WGC Accenture Match Play - Upset Alley

So far at the WGC Accenture Match Play, we've seen some pretty unexpected outcomes, and I'm not talking about the snow storm.

Round 1 saw the demise of a few tournament favorites including Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.  These, among others upsets, resulted in me going 20/32 in my round one predictions for the Golf Channel bracket selections.  Here's a quick look at the top 4 upsets...

• S.Lowry(16) defeats R.McIlroy(1) - Honestly, I wasn't overly surprised by this result as Rory has been struggling with his game since making the equipment change.  The transition has undoubtedly had an affect on his confidence, and only time will tell how long it will take for him to iron out the kinks.
• C.HowellIII(16) defeats T.Woods(1) - Although I did expect Woods to make it through this match-up, this course isn't in line with the type of course Woods typically excels at.  The challenging, unforgiving course at Dove Mountain, just didn't mesh with Woods' long drives and scrambley short game.
• R.Cabrera-B(15) defeats L.Westwood(2) - This outcome definitely surprised me, which ended up taking an extra hole to find the victor.  In the end, Cabrera-B kept his cool and was able to come out on top.
• T.Clark(15) defeats A.Scott(2) - This was another match-up that took me by surprise, as I had pegged A.Scott to make it into at least round 2.  It just goes to show, when you get to this caliber of golfers, you never know what could happen.

Other round 1 upsets included:

• R.Henley(14) defeats C.Schwartzel(3)   
• R.Sterne(14) defeats J.Dufner(3)
• A.Noren(13) defeats D.Johnson(4)
• M.Fraser(13) defeats K.Bradley(4)

It will be interesting to see how the remainder of the tournament plays out, and if the underdogs continue to come out on top.

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