here, and TV coverage begins on Golf Channel at 2 p.m. ET.

Amongst those suffering unfavorable results in round 1 was Tiger Woods, who was the only No. 1 seed to fall on Wednesday. It was the first time Woods had lost in the opening round of an Accenture Match Play tournament. No. 16 Thomas Bjorn pulled off the upset on the 19th hole, and moves on to face Geoff Ogilvy on Thursday.

Other upsets in the first round included K.J. Choi knocking out Retief Goosen, Matteo Manassero beating No. 2 Steve Stricker, Stewart Cink topping Ian Poulter, Mark Wilson beating fellow American Dustin Johnson, and Ryan Palmer besting Jim Furyk.

The complete Accenture Match Play 2011 second round tee times (MT):

9:10 am McDowell, Graeme Fisher, Ross
9:22 am Cink, Stewart Yang, Y.E.
9:34 am Casey, Paul Day, Jason
9:46 am Els, Ernie Holmes, J.B.
9:58 am Manassero, Matteo Schwartzel, Charl
10:10 am Donald, Luke Molinari, Edoardo
10:22 am McIlroy, Rory Crane, Ben
10:34 am Palmer, Ryan Jimenez, Miguel A.
10:46 am Mickelson, Phil Fowler, Rickie
10:58 am Kuchar, Matt Van Pelt, Bo
11:10 am Bjorn, Thomas Ogilvy, Geoff
11:22 am Wilson, Mark Watson, Bubba
11:34 am Westwood, Lee Watney, Nick
11:46 am Choi, K.J. Moore, Ryan
11:58 am Kaymer, Martin Rose, Justin
12:10 pm Karlsson, Robert Mahan, Hunter

For only the second time in his career, Tiger Woods has fallen in the first round of the Accenture Match Play event. Thomas Bjorn bested him on the 19th hole, making Woods’ exit the biggest of the day’s results. Woods trailed for almost the entire match, scoring a win on the 18th hole to force a playoff.

Phil Mickelson, Lee Westwood, and Martin Kaymer, the three other No. 1 seeds, were all able to make it to the bracket’s second round. In the next round, Westwood will take on Nick Watney, Mickelson will face Rickie Fowler, and Kaymer will get the winner of Zach Johnson and Justin Rose, the only match yet to be decided.

Rose currently leads by 2 through 12 holes.

Woods’ comeback from off-course drama hasn’t gone as planned, with today’s results another in a lengthening string of disappointments.

To keep up with the action, follow the PGA’s leaderboard and stay tuned to this Accenture Match Play 2011 StoryStream.

The Accenture Match Play 2011 bracket saw Stewart Cink, Ernie Els, Ryan Palmer, Miguel Jimenez, Edoardo Molinari, J.B. Holmes, Y.E. Yang, Graeme McDowell, and Ross Fisher earn winning scores Wednesday afternoon. The biggest upsets among those results are Cink’s topping of Ian Poulter and Palmer’s takedown of Jim Furyk, both No. 3 seeds.

Tiger Woods just teed off against Thomas Bjorn, down 1 through four holes. Phil Mickelson has made it through seven holes against Brendan Jones, already up 3. The event’s other two No. 1 seeds, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, are both up 1 early in their afternoons.

Five round-two pairings are now set: Cink vs. Yang, Els vs. Holmes, Fisher vs. McDowell, Jimenez vs. Palmer, and Donald vs. Molinari.

Potential upset victims in matches wrapping up soon include Francesco Molinari, who’s down 5 against Ryan Moore, and Matt Kuchar, down 2 against Anders Hansen.

To keep up with the action, follow the PGA’s leaderboard and stay tuned to this Accenture Match Play 2011 StoryStream.

The first player to advance in the Accenture Match Play 2011 bracket is Luke Donald, who moves on to the second round after defeating Charley Hoffman easily, 6 and 5. Donald surged out to an early lead with three birdies on the front side, winning five of the first nine holes. The match was over after the 13th.

Other matches of note that are still up for grabs late in the first round include Steve Stricker vs. Matteo Manassero, where the American is 1 up entering the back nine. Graeme McDowell is 5 up on Heath Slocum on the back nine in a match that should soon be over in favor of McDowell. Ian Poulter and Stewart Cink are all square though 17. Ernie Els is 1 up on Jeff Overton late in the round. And Jim Furyk is struggling against Ryan Palmer, as he is 3 down.

Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods begin their matches shortly, as does world No. 1 Lee Westwood.

You can view the scores and full Accenture Match Play bracket here.