Hunter Mahan Defeats Rory McIlroy To Win Accenture Match Play Championship

Hunter Mahan did all his damage on the front nine as he faced Rory McIlroy in the 2012 Accenture Match Play championship match, then had to hang on down the wire. After an even first five holes, Mahan strung together three-straight winning holes, quickly taking a 3-up lead over McIlroy. Though McIlroy did attempt to make a run down the stretch, Mahan's lead proved to be insurmountable as he took the title with a 2 & 1 win.

Mahan got the streak started with a birdie on No. 6, besting McIlroy's par on the hole. Both players made a mess of the seventh hole, with Mahan's bogey holding up against McIlroy's double-bogey. On the par five eighth, Mahan parred the hole while McIlroy carded a bogey, stretching the lead to three.

On the back nine, Mahan padded his lead with a birdie on No. 11 -- the fourth hole he won on the day. Finally, McIlroy answered, taking the 12th to slow Mahan down just a bit. After three halved holes, McIlroy won his second hole of the day with a birdie on No. 14, cutting the deficit to two holes.

But that was as close as McIlroy would get. The two halved the next three holes and McIlroy ran out of real estate as Mahan hung on to seal the victory.

McIlroy was playing for a chance to be world No. 1 after a strong week at the premier match play event. With a win over Mahan, he would've moved into the No. 1 spot, but instead will have to wait a bit.

In the consolation match, Mark Wilson knocked off Lee Westwood, 1-up, for third place.

The World Golf Championships' Accenture Match Play Championship final is finally set. Rory McIlroy and Hunter Mahan each advanced through the bracket on Sunday morning to make it to the finale, scheduled to take place at 2:20 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

McIlroy, the North Ireland native, defeated England's Lee Westwood on Sunday morning to make it all the way through match play and into the championship. The final score of their meeting was 3-and-1, putting McIlroy in the driver's seat to become the top-ranked golfer in the world.

Mahan defeated fellow American Mark Wilson with a 2-and-1 score to advance to the finals against McIlroy. Mahan took a two-hole lead from the outset and never looked back, setting up a rematch with McIlroy as the two met in the second round of this same tournament in 2009.

Westwood and Wilson will tee-off in their third-place match at 2:05.

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It won't be a championship match for No. 1 in the world, but it might be the next-best option. Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood, the lone No. 1 seeds remaining, both won their quarterfinal matches Saturday and will meet in one of Sunday's semifinals at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

The winner of Sunday morning's semifinal has a chance to become No. 1 in the world. If either man wins the championship Sunday afternoon, he will ascend to the top spot in the world rankings.

McIlroy, the No. 1 seed in the Gary Player bracket, knocked off 11th-seeded Sang Moon Bae, 3 & 2.

Westwood, the top player in the Sam Snead bracket, emerged thanks to a 4 & 2 victory over Martin Laird.

The other semifinal features two Americans.

Hunter Mahan was dominant Saturday in a 6 & 5 drubbing of Matt Kuchar to capture the Ben Hogan bracket.

Mahan will face Mark Wilson, the 10 seed, who came out of the Bobby Jones bracket after a 4 & 3 win over No. 9, Peter Hanson.

With world overall top seed Luke Donald knocked out on Wednesday, and three- time champion Tiger Woods shown the door in round two, the tournament still had much-needed star power.

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At the 2012 Accenture Match Play tournament in Arizona, one of the semifinal matches has already been set for Sunday.

In the final match in the Ben Hogan bracket, No. 6 seed Hunter Mahan knocked off No. 4 seed Matt Kuchar by winning six holes to Kuchar's five in 13 holes. Kuchar bogeyed on holes 3, 5, 7 and 10 while Mahan made par on all four.

