- FJ upsets on day one were headlined by Davis Love (#15; SYNR-G, SciFlex) going to 21 holes to defeat #2 seed, and fellow FJ player, Henrik Stenson (Classics Tour). Read more about this match here. Other upsets included Hunter Mahan (#12; Classics, StaSof) defeating a #5 seed, 1-up and Ross Fisher (#9, Classics) defeating a #8 seed, 1-up.
- The largest margin of victory during all of day one belonged to #3 seed, Camilo Villegas (Classics, StaSof) who closed out his match after the 12th hole. Just 1-up through five holes, Camilo then ran off wins in six straight holes to end the match, 7&6. Camilo will now face the #6 seed in the very difficult Bobby Jones bracket. Watch his post round interview here.
- In his second tournament back from eye surgery, Ian Poulter (#8; Classics, SciFlex) showed he still had the match play momentum from last year’s Ryder Cup when he was the top point-getter with a 4-1-0 record. Poulter made six birdies, including three in-a-row beginning at #2, and pulled away for a 4&3 victory on day one.
- Young Irish phenom, Rory McIlroy (#4, Classics) made a successful WGC debut with a steady first round victory over fellow FJ player Louis Oosthuizen (#13, Classics, SciFlex). McIlroy, who won his first professional event last month at the Dubai Desert Classic, never trailed in the match and after going 2-up with a birdie at #13, he parred in for the win. He will play Ryder Cup veteran, and fellow FJ player, Hunter Mahan (#12, Classics) in the second round.
- Another player to watch is Steve Stricker (#5; SYNR-G, StaSof), the 2001 Match Play champion. Stricker battled the recent winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in a roller coaster match which neither player led by more than 1-up through 16 holes. But Stricker, who has a 2nd and a 3rd place finish in four events this year and was 3-under on the front thanks to an eagle at the 8th hole, took the lead for good with his only birdie on the back nine at the par-4 14th. He parred the 17th hole to close out the match.
- The Ben Hogan bracket features five FJ players out of the remaining eight - Vijay Singh (#1; DryJoys), Lee Westwood (#3; Classics), Steve Stricker (#5; SYNR-G, StaSof), Zach Johnson (#7; SYNR-G) and Luke Donald (#9; Classics).
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