Things look grim for European trio

The three Europeans in the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth were all in danger of falling at the first hurdle today.

German Alex Cejka trailed world number three Vijay Singh by six after the morning round, Swede Fredrik Jacobson was four down to American Chad Campbell after 16 holes, but Dane Thomas Bjorn had at least come back from three down to only one down after 15 against Masters runner-up Len Mattiace.

In the other match Australian Stephen Leaney was all square at lunch with South African Tim Clark in a contest to decide who faces holder Ernie Els in tomorrow’s quarter-finals.

Cejka, Jacobson and Bjorn all owed their places in the £2.3m (€3.3m) event - £1m (€1.4m) of it to Sunday’s winner – to withdrawals, but were struggling to make the most of their opportunity.

Bjorn, who came in as first reserve when world number one Tiger Woods decided not to play, shared the first six holes, but then lost the next three.

Joint second in the Open in July after standing three shots clear with four holes to play, he three-putted from only 15 feet on the seventh, missed the green with a nine-iron on the next and then saw Mattiace make an eight-foot birdie putt at the ninth.

Bjorn did pitch to four feet to win the 11th, but his opponent birdied the 509-yard 12th and the next was halved in bogey fives.

Winner of only one game in three previous visits to the event, Bjorn’s hopes were raised, however, when Mattiace had further bogey on the 14th and 15th.

They were fighting for the right to play Masters champion Mike Weir in tomorrow’s quarter-finals, while waiting for Campbell or Jacobson was Open champion Ben Curtis.

Campbell made birdie putts of eight and six feet on the second and third, then struck a seven-iron to seven feet for a spectacular eagle on the fourth.

Jacobson bogeyed the sixth and then Campbell, runner-up in the US PGA in August, made up for double-bogeying the seventh by hitting a massive drive and wedge to four feet at the 452-yard ninth.

The gap became five when the little-known American hit a four-iron to three feet on the 10th and after Jacobson had threatened to get right back into things by winning the 12th and 13th he bogeyed the next and missed a four-foot chance at the 15th.

Singh won four of the first five holes against Cejka, He chipped in from 30 feet at the first, then holed from around 35 feet at the short second.

Cejka, last man into the 12-man field after Jim Furyk, Kenny Perry, Phil Mickelson, David Toms and Davis Love also decided not to make the trip across the Atlantic, could only blame himself for losing the third and fifth, three-putting both times.

Singh’s failure to get up and down from sand on the seventh narrowed the gap back to three, but the Fijian, out in 33, then won the 11th and 12th.

Next up for the winner was US PGA champion Shaun Micheel and it looked even more like being Singh when, after bogeying the 13th following a drive into sand, he birdied the two closing par fives, both for wins and for a four under par round of 68. Cejka managed only a 74.

Clark never led in the first game out. Leaney was two-up after seven, lost the ninth and 10th to birdies, but then went in front once more with a five-iron to 12 feet on the 13th.

However, Clark was back on terms with a 18th hole birdie, going round in a one under 71 to Leaney's 72.