Meanwhile, in the Bobby Jones bracket, No. 10 seed Mark Wilson advanced past No. 9 seed Peter Hanson. Wilson took five holes to three through 15. Hanson got off to a rough start right away with a bogey on the first hole, a par-4. He settled down after that and the two men matched one another for the next nine holes. They stepped to the 10th tee tied at 2-2 before Hanson bogeyed on back-to-back holes on 10 and 11 while Wilson made par on both. A bogey by Hanson on hole 14 sealed the win for Wilson.

Wilson and Mahan will face off in one of two semifinal matches on Sunday. Rory McIlroy and Sang-Moon Bae are currently tied at two holes each through 10 in the Gary Player bracket quarterfinal, while Lee Westwood is 3-up on Martin Laird through 10 holes in the Sam Snead bracket quarterfinal.

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When Martin Kaymer went down 4 and 3 to Matt Kuchar at the 2012 Accenture Match Play Championships on Friday, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood were suddenly left as the only 1-seeds remaining in the tournament. If the two stars can get past their quarterfinal opponents Saturday, they will tee off against each other Sunday for the right to go the final. With that said, neither golfer is looking past their upcoming opponents.

"Obviously Lee is playing well at the minute, had a great chance to win in Dubai. And for the most part has looked very strong this week," McIlroy said Friday following his 3 and 1 win. "We both have to win our matches tomorrow. And I'm going to have a very difficult opponent in either John Senden or Sang-Moon Bae. I've played with both guys before. They're both great players, great ball-strikers. I just have to concentrate on tomorrow's match and see what happens after that."

Westwood was equally cautious to think about the attention that a showdown with McIlroy would garner. He noted that no matter how well he plays on Saturday--and he is playing very well--he has no control over how his opponent performs.

"I'm just happy to be looking for a different restaurant for Friday night, that's where my sights are set. Yeah, I don't think you can look that far ahead," Westwood said. "I had a little chuckle watching The Golf Channel on Wednesday morning and listening to them make all their predictions and things like that. I don't think they got many right. So it's virtually impossible. All you can do -- all I can do is keep playing the way I'm playing and do that against whichever opponent I've got in front of me. You can't control what your opponent does, if he comes out and shoots 62, I'm going home."

Westwood will tee off against Martin Laird of Scotland beginning at 2:20 p.m ET. McIlroy will face Sang-Moon Bae starting at 2:05 p.m. McIlory and Bae were paired together at the 2009 Korean Open, which Bae ended up winning.

"He's been very impressive this week taking down [Ian] Poulter and Charl [Schwartzl], two of the best players," McIlroy said. "Especially Poult is one of the best match players, and Charl, obviously, a Major champion. So he's had a great week so far. And we'll see what happens tomorrow."

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The quarterfinals at the 2012 Accenture Match Play will take place on Saturday at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona. The competition in the knockout tournament has been fierce, as expected. After 64 of the top 66 ranked golfers in the world started the event earlier in the week, the field is down to the final eight players. Tiger Woods didn't make the cut, nor did Martin Kaymer. Of the No. 1 seeds in the four brackets, only Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood remain.

Here are Saturday's pairings and tee times. All times are local (MT). The event will be televised nationally on NBC from 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. ET.

Ritz-Carlton GC, Dove Mountain Tee #1

10:05 a.m.: Peter Hanson vs. Mark Wilson
10:20 a.m.: Matt Kuchar vs. Hunter Mahan
12:05 p.m.: Rory McIlroy vs. Sang-Moon Bae
12:20 p.m.: Lee Westwood vs. Martin Laird

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Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood are officially the last of the No. 1 seeds at the 2012 World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championships, as Martin Kaymer fell to Matt Kuchar 4 and 3 on Friday. Hunter Mahan upset Steve Stricker, the 2-seed on the same bracket, setting up an underdog pairing in the quarterfinals of the Ben Hogan bracket.

No other matches have finished yet on Day 3, though all have advanced onto the back 9. Westwood and McIlroy both hold comfortable 3 up leads through 14 and 10, respectively. Westwood is set to face the winner between Scotsmen Martin Laird and Paul Lawrie in the Sam Snead bracket. Laird is 2 up through 12 over Lawrie. McIlroy would face the winner between John Senden and Sang-Moon Bae in the Gary Player bracket. That pairing is tied through ten holes.

