Accenture Match Play 2012: Top 5 Upsets from Day 1

March Madness doesn't officially begin until next month, although golf's version of it kicked off yesterday afternoon in Marana, Arizona, where the top 64 players in the world are on hand for the Accenture World Match Play Championship. 

Day one of the Match Play Championship has historically been filled with riveting moments and shocking upsets, and yesterday was no different.

Here are the top five upsets from Day 1 of the 2012 Accenture Match Play Championship:

5. Y.E. Yang Defeats Graeme McDowell 2 and 1

Graeme McDowell has simply not been the same player since winning his first major championship at the 2010 U.S. Open.

Last season, McDowell missed the cut at the Masters, the BMW PGA Championship (the European Tour’s version of a major), the Open Championship and the PGA Championship.

McDowell has been attempting to get his game back on track in recent months and has seen some notable results.

He finished third at the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions last November, and he also tied for third at both the Nedbank Golf Challenge and Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

But McDowell suffered a setback yesterday afternoon when he was defeated 2 and 1 in the Accenture Match Play Championship by No. 14 seed Y.E. Yang.

Certainly not the start McDowell was looking for in his 2012 U.S. debut.

4. Ryo Ishikawa Defeats Bill Haas 1 up

Perhaps Bill Haas was simply exhausted.

After all, it was only three days ago that he sunk a 40-foot birdie putt to defeat Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff at the Northern Trust Open.

Last Sunday, Haas came from behind to defeat Mickelson and Bradley, and he was given a dose of his own medicine yesterday afternoon by 20-year-old Japanese phenom Ryo Ishikawa.

Haas was three up through 13 holes and appeared to be headed toward a stress-free first-round victory before Ishikawa caught fire and birdied three out of the final five holes, leaving a stunned Haas scrambling to make travel plans home.   

3. Matteo Manassero Defeats Web Simpson 3 and 2

Webb Simpson was a guy that many touted as a favorite to win this week’s Accenture Match Play Championship.

Simpson has finished outside the top 10 just once since the 2011 PGA Championship and was coming off a T8 at last week’s Northern Trust Open.

Simpson, currently ranked sixth in the world, lost the opening hole and was unable to gain control of the match throughout the rest of the day.  

Manassero went three up through six, and although Simpson mounted somewhat of a comeback with three straight birdies on the back nine, Manassero closed him out on the 16th hole with a three-up victory.

2. Robert Rock Defeats Adam Scott 1 Up

Robert Rock—AKA the “Tiger Slayer”—continued his run of solid play yesterday afternoon by defeating world No. 8 Adam Scott.

Rock won the opening hole, but Scott quickly snatched the lead away from Rock with birdies on two and three.

Scott seemed to be in control for most of the day until Rock birdied the 15th and 16th to take the lead for the first time since the opening hole.

Both players would go on to par the 17th and 18th holes, which left Rock with a one-up lead for the match.

Scott took about two months off following the Australian PGA Championship—where he tied for fourth—so perhaps Scott is still shaking off some of the rust. Or, perhaps Rock simply believes he can take anyone down since his victory over Tiger Woods at the Abu Dhabi Championship earlier this year.

1. Ernie Els Defeats Luke Donald 5 and 4

Luke Donald was not only defeated by Ernie Els, he was demolished.

Donald, the defending match-play champion, never held the lead during the entire match, and after Els won four consecutive holes from the 11th through the 14th, Donald was shown the door at Dove Mountain.

The world No. 1 is off to a slow start in 2012. Donald tied for 48th in Abu Dhabi, tied for 56th at last week’s Northern Trust Open and was just buried by a player (Els) who has would have had a hard time rolling a golf ball through a basketball hoop over the past year-and-a-half.  

Every year since 2006 a No. 1 seed has fallen in the first round, and Donald continued that streak yesterday afternoon.  

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