Europeans make early running

Europe’s challenge for the Accenture Match Play Championship began superbly when the delayed second round finally got underway today.

Thursday’s play was completely washed out after torrential rain left large parts of the course under water, and some places only accessible by boat.

That meant an early start this morning with play beginning at 7.10am local time, after a 10-minute delay after more rain, with both the second and third round scheduled to be completed.

Padraig Harrington, Ian Poulter and Darren Clarke followed each other off the 10th tee, with Colin Montgomerie not far behind, and all four were soon well ahead in their respective matches.

Harrington halved the opening two holes with Bob Estes before a stunning long iron to within two feet of the flag on the 12th took him one up.

Estes then conceded the 14th after three-putting for a double bogey six, and another bogey on the 17th put Harrington three up approaching the turn.

Poulter was gifted the opening hole when Duffy Waldorf found the four-and-a-half inch rough and could only advance the ball some 40 yards onto the fairway, and Poulter’s solid par four was good enough to edge ahead.

The 11th was shared in birdie fours but Waldorf then bogeyed the 14th and conceded the next after finding water with his approach, and another concession on the 17th put the only surviving Englishman in complete control.

Clarke was in similar command against Germany’s Alex Cejka, one birdie, one bogey and six pars enough to give him four of the first eight holes.

And Montgomerie, who came back from two down with three to play in the first round against Nick Price, was also four up on Stewart Cink after just six holes.

The Scot chipped to two feet for a birdie on the par five 11th, and then chipped in from 40ft for another birdie on the next.

Further birdies followed from five and 10 feet respectively on 14 and 15 and the former European number one was four under for his round and seemingly cruising into the third round for the first time in five attempts.

The two remaining European players were facing each other and Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson had the upper hand over Thomas Bjorn.

Bjorn won the first with a birdie but Jacobson took the next three in a row to move two up after seven holes.

Top seed and defending champion Tiger Woods was three up on South Africa’s Trevor Immelman, who chipped in for birdie on the seventh only to see Woods hole from six feet to halve the hole.

Unlike the first round, when a record equalling six matches went to extra holes, several matches looked set to be decided early with Phil Mickelson already four up on Open champion Ben Curtis after seven holes.