World Matchplay Championship 2014: Daily Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights, More
The 2014 Volvo World Matchplay Championship kicked off Wednesday at the London Golf Club in Ash, England, as 16 of the finest players on the European Tour will do battle over the course of three days to snatch a ticket to the knockout stages during the weekend.
Thomas Bjorn had to turn down his invitation due to an injury, but otherwise, the field is stacked with Ryder Cup talent and some of the top performers of the past year, including world No. 5 Henrik Stenson.
Read on for daily results and fully updated group standings.
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Day 5 Recap
Finland's Mikko Ilonen hit five birdies on the final day of the World Matchplay Championship to seal a 3 and 1 victory over Henrik Stenson.
After a steady start from both golfers, Stenson took an early lead with a birdie on the fourth hole before Ilonen's consistent scoring wore the Dane down.
Ilonen took four of the next eight holes to open up a lead over his rival and, with the Finn not playing a single hole over par all day, it was too big a task for the favourite to claw him back after the turn.
While the World No. 5 gave himself a chance of getting back into the tie with two brilliant shots to reach the green on the par-five 15th to reduce the lead to two, he could not overhaul his rival, who sealed success when the Dane missed from 20 feet on the 17th.
| Mikko Ilonen | Won 3 and 1 | Henrik Stenson | Final |
| Joost Luiten | Won 19th Hole | George Coetzee | 3rd/4th Playoff |
| Mikko Ilonen | Won 2 and 1 | Joost Luiten |
| Henrik Stenson | Won 1 up | George Coetzee |
The win represents the fifth European Tour success of Ilonen's career thus far and his second of what has been a strong 2014 season for the 34-year-old following his Irish Open success in June.
Stenson, on the other hand, has failed to earn a tournament success since he completed a remarkable 2013 with victory in the DP World Tour Championship last November.
A full scorecard can be found on the Tour's official website, as well as further details of the Finn's €650,000 success.
Elsewhere in the third- and fourth-place playoff, Joost Luiten needed 19 holes to fend off competition from South Africa's George Coetzee in what was a thrilling matchplay encounter.
Three times the Dutchman opened up a two-shot advantage over his rival during the regulation 18 holes before being pegged back after bogeying the 11th and failing to match his opponent's birdie on the 13th.
Finally, though, Luiten was able to secure himself third place as he bettered Coetzee on the first additional hole, having fallen to a 2 and 1 defeat to champion Ilonen in the semi-finals earlier in the day.
Stenson, meanwhile, had booked his place in the final on the very last hole of his clash with Coetzee, having recovered from behind four times over the course of an engrossing round.
Day 4 Recap
Favourite Henrik Stenson was pushed all the way by Swedish compatriot Jonas Blixt at the 2014 World Matchplay Championship on Saturday but he eventually won on the last to reach the semi-finals.
Undefeated Dutchman Joost Luiten continued his impeccable form at the London Golf Club as he blew Pablo Larrazabal away, winning 6 and 5 in his quarter-final.
American Patrick Reed's tournament came to an end as he was beaten 2 and 1 by late Thomas Bjorn-replacement George Coetzee and Mikko Ilonen saw off Victor Dubuisson to reach the last four.
Here are the full results from the first knockout round and the match-ups for Sunday morning's semi-finals:
| George Coetzee (SA) | Won 2 and 1 | Patrick Reed (USA) |
| Mikko Ilonen (Fin) | Won 2 up | Victor Dubuisson (Fra) |
| Joost Luiten (Ned) | Won 6 and 5 | Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) |
| Henrik Stenson (Swe) | Won 2 up | Jonas Blixt (Swe) |
| Joost Luiten (Ned) | vs. | Mikko Ilonen (Fin) |
| Henrik Stenson (Swe) | vs. | George Coetzee (SA) |
For video highlights, visit the European Tour's official website
Stenson looked to be cruising as he walked to the 14th tee three holes to the good, but Blixt claimed consecutive birdies to win back-to-back holes and cut the lead to just one with three holes to play.
However, Stenson was not to be denied and showed admirable consistency, forcing Blixt to produce magic that was never forthcoming, the world No. 5 admitting there are no easy games in this tournament, per the European Tour:
"Everyone comes back at me. No one lets me have an easy finish here, which you kind of expect that but not every time. He definitely pushed an old man all the way to the last there and made it very interesting.