The Bobby Jones quarterfinal is on course to match up another pair of Cinderellas. Mark Wilson, a 10-seed, currently leads 3-seed Dustin Johnson by four holes through 12. Peter Hanson is 3 up through 13 over Brandt Snedeker as a 9-seed.

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Tiger Woods will not be moving on to the third round of the 2012 World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championships, as he was eliminated Thursday in match play by Nick Watney.

Woods, the No. 5 seed in the Sam Snead bracket, took an early lead thanks to a birdie on the second hole and Watney's bogey on the fifth. That put Tiger up one going into the seventh, but Watney took charge, winning that hole thanks to a Woods bogey. Watney then went one-up on the 10th, two-up on the 12th and withstood a late rally by Tiger to win the round.

Woods won the 16th hole to get within one of Watney, but missed an eight-foot birdie putt on 18 to force extra holes, sending the fourth-seeded Watney on to the quarters where he will face Lee Westwood, the No. 1 seed in the Sam Snead bracket.

Woods has won the tournament three times, the most of any golfer, and most recently in 2008. Woods lost in the first round of the tournament last year.

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The second day of play at the 2012 World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championships in Marana, Ariz., is two-thirds over, with 12 golfers having already advanced to the quarterfinal round.

In the Bobby Jones bracket, No. 16 seed Ernie Els' magical ride came to a sudden end when he was bested by Peter Hanson, 5 and 4. The No. 9 seed Hanson took down Els, who upset top overall seed and defending champion Luke Donald on Wednesday.

Also in that bracket, No. 10 Mark Wilson and No. 3 Dustin Johnson advanced to face one another on Friday.

In the Ben Hogan bracket, three of the top four seeds have made it through to the quarters. Top seed Martin Kaymer will face No. 4 Matt Kuchar in the next round after both won their matches today. On the other side, No. 2 Steve Stricker will face No. 6 Hunter Mahan after winning second-round matchups on Thursday.

In the Gary Player bracket, the low seedsd rule the day. No. 10 seed John Senden upset No. 2 seed Jason Day, while No. 3 seed Charl Schwartzel was bested by No. 11 Sang Moon-Bae. Senden and Bae will meet on Friday.

Finally, in the Sam Snead bracket, top seed Lee Westwood, No. 10 seed Martin Laird and No. 11 seed Paul Lawrie all advanced.

We'll have a wrap-up with all the winners when the day's play ends.

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The 2012 World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championships will continue Thursday morning in Marana, Ariz. The knockout tournament is being held at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain. The event has certainly not lacked star power or upsets, as many of the top seeds fell on Wednesday.

Now that we know who won in the first round, here is the complete slate of matches for Thursday. All times are local.

Bobby Jones Bracket:

11:49 a.m.: Ernie Els vs. Peter Hanson
12:01 p.m.: Brandt Snedeker vs. Kyle Stanley
10:13 a.m.: Mark Wilson vs. Robert Rock
10:25 a.m.: Dustin Johnson vs. Franceso Molinari

Ben Hogan Bracket:

11:01 a.m.: Martin Kaymer vs. David Toms
9:37 a.m.: Hunter Mahan vs. Y.E. Yang
9:25 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen vs. Steve Stricker
11:13 a.m.: Matt Kuchar vs. Bubba Watson

Gary Player Bracket:

10:49 a.m.: Charl Schwartzel vs. Sang-Moon Bae
10:37 a.m.: Jason Day vs. John Senden
12:25 p.m.: Keegan Bradley vs. Miguel A. Jimenez
12:13 p.m.: Rory McIlroy vs. Anders Hansen

Sam Snead Bracket:

10:01 a.m.: Paul Lawrie vs. Ryo Ishikawa
9:49 a.m.: Martin Laird vs. Matteo Manassero
11:37 a.m.: Tiger Woods vs. Nick Watney
11:25 a.m.: Lee Westwood vs. Robert Karlsson

Thursday's round will be televised on the Golf Channel from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

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The first round of the 2012 Accenture Match Play tournament is known for producing plenty of upsets and curious results. Wednesday's results were no different.

