World Match Play begins Wednesday, Tiger Woods match with Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
The Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano meets Tiger Woods in the first round of the World Golf Champions-Accenture Match Play Championship, beginning Wednesday at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain. Two days ahead the match, Fernandez-Castano took some time praising the former World No. 1 but also added "I think he's beatable. I'm the underdog. I have nothing to lose. At the same time I don't think he's at his best," said Fernandez-Castano, who has five wins on the European Tour, including the 2011 Barclays Singapore Open, but is making his Accenture debut. "If I play well I can beat him."
On Tuesday, Woods smiled when he was told of his opponent's comments and answered: "I feel exactly the same way he does, I feel he's beatable, too."
Woods, the only three-time winner and four-time finalist in this event, meets Fernandez-Castano at 12:35 p.m. ET Wednesday (Golf Channel).
Here are the first-round pairings Wednesday in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain:
- Luke Donald (1), England, vs. Ernie Els (64), South Africa.
- Rory McIlroy (2), Northern Ireland, vs. George Coetzee (63), South Africa.
- Lee Westwood (3), England, vs. Nicolas Colsaerts (62), Belgium.
- Martin Kaymer (4), Germany, vs. Greg Chalmers (61), Australia.
- Steve Stricker (5), United States, vs. Kevin Na (60), United States.
- Webb Simpson (6), United States, vs. Matteo Manassero (59), Italy.
- Jason Day (7), Australia, vs. Rafael Cabrera Bello (58), Spain.
- Adam Scott (8), Australia, vs. Robert Rock (57), England.
- Dustin Johnson (9), United States, vs. Jim Furyk (56), United States.
- Charl Schwartzel (10), South Africa, vs. Gary Woodland (55), United States.
- Bill Haas (11), United States, vs. Ryo Ishikawa (54), Japan.
- Graeme McDowell (12), Northern Ireland, vs. Y.E. Yang (53), South Korea.
- Matt Kuchar (13), United States, vs. Jonathan Byrd (52), United States.
- Nick Watney (14), United States, vs. Darren Clarke (51), Northern Ireland.
- Sergio Garcia (15), Spain, vs. Miguel Angel Jimenez (50), Spain.
- K.J. Choi (16), South Korea, vs. Kyle Stanley (49), United States.
- Brandt Snedeker (17), United States, vs. Retief Goosen (48), South Africa.
- Keegan Bradley (18), United States, vs. Geoff Ogilvy (47), Australia.
- Tiger Woods (19), United States, vs. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (46), Spain.
- Bubba Watson (20), United States, vs. Ben Crane (45), United States.
- Hunter Mahan (21), United States, vs. Zach Johnson (44), United States.
- Justin Rose (22), England, vs. Paul Lawrie (43), Scotland.
- Ian Poulter (23), England, vs. Bae Sang-moon (42), South Korea
- Thomas Bjorn (24), Denmark, vs. Francesco Molinari (41), Italy.
- Bo Van Pelt (25), United States, vs. Mark Wilson (40), United States.
- Simon Dyson (26), England, vs. John Senden (39), Australia.
- Alvaro Quiros (27), Spain, vs. Martin Laird (38), Scotland.
- Louis Oosthuizen (28), South Africa, vs. Aaron Baddeley (37), Australia.
- David Toms (29), United States, vs. Rickie Fowler (36), United States.
- Robert Karlsson (30), Sweden, vs. Fredrik Jacobson (35), Sweden.
- K.T. Kim (31), South Korea, vs. Anders Hansen (34), Denmark.
- Jason Dufner (32), United States, vs. Peter Hanson (33), Sweden.
added on Monday 24th July 2023