GOLF:THE ADAGE that "dogs who chase cars and pros who putt for pars don't last long" came home to haunt Graeme McDowell when he fell to South Korean star YE Yang in the third round of the WGC-Accenture Matchplay Championship at the Ritz-Carlton Resort yesterday.
Following a four-week break from the game, the Ulsterman struggled all week to shake the rust from his game.
And that proved to be the difference coming down the stretch as he lost by 3 and 2 to the 2009 US PGA champion, who played the last four holes in an estimated four under par.
The defeat also places a question mark over McDowell’s potential rise to third in the world when the rankings are updated on Monday.
Victory in Tucson would have propelled McDowell as high as number two, yet, while he can still become number three, that now depends on Luke Donald failing to win the title here. The English man beat the young Italian Matteo Manassero 3 and 2.
McDowell played well against Heath Slocum in Wednesday’s first round. But his lack of match practice was evident in his second-round win over Ross Fisher and it proved to be his undoing against Yang (39).
All square with five holes to play, McDowell’s short game then let him down and Yang took full advantage to set up a quarter-final meeting with Matt Kuchar following the American’s 2 and 1 win over Rickie Fowler.
With his opponent just six feet away at the 14th, the Ulsterman overshot the green with his 131-yard approach and never gave himself a chance to save par after a poor pitch.
He was soon two down when Yang applied pressure by hitting a 334-yard drive to the heart of the 15th green. McDowell came up 50 yards short with his drive, but just when he needed a stellar pitch, he finished 18 feet away and failed with the birdie putt.
Now two down with three to play, the Ulsterman’s interest in the event ended at the 246-yard 16th, where Yang chipped in for a winning birdie two with McDowell four feet away after bunkering his tee-shot.
It was always going to be a long day for the 31-year-old in the desert outside Tucson.
Having dodged a bullet at the first, where the Korean lipped out from seven feet for the win, he survived again at the par-five second when he hit a superb, 25-yard bunker shot to five feet and holed the birdie putt to remain all square.
Yang edged in front with a birdie at the par-three third, where McDowell was short left with his approach, chipped 18 feet past and missed the putt with his opponent 15 feet away.
The South Korean doubled his advantage at the fourth with a wedge to five feet, before handing back a hole at the next where he failed to get up and down from greenside sand.
McDowell was still struggling to find his swing and handed the momentum back by bogeying the 165-yard sixth with a ballooned tee-shot into the front bunker.
Two down again, the Portrush star then missed a three-a-half-footer for a win in birdie at the par-five eighth.
But a birdie from 13 feet at the ninth saw him turn just one down, and it was soon all square when Yang took a double bogey six at the par-four 10th after pushing his approach into the desert and failing to make the green in three.
Yang won a pitch and putt battle to edge ahead again at the par-five 11th, but McDowell’s matchplay DNA kicked in at the 12th, where Yang bogeyed after overshooting the green.
Yang bravely holed a 10-footer for a half in birdie fours at the next to remain all square, but edged a vital hole in front at the 14th.
With heavy rain and maximum temperatures of just 9C forecast for tomorrow, the semi-finals have been brought forward to today.
Tomorrow’s final is scheduled to tee off at 7:15pm Irish-time.
Matt Kuchar (US) bt Rickie Fowler (US) 2 and 1
YE Yang (Kor) bt Graeme McDowell (N Ire) 3 and 2
Bubba Watson (US) bt Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 6 and 4
Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) bt Ben Crane (US) 8 and 6
Luke Donald (Eng) bt Matteo Manassero (Ita) 3 and 2
