McGinley not sharp enough

Paul McGinley didn't try to sugarcoat his disappointment as he sifted through the pertinent moments of his 3 and 1 defeat to Shingo Katayama.

There was no attempt to offer mitigation; instead, he candidly appraised his departure from the WGC Accenture World Matchplay Championship at La Costa.

"It's not about being frustrated, I didn't play well enough to win," the Dubliner admitted. "I handed him three holes through my own bad play and you can't do that at this level. After that it was always going to be difficult. He also pitched unbelievably well and holed some excellent putts.

"If I'd played better I might have been able to get something out of the match. I suppose when you look at it and the holes I gave away, I probably would have won. I am playing well in patches but lack the consistency to sustain that through the round."

The steam was still lifting from the fairways as the sun removed lingering overnight frost when McGinley teed it up in front of a knot of 14 supporters, their loyalties evenly split between the combatants of match eight.

The first and third holes were to offer a microcosm of the contest that would unfurl. Katayama, with the cowboy hat, satin veneer skin-tight trousers and rhinestone studded belt, drove into the rough, hacked out short of the pond that guarded the green but pitched to six feet and holed the putt.

McGinley's matching par was a little more orthodox.

It was the par-five third that suggested the Irishman could be in for a long day. McGinley hit a drive and three-wood to three feet short of the apron, while his opponent was 80 yards from the green in two. Katayama hit his pitch to three inches for a tap-in birdie; McGinley had to hole from three feet to follow suit.

At the next, McGinley was punished for a poor drive, found sand with his second and couldn't hole from 12 feet with his par putt. In contrast, Katayama drained a seven-footer to win the hole and atone for a clumsy chip.

The Japanese golfer's short game rescued him again on the sixth, holing from eight feet for a par and a win.

The concession of a second hole to regulation figures to go two down will rankle with McGinley. He was perfectly placed after his tee-shot but pulled his second shot, long and right, and tried to get a bit cute with the chip down a steep slope, the ball eventually stopping on the apron.

Katayama traded the putter for an exquisite, 80-yard wedge shot at the eighth for a birdie and a three-hole lead he took to the turn.

McGinley though refused to buckle, and won the 10th, but the two par threes on the back nine were to prove calamitous. He negotiated them in two over regulation figures at a time when he twice threatened to rein in the deficit.

Having slipped three down again at the 12th, McGinley won the 13th and 15th to claw his way back to just a single hole behind. The match was effectively decided on the par-three 16th when he hit a poor tee-shot that missed the green and ultimately failed to hole from five feet for a half.

Katayama offered a final example of his prowess on the greens when he holed a fine six-foot putt on the penultimate green for par and the victory.