Miguel Angel Jimenez made the headlines on day one of the Volvo World Match Play by crushing Charl Schwartzel.
Spaniard puts Augusta hero to the sword on day one
Miguel Angel Jimenez made the headlines on day one of the Volvo World Match Play after crushing Masters winner Charl Schwartzel.
Jimenez, playing in front of his home Spanish fans, was always in control of his match against golf's newest major winner and scored a comprehensive 6&5 victory at Finca Cortesin near Estepona.
Jimenez went to the turn in a two-under-par 35 to the South African's 39, and after Schwartzel had bogeyed the long 11th to fall further behind, Jimenez hit his approach to the 413-yard 13th to within a foot of the hole.
Schwartzel isn't out of the event yet, though. The new format sees the 24 players split into eight groups of three and the Masters champ could even halve with Swede Johan Edfors on Friday and still progress to the last 16.
Dramatic
Rory McIlroy produced the most dramatic finish of the day as he chipped in at the last to beat Retief Goosen one up while fellow Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell was another day one winner after seeing off Open champ Louis Oosthuizen 3&1.
McIlroy said: "It was a very tough match out there. I felt as if I played pretty well and it was nice to finish off like that.
"It's a nice feeling going into tomorrow knowing that you've already got a win under your belt."
McDowell, meanwhile, was glad to find his touch again following his final round collapse in the Players Championship at Sawgrass.
"I felt like I positioned the ball pretty well off the tee today," said McDowell.
"This golf course is very physically demanding. It's a tough walk and you've got to maintain your energy levels."
Ian Poulter, never beaten in Ryder Cup singles, lost the first three holes and was one down with four to play against Celtic Manor team-mate Francesco Molinari but rescued a half with a five-foot birdie putt on the last.
Overpowered
World number one Lee Westwood matched Jimenez's victory margin of 6&5 as he rattled off six birdies in eight holes from the fourth and overpowered Dane Anders Hansen while second-ranked Luke Donald continued his excellent run of form with a 4&3 win over American Ryan Moore.
Donald admitted later he wants a Sunday clash with Westwood - even though it would mean he could not become world number one this week.
"I would love to play Lee," said Donald. "There's more satisfaction when you can take down the number one player in the world."
And he speaks from experience there. When he won the WGC-Accenture Match Play in Arizona in February he beat Martin Kaymer in the final - on the very weekend that the German took the top spot in the rankings.
Westwood has since grabbed it back, though, with two wins in Asia.
Under the new format neither Westwood nor Donald are certain yet to reach the last 16 knock-out stages, however.
If they lose their second group games - Westwood against Australian Aaron Baddeley and Donald against defending champion Ross Fisher - they could yet find themselves in sudden death play-offs to decide who goes through.
Westwood will be hoping for another quick finish though even though he admitted he is only just feeling 100% fit again after being plagued by calf trouble from June of last year.
"The less holes you can play are obviously to pay dividends down the road and down the tournament," he said.
"You get to a point in your career where you look for places that you can gain an advantage or where you can improve.
"I wasn't as strong as I ought to have been, but now I'm a lot more powerful. I wouldn't say I'm a svelte marathon runner, but I'm fit for golf - powerful in all the right areas."
Kaymer ensured the world's top three all started with victories by beating Korean YE Yang while Alvaro Quiros gave the home Spanish fans more to cheers after Jimenez's victory by taking the scalp of Paul Casey 3&1.
Kaymer admitted he started poorly but added: "On the back nine I was hitting more quality golf shots and I could make a few birdies."
The German has his brother on the bag this week after parting with Craig Connelly, the caddie who partnered him to his PGA Championship victory last summer.
He expects to have a regular bagman by next month's US Open.
