McDowell and McIlroy march on

GOLF WGC-ACCENTURE MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP:GRAEME McDOWELL and Rory McIlroy eased their way effortlessly into the second round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at a sun-baked Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.

But while defending champion Ian Poulter fell at the 19th to Stewart Cink, the biggest early shock came when 17-year old Matteo Manassero spoiled Steve Stricker’s 44th birthday with a 2 and 1 victory that pleased McIlroy more than most.

“It’s awesome, it’s fantastic. I’m happy for him,” said McIlroy, who beat American Jonathan Byrd 4 and 2 without having to extend himself. “It’s fantastic what he’s doing.”

McIlroy is at the head of a new youth movement in golf but he showed in his post-round comments that he still needs to learn to bite his tongue before he speaks.

“It was funny, on the range this morning, there was four guys on the range, it was myself, Matteo, Ishikawa and Steve Stricker,” he said to laughs in the interview room. “Stricker was pushing the average age up by a bit there, so it was funny.”

That wasn’t what drew gasps of astonishment, however. When asked if felt that the likes of Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods were coming to the end of their careers, he inadvertently threw Woods under the bus.

In trying to explain that there was still life in the old dogs yet, McIlroy said: “I don’t think Tiger and Phil have got any... Well.... I don’t think Phil has got any worse.”

It was a light-hearted moment at the end of a good day for the Ulster pair which began well when McDowell finally found an oasis in the desert to make it into the second round or the first time since 2005.

The Portrush man made short work of 37-year old Heath Slocum, beating the American 4 and 3 with a display that earns him a date with stablemate Ross Fisher today.

McDowell was unhappy with his warm-up session on the range and while he handed Slocum a one-up lead by overshooting the first green, it turned out to be a mere blip against an opponent who hadn’t played a matchplay encounter since the 1995 US Amateur Public Links.

“I feel like I played well myself and he didn’t play his best and make me play,” McDowell said. “I could fire to the correct side of pins and win a few holes with pars, which is always nice.

“I hit it well off the tee, hit a few decent iron shots and holed a few nice putts. But every match is tough and I have got to prepare myself to play one of my good friends in Ross Fisher tomorrow.

“He is a great match player and has a good record in this tournament so I will have to play well to beat him.”

McDowell showed his intent early, winning the par-five second with an eagle set up by a magnificent, 234-yard five-iron to just 18 feet. He won a chip and putt battle to take the par-three third in par and edge into a lead he would never relinquish, taking the fifth with a par and the sixth with a birdie two from 22 feet to go three up.

Slocum was clearly out of sorts with his game and lost the seventh to a par to go four down and then left McDowell off the hook for failing to get up and down at the ninth by three putting from the back of the green.

McDowell has been forced to pack his clubs back into their flight bag on the opening day for the past two years but he could begin thinking about a second round clash with Fisher, a 4 and 3 winner over Australia’s Robert Allenby, when Slocum bogeyed the long 11th to go five down.

McDowell lost the 14th to a birdie but parred the next two holes to ease the pressure after first round defeats in 2006 and the last two years.

“Okay, I have a tough game tomorrow with Ross but it kind of takes some of the pressure away and I can go out and play some golf now. Ross has played well here before and I have my work cut out but I feel I can do the job.”

If McDowell was pleased with his win, Poulter was livid with himself for losing to Cink’s birdie at the 19th, having held a two up lead with four to play.

“Am I disappointed? I am f***ing pissed,” Poulter said after losing on the 19th. “Does that help? I am pissed at myself for not doing my job today. I had my chances to shut him out and didn’t.”

McIlroy faced a tough opponent in Byrd, who has won twice on the PGA Tour in recent months.

After halves in birdie at the second and bogey at the third, the Holywood native moved into the lead when he hit a 323-yard drive to the edge of the fourth green and chipped in for an eagle two.

Pointing to his eagle as the turning point, McIlroy said: “I got off to a shaky start and missed a couple of greens but the two on four sort of settled me down and I never looked back after that.”

While Byrd got back to level after seven, he three-putted the ninth to leave McIlroy one up at the turn and then lost the 11th to a birdie four and the 15th and 16th to pars.

Late starter Pádraig Harrington looked set for an early exit for the third year in a row when he went four down to Geoff Ogilvy through 10 holes.

The Dubliner conceded the first after being forced to take a penalty drop in the desert and after losing the third to a par, he only managed a win in par at the sixth before falling further behind.

Ogilvy won the seventh with a solid par four after Harrington was forced to take another penalty and then took the ninth with a birdie to go three up.

Harrington then lost the 10th to a par four when he overshot the green and failed to get up and down from the desert.