Top seed and defending champion Luke Donald lost 5&4 to late-entry Ernie Els in the opening round. After getting into the tournament via Phil Mickelson's decision to skip, all Els did was out-play the No. 1 player in the world.

Three-time winner Tiger Woods scraped by one up against Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano. One down after 14, Woods birdied the 15th and then took the lead at the par-3 16th, never looking back.

Masters champion Charl Schwartzel cruised past American Gary Woodland 4&2 and Bae Sang-moon upset Britain's Ian Poulter, the 2010 champion, 4&3.

World No. 3 Lee Westwood defeated Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts 3&1 and fourth-ranked German Martin Kaymer advanced with a 4&2 win over Australian Greg Chalmers. South Korean Yang Yong-eun beat Britain's Graeme McDowell 2&1 while Dustin Johnson got past Jim Furyk after 20 holes.

For a full breakdown of winners and losers, check here.

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The first round of the 2012 Accenture Match Play tournament has produced plenty of upsets through the first half of Wednesday. Higher-ranked seeds have lost 10 out of 16 matches so far, setting up a Day 2 bereft of a lot of top names. Of the players eliminated so far, two were ranked in the Top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking.

Australian Adam Scott, a No. 2 seed at the tournament, fell to Robert Rock of England (who has yet to play in a PGA Event this year) by three holes with two left to play. Not to be outdone, world No. 6 and 2-seed Webb Simpson dropped his match 3 and 2 to Italian Matteo Manassero.

Graeme McDowell and last week's Northern Trust Open winner Bill Haas also lost as 3-seeds at the tournament. Moving on were Steve Stricker (2 and 1), Jason Day (19 holes), and Charl Schwartzel (4 and 2). In perhaps the best match of the day, Dustin Johnson needed 20 holes to finally take out Jim Furyk.

Tiger Woods was seeded in the No. 5 spot for the tournament, and he is one hole up on Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano with two holes left to play. Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy are struggling as 1-seeds at the moment; both are down one stroke against their challengers through eight and seven holes, respectively.

Click here for a full bracket and results.

For more on the tournament, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all news and information on the PGA, check out SB Nation's dedicated golf hub and golf blog Waggle Room.

The 2012 WGC-Accenture Match Play championship will kick off on Wednesday morning in Marana, Arizona. The knockout tournament will be held at the Ritz-Carlton Gold Club at Dove Mountain. The event is certainly not lacking star power, as all 64 participating golfers are the top-ranked in the world. Only No. 11 Phil Mickelson and No. 23 Paul Casey will be absent.

The initial match-ups will be divided into four brackets: the Bobby Jones bracket, the Ben Hogan bracket, the Gary Player bracket and the Sam Snead bracket.

Here are the complete matches for Wednesday. All times are local.

Bobby Jones Bracket:

8:05 a.m.: Dustin Johnson vs. Jim Furyk
8:15 a.m.: Thomas Bjorn vs. Franceso Molinari
9:25 a.m.: Adam Scott vs. Robert Rock
9:35 a.m.: Bo Van Pelt vs. Mark Wilson
10:45 a.m.: K.J. Choi vs. Kyle Stanley
10:55 a.m.: Brandt Snedeker vs. Retief Goosen
12:05 p.m.: Luke Donald vs. Ernie Els
12:15 p.m.: Jason Dufner vs. Peter Hanson

Ben Hogan Bracket:

