Woods out as Ogilvy ousts Harrington

Friday, 25 February 2011 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Geoff Ogilvy was hardly troubled as he won his opening match with ease at the WGC Match Play Championship on Wednesday.

On paper, Ogilvy’s showdown with three-time major winner Padraig Harrington had all the makings of a blockbuster, but the Irishman didn’t bring his best stuff to the Dove Mountain course.

The Australian took an early lead and was never headed as he eased away to a 4&3 victory in the World Golf Championships event.

Two-time match play champion Ogilvy was deprived of a second round match against Tiger Woods when the 14-time major champion lost his opening match.

Woods sank a clutch birdie putt at the 18th hole to square his match with Dane Thomas Bjorn, only to blow it with a dreadful tee shot at the first extra hole.

Woods blocked his three-wood wide right and found an almost unplayable lie in the prickly bushes.

He took two more shots to get back to the fairway, finally conceding to Bjorn after failing to salvage a bogey.

Ogilvy would have relished a showdown with Woods, but will have no complaints about facing Bjorn instead.

“It’s hard not to notice Tiger Woods above you in the draw,” said Ogilvy, who admitted he had enjoyed a relatively easy day in the office.

“Padraig didn’t have his best today; he let me off the hook. You can’t win the tournament without winning the first round, so it’s nice to win.

“I’ve lost in the first round before and it’s no fun going home three hours after you start the tournament.”

Jason Day was the only other Australian winner, as Richard Green, Adam Scott, Brendan Jones and Robert Allenby fell at the first hurdle.

Green gave it a good shot against Englishman Paul Casey, the runner-up the past two years, who probably knows the course better than anyone in the field.

Green sank a clutch 2.5-metre putt to stay all square the final hole of regulation, only to throw it away at the 19th hole, where he three-putted from long range.

In his first competitive round on the course, a lack of local knowledge perhaps caught up with him, as he missed a 1.5-metre putt to hand Casey the match.

“I left myself with a difficult putt and you can’t do that,” said a frustrated Green, who has lost in the first round in all five appearances in this event.

“I read it on the left edge and it just stayed there. It didn’t break.”

Day came from behind to beat South Korean K.T. Kim 3 and 2, but Allenby, Scott and Jones were soundly beaten by their respective opponents.

Englishman Ross Fisher led almost all the way to beat Allenby 4 and 3, while American Ben Crane won the first two holes and never looked back on his way to a 4&2 victory over Scott.

Jones was never in his match against American Phil Mickelson, who won 6&5. (www.smh.au)