<p>Top seed Luke Donald crashed out of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on Wednesday, losing 5 and 4 to late entry Ernie Els, while Tiger Woods scraped through into the second round. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Once again the elite World Golf Championships event lived up to its reputation for wild unpredictability and there were 15 upsets from the 32 matches at Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. <br /><br />Donald won last year's title with an imperious display, never trailing in any of his six matches, but he struggled against South African Els on a sun-splashed day in the Arizona desert where the heavily contoured greens ran fast and firm. Triple major winner Els made the most of an error-prone performance by the British world number one and sealed victory when he sank a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-four 14th. <br /><br />"I'm not sure where to start," a subdued Donald, who became only the third top seed to lose in the event's opening round, told reporters. "I just didn't play very well. It's disappointing. I gave away too many holes and made too many mistakes. You can't do that in match play against anyone, let alone Ernie." <br /><br />The lowest-ranked player in the elite field of 64, former world number one Els was gifted a spot at Dove Mountain when Phil Mickelson withdrew to spend time with his family. <br /><br />While three-times winner Woods battled through one up against Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Charl Schwartzel and Bae Sang-moon won their opening matches in comfort. Masters champion Schwartzel of South Africa eased past big-hitting American Gary Woodland 4 and 2 and South Korean Bae upset Britain's Ian Poulter, the 2010 champion, 4 and 3. <br /><br />Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy survived a late wobble to beat South African George Coetzee two up, Lee Westwood beat Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts 3 and 1 and German Martin Kaymer advanced with a 4 and 2 win over Australian left-hander Greg Chalmers. <br /><br />Woods, winner of this event in 2003, 2004 and 2008, was two down to Fernandez-Castano after two holes but finally ended a wildly fluctuating encounter with an eight-foot par putt at the 18th. "We both made our share of mistakes, there's no doubt about that, but somehow I was able to move on," Woods said. <br /><br />South Korean Yang Yong-eun beat Graeme McDowell 2 and 1 in a match of high quality and Dustin Johnson scraped past fellow American Jim Furyk after 20 holes. Yang produced sizzling form with seven birdies.</p>
<p>Top seed Luke Donald crashed out of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on Wednesday, losing 5 and 4 to late entry Ernie Els, while Tiger Woods scraped through into the second round. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Once again the elite World Golf Championships event lived up to its reputation for wild unpredictability and there were 15 upsets from the 32 matches at Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf Club. <br /><br />Donald won last year's title with an imperious display, never trailing in any of his six matches, but he struggled against South African Els on a sun-splashed day in the Arizona desert where the heavily contoured greens ran fast and firm. Triple major winner Els made the most of an error-prone performance by the British world number one and sealed victory when he sank a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-four 14th. <br /><br />"I'm not sure where to start," a subdued Donald, who became only the third top seed to lose in the event's opening round, told reporters. "I just didn't play very well. It's disappointing. I gave away too many holes and made too many mistakes. You can't do that in match play against anyone, let alone Ernie." <br /><br />The lowest-ranked player in the elite field of 64, former world number one Els was gifted a spot at Dove Mountain when Phil Mickelson withdrew to spend time with his family. <br /><br />While three-times winner Woods battled through one up against Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Charl Schwartzel and Bae Sang-moon won their opening matches in comfort. Masters champion Schwartzel of South Africa eased past big-hitting American Gary Woodland 4 and 2 and South Korean Bae upset Britain's Ian Poulter, the 2010 champion, 4 and 3. <br /><br />Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy survived a late wobble to beat South African George Coetzee two up, Lee Westwood beat Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts 3 and 1 and German Martin Kaymer advanced with a 4 and 2 win over Australian left-hander Greg Chalmers. <br /><br />Woods, winner of this event in 2003, 2004 and 2008, was two down to Fernandez-Castano after two holes but finally ended a wildly fluctuating encounter with an eight-foot par putt at the 18th. "We both made our share of mistakes, there's no doubt about that, but somehow I was able to move on," Woods said. <br /><br />South Korean Yang Yong-eun beat Graeme McDowell 2 and 1 in a match of high quality and Dustin Johnson scraped past fellow American Jim Furyk after 20 holes. Yang produced sizzling form with seven birdies.</p>