7:25 a.m.: Graeme McDowell vs. Y.E. Yang
7:35 a.m.: Hunter Mahan vs. Zach Johnson
8:45 a.m.: Steve Stricker vs. Kevin Na
8:55 a.m.: Louis Oosthuizen vs. Aaron Baddeley
10:05 a.m.: Matt Kuchar vs. Jonathan Byrd
10:15 a.m.: Bubba Watson vs. Ben Crane
11:25 a.m.: Martin Kaymer vs. Greg Chalmers
11:35 a.m.: David Toms vs. Rickie Fowler

Gary Player Bracket:

8:25 a.m.: Charl Schwartzel vs. Gary Woodland
8:35 a.m.: Ian Poulter vs. Sang-Moon Bae
9:45 a.m.: Jason Day vs. Rafael Cabrera Bello
9:55 a.m.: Simon Dyson vs. John Senden
11:05 a.m.: Sergio Garcia vs. Miguel A. Jiminez
11:15 a.m.: Keegan Bradley vs. Geoff Ogilvy
12:25 p.m.: Rory McIlroy vs. George Coetzee
12:35 p.m.: Kyung-tae Kim vs. Anders Hansen

Sam Snead Bracket:

7:45 a.m.: Bill Haas vs. Ryo Ishikawa
7:55 a.m.: Justin Rose vs. Paul Lawrie
9:05 a.m.: Webb Simpson vs. Matteo Manassero
9:15 a.m.: Alvaro Quiros vs. Martin Laird
10:25 a.m.: Nick Watney vs. Darren Clarke
10:35 a.m.: Tiger Woods vs. Gonzalo F'dez-Castano
11:45 a.m.: Lee Westwood vs. Nicolas Colsaerts
11:55 a.m.: Robert Karlsson vs. Fredrik Jacobson

Wednesday's round will be televised on the Golf Channel from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET.

For more on the tournament, stay tuned to this StoryStream. For all news and information on the PGA, check out SB Nation's dedicated golf hub and golf blog Waggle Room.

The World Golf Championships (WGC) Accenture Match Play Championship is one of the few golf events each year that pits players against each other in the match play format. And the 2012 Accenture Match Play, beginning on Wednesday, is going to have some juicy matches from the round of 64 on, thanks to the tournament's seeding.

Defending champion and No. 1 seed Luke Donald meets No. 64 seed Ernie Els in a first-round match that pits a rising star with one of the game's greats, and it's one of many such matchups in the first round. Golf.com has all the 2012 Accenture Match Play pairings, which include No. 9 Dustin Johnson meeting No. 56 Jim Furyk, No. 14 Nick Watney tangling with No. 51 Darren Clarke, and No. 29 David Toms facing No. 36 Rickie Fowler.

But there are some other interesting matchups, too, like No. 15 Sergio Garcia and No. 50 Miguel Angel Jimenez meeting in a clash of Spaniards, and youngsters No. 11 Bill Haas and No. 54 Ryo Ishikawa getting a first-round tilt. And, of course, Tiger Woods is in the field; the 13-time major champion is the No. 19 seed and faces No. 46 Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano in the first round.

If there's a story line for the Accenture Match Play as a whole, it may be the elite golfers of Europe -- Donald, No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 3 Lee Westwood and No. 4 Martin Kaymer all hail from the Old Continent -- trying to fend off pairs from the United States (No. 5 Steve Stricker and No. 6 Webb Simpson) and Australia (No. 7 Jason Day and No. 8 Adam Scott) in the latter stages of the tournament.

Here's the full schedule of play for the 2012 WGC Accenture Match Play, including TV coverage in parentheses. All times are Eastern.

Wednesday, Feb. 22

Second round (Golf Channel, 12 p.m. to 6 p.m.)

Thursday, Feb. 23

Round of 16 (Golf Channel, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.)

Friday, Feb. 24

Quarterfinals (Golf Channel, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.)

Saturday, Feb. 25

Semifinals (Golf Channel, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.; NBC Sports, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.)

Sunday, Feb. 26

Championship and third-place match (Golf Channel, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; NBC Sports, 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.)