The WGC-Accenture Match Play championship has a tendency to get worse and less interesting as the week progresses, with fewer and fewer matches and big names bowing out early. But so far this year (keeping in mind we started without Phil, Tiger, and Adam), the upsets have been minimal and the slate of 16 second round matches on Thursday is pretty good from top to bottom.
The match with the most hype would have to be No. 1 Rory McIlroy vs. No. 9 Harris English. It's a likely Ryder Cup preview, with two of the best young stars from each side of the Atlantic. English is less known and less decorated at this point, but he's a top prospect who is now getting results, and quickly, over the last six to eight months. He could be on the one or two line himself this time next year, and McIlroy is still working to get back to his 2012 form so this should be a fun and competitive match with both having something to prove.
With just 16 pairings to get out on the course, the Tour has a bit of flexibility when it comes to scheduling. The weather, unlike last year's blizzard conditions, looks to be cooperative for the week as well so Thursday's play should go off as scheduled just after 11 a.m. ET. The final match goes off at 2:20 p.m. ET, so all 16 games should be shown during Golf Channel's broadcast window on Thursday afternoon (tee times here). They're scheduled to come on the air at 1 p.m. and run coverage until 6 p.m., although they stayed on late until completion of the final match on Wednesday. As usual, you can watch a streamed simulcast of the coverage via their LiveExtra service. Here are your media options for the second round:
Thursday: Round of 32 coverage
TV: Golf Channel - 1 to 6 p.m.
Online: Golf Live Extra - 1 to 6 p.m.
Radio: PGA Tour Network - 12 to 6 p.m.