"
Luiten continued his impressive form—he was the only player to win all three of his group games—as he thrashed his Spanish opponent, showing real quality to wrap things up after just 13 holes.
The Dutchman racked up birdie after birdie and was largely unplayable, as recognised by Larrazabal himself:
Ryder Cup star Dubuisson was careless to see his early lead slip away from him as he bogeyed two par threes on the back nine and eventually conceded the match to Ilonen on the last as he failed to make a birdie.
Coetzee was never down against Reed and showed some terrific touches as he secured a vital win—not least his drive to the par-three 14th which very nearly dropped in.
Sunday sees the semi-finals and the final being played out with Stenson and Luiten looking the two likely finalists considering their respective form over the week.
However, Coetzee has played some impressive golf and could very easily spring a surprise for the No. 1 seed while Ilonen will be no pushover for form-man Luiten.
Day 3 Recap
Defending champion Graeme McDowell failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Matchplay Championship after a thrilling third-round loss against Joost Luiten, the only man to advance from the group stages with a perfect record.
Top seed Henrik Stenson capped off his group stage performance with a 2 and 1 win over Thongchai Jaidee, while Ryder Cup hero Stephen Gallacher and Shane Lowry will both pack their bags after disappointing performances.
Friday's results:
| Jamie Donaldson (Wal) | Lost 3 and 2 | Patrick Reed (USA) |
| Jonas Blixt (Swe) | Won on Extra Holes | Paul Casey (Eng) |
| Victor Dubuisson (Fra) | Lost 2 and 1 | Stephen Gallacher (Sco) |
| Shane Lowry (Ire) | Lost 2 and 1 | Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) |
| Graeme McDowell (NI) | Lost by 2 | Joost Luiten (Ned) |
| Mikko Ilonen (Fin) | Lost by 1 | Alexander Levy (Fra) |
| Henrik Stenson (Swe) | Won 2 and 1 | Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) |
| Francesco Molinari (Ita) | Won 2 and 1 | George Coetzee (SA) |
Full standings after the conclusion of the group stages:
| 1 | Henrik Stenson | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 2 | George Coetzee | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Francesco Molinari | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Thongchai Jaidee | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 1 | Patrick Reed | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Jonas Blixt | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Paul Casey | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 | Jamie Donaldson | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 1 | Victor Dubuisson | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 2 | Pablo Larrazabal | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Stephen Gallacher | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Shane Lowry | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 1 | Joost Luiten | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | Mikko Ilonen | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Graeme McDowell | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Alexander Levy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
For video highlights, visit the European Tour's official website.
The European Tour's official Twitter feed shared all four quarter-final matchups:
Luiten needed three birdies on the final four holes to complete a thrilling comeback against defending champion McDowell, and when the Northern Irishman missed a decisive put on the 17th, his bid to repeat as champion was over.
McDowell played exceptionally well on the front-nine but couldn't keep up with the Dutchman on the back-nine, winning just a single hole over his challenger.
The European Tour's Twitter feed was impressed with Luiten's performance:
McDowell wasn't the only top star to be eliminated on Friday, via RTEgolf:
Lowry didn't have a particularly strong tournament and needed a lot of help to beat Gallacher on Thursday, and his loss against Pablo Larrazabal on Friday meant the Spaniard leapt over him in the standings.
Larrazabal will be ecstatic with the qualification, but a quarter-final match against in-form Luiten may not be what the 31-year-old was hoping for.
Jonas Blixt needed extra holes to take out Paul Casey, setting up a mouth-watering all-Swedish quarter-final against with Henson. Blixt and Casey both shot 10-under 62 through 18, but the Englishman completely missed the target on the 19th, gifting the match to his opponent.
Blixt was full of praise for his opponent, speaking to Europeantour.com:
"Paul played great, especially on the back nine. He definitely put a lot of pressure on me and snuck away with a couple holes. I snuck away with a couple holes, as well.
It was just a great match. I talked to my caddie about it and we were like, this is how we want to play a golf match.
"
Victor Dubuisson had already qualified for the next round, and the Frenchman played a very casual round on Friday, allowing Gallacher to leave the tournament with his head held high.
All eyes will be on Stenson and Blixt when they square off on Saturday, while Larrazabal will have a tough task ahead of him against the red-hot Luiten. The Swedes gave fans a small preview:
Patrick Reed will play South Africa's George Coetzee, while Miko Illonen takes on Victor Dubuisson.
Day 2 Recap
Defending champion Graeme McDowell was beaten in his second match of the 2014 World Matchplay Championship on Thursday at the London Golf Club, losing 2 and 1 to Mikki Ilonen.
Henrik Stenson got his first win of the group stage in some style as he also won 2 and 1 against Francesco Molinari in a high-quality match-up.
Here are the full results from Thursday's games:
| Player | Score | Player |
| Victor Dubuisson (Fra) | Won 3 and 2 | Shane Lowry (Ire) |
| Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) | Won 1 up | Stephen Gallacher (Sco) |
| Mikko Ilonen (Fin) | Won 2 and 1 | Graeme McDowell (NI) |
| Joost Luiten (Ned) | Won 4 and 3 | Alexander Levy (Fra) |
| Henrik Stenson (Swe) | Won 2 and 1 | Francesco Molinari (Ita) |
| George Coetzee (SA) | Won 2 and 1 | Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) |
| Jamie Donaldson (Wal) | Won 3 and 2 | Jonas Blixt (Swe) |
| Patrick Reed (USA) | Won 2 and 1 | Paul Casey (Eng) |
While this is what the group standings look like after two days of play:
| Pos | Player | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | George Coetzee | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 1 | Henrik Stenson | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Thongchai Jaidee | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Francesco Molinari | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Pos | Player | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Patrick Reed | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1 | Jonas Blixt | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1 | Jamie Donaldson | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1 | Paul Casey | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Pos | Player | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Victor Dubuisson | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Shane Lowry | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Pablo Larrazabal | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Stephen Gallacher | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Pos | Player | P | W | D | L | Pts |
| 1 | Joost Luiten | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 | Mikko Ilonen | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | Graeme McDowell | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Alexander Levy | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
For video highlights, visit the European Tour's official website.
Having won his first match on Wednesday against in-form Alexander Levy, McDowell came up against a terrifically strong Ilonen on Thursday and was four shots down after 10 holes after the Finn claimed five birdies.
The Northern Irishman cut his opponent's lead to just one after the 15th but did not have enough to complete the turnaround and lost on the 17th when Ilonen bagged another birdie.
Molinari played some stunning golf in a bogey-less round but Stenson's tremendous quality was simply too much and he likely would have beaten anyone in that kind of form, per the European Tour.
For sheer tension, Stephen Gallacher's final-hole loss to Pablo Larrazabal was the pick of the day, the Spaniard chipping in from the rough on the 18th to snatch victory.
While it signals the end for Gallacher's tournament after two losses, Larrazabal himself is now tied on two points with Shane Lowry—who he faces on Friday—and he was delighted with his dramatic win, per the European Tour:
"(The hole) looked terrible all the way. Driver to the bunker, I stride to hit a nine iron, I pull it a little bit into the thickest rough on the golf course and I had 50 metres to the hole. I hit a six iron as hard as I could, trying to make five and trying to have a half point today (so I could) go out there and try to do my job tomorrow. But yeah, the ball was sitting great. I thought I had the chance to putt it close and to make five and to put the pressure on Stevie - Stevie had a good lie - but I holed it and it went in, happy days.
"
Meanwhile, Ryder Cup hero Jamie Donaldson picked up his first win of the competition as he beat Jonas Blixt and Victor Dubuisson maintained his 100 per cent record with victory over Lowry.
Joost Luiten also claimed his second win with an impressive 4 and 3 triumph over Levy while Paul Casey and Thongchai Jaidee both lost 2 and 1 to Patrick Reed and George Coetzee respectively.
Most intriguingly for Friday's action the players in the McCormack pool—Casey, Reed, Donaldson and Blixt—all have one win meaning any pairing could go through to the knockout stages.
Here is the schedule for Friday's crucial final group matches:
| Jamie Donaldson (Wal) | vs. | Patrick Reed (USA) |
| Jonas Blixt (Swe) | vs. | Paul Casey (Eng) |
| Victor Dubuisson (Fra) | vs. | Stephen Gallacher (Sco) |
| Shane Lowry (Ire) | vs. | Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) |
| Graeme McDowell (NI) | vs. | Joost Luiten (Ned) |
| Mikko Ilonen (Fin) | vs. | Alexander Levy (Fra) |
| Henrik Stenson (Swe) | vs. | Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) |
| Francesco Molinari (Ita) | vs. | George Coetzee (SA) |
Ryder Cup pantomime villain Reed's encounter with Donaldson is the match of the day and could well be decisive in who makes it to the weekend.
While McDowell will have to be at the very top of his game if he is to make it through to the knockouts to defend his title as he faces an unbeaten Luiten.
Day 1 Recap
Favourite Stenson failed to win his opening-day match against injury-replacement George Coetzee, the only tie on the first day of the 2014 World Matchplay Championship.
Graeme McDowell easily handled France's Alexander Levy, winner of last week's Portugal Masters, while Shane Lowry took care of business in the battle of the Ryder Cup heroes, beating Stephen Gallacher 3 and 2.
Here are the full results for Wednesday's action:
| Graeme McDowell (NI) | Won 3 and 2 | Alexander Levy (Fra) |
| Joost Luiten (Ned) | Won 1-up | Mikko Ilonen (Fin) |
| Henrik Stenson (Swe) | Match Halved | George Coetzee (SA) |
| Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) | Won 2-up | Francesco Molinari (Ita) |
| Jamie Donaldson (Wal) | Lost 2 and 1 | Paul Casey (Eng) |
| Patrick Reed (US) | Lost 2 and 1 | Jonas Blixt (Swe) |
| Victor Dubuisson (Fra) | Won 3 and 2 | Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) |
| Stephen Gallacher (Sco) | Lost 3 and 2 | Shane Lowry (Ire) |
The group standings after the first round can be seen below:
| 1 | Thongchai Jaidee | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | George Coetzee | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | Henrik Stenson | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 4 | Francesco Molinari | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Paul Casey | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | Jonas Blixt | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Jamie Donaldson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Patrick Reed | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Shane Lowry | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | Victor Dubuisson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Stephen Gallacher | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Pablo Larrazabal | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1 | Joost Luiten | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | Graeme McDowell | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 3 | Alexander Levy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | Mikko Ilonen | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
For video highlights, visit the European Tour's official website.
Lowry took the lead against Gallacher on the very first hole and never looked back, scoring three birdies on the back nine to comfortably see off Gallacher in the final match of the day, via the European Tour's official Twitter feed:
Defending champion McDowell opened with three birdies on his first five holes, and when Levy bogeyed the seventh, the match seemed to come to an early conclusion. The Northern Irishman returned the favour on the very next hole, only for the Frenchman to bogey again on the ninth.
McDowell's three-stroke lead was hardly threatened on the back nine, leading to a comfortable win. He told BBC Sport he didn't see things that way, however, as he spoke highly of his opponents:
"There are no easy matches. You can't take anyone lightly, especially a guy who won last week, so I'm very happy to get the victory.
It's important to control your own destiny in the group stages - you don't want to be relying on other people.
"
Joost Luiten took a come-from-behind win over Mikko Ilonen in the final four holes, starting his campaign on the right foot. The two served up one of the more competitive rounds Wednesday, and a bogey on the 14th for the Dutchman appeared to have decided the tie.
A birdie on the very next hole tied things up, however, and Ilonen gifted the win to his opponent with a bogey on the 16th.
Victor Dubuisson scored an easy win over Spain's Pablo Larrazabal, while last year's runner-up Thongchai Jaidee showed his excellent form with a 2-up win over Francesco Molinari. The European Tour noted the most in-form players:
Here's a look at the schedule for Thursday's matches:
| Victor Dubuisson (Fra) | vs. | Shane Lowry (Ire) |
| Stephen Gallacher (Sco) | vs. | Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) |
| Graeme McDowell (NI) | vs. | Mikko Ilonen (Fin) |
| Joost Luiten (Ned) | vs. | Alexander Levy (Fra) |
| Henrik Stenson (Swe) | vs. | Francesco Molinari (Ita) |
| Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) | vs. | George Coetzee (SA) |
| Jamie Donaldson (Wal) | vs. | Jonas Blixt (Swe) |
| Patrick Reed (US) | vs. | Paul Casey (Eng) |
All eyes will be on the tie between Lowry and Dubuisson, two of the top performers on Day 1. Gallacher and Larrazabal will both attempt to bounce back from losses, with the loser likely losing out on the knockout stages.
Top-ranked Stenson needs a win against Molinari after his opening-round draw against Coetzee, while Luiten and Levy will continue their battle that was cut short by the rain in Portugal last week.
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