honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, February 19, 2010

Match play top seeds all losers


Advertiser News Services

The remaining top four seeds went down, and so did the defending champion.

The often-unpredictable Match Play Championship more than lived up to its reputation in a topsy-turvy second round at Dove Mountain in Mariana, Ariz., yesterday.

Lee Westwood, Jim Furyk, Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy — seeded second through fifth — were among the losers. Defending champion Geoff Ogilvy was beaten by Colombian Camilo Villegas, 2 and 1. Top-seeded Steve Stricker lost Wednesday in the first round.

The highest remaining seed is England's Paul Casey at No. 6. Casey, the runner-up a year ago who won the World Match Play Championship in England in 2006, ousted Canadian Mike Weir, 5 and 4.

"It's definitely different than the NCAA (basketball) tournament, where there's a pretty big discrepancy between one and 16," said American Nick Watney, who beat Westwood, 2 and 1. "But like you saw, Steve Stricker won two weeks ago and lost yesterday. So it's a crazy format."

NBA

MCGRADY TO KNICKS

The New York Knicks acquired former scoring champion Tracy McGrady yesterday in a three-team swap with the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings.

New York traded Jared Jeffries, Jordan Hill and Larry Hughes for Houston's McGrady and Sacramento's Sergio Rodriguez.

Later, the Knicks traded Nate Robinson to Boston along with Marcus Landry for Eddie House, J.R. Giddens, Bill Walker and a future conditional second-round pick.

AND WHAT'S MORE ...

Joe Durant birdied five of the final eight holes for a 7-under 64 and a one-stroke lead yesterday in the PGA Tour's Mayakoba Golf Classic at Playa del Carmen, Mexico. ... Israel's Shahar Peer, denied a chance to play in the Dubai Championships at United Arab Emirates, last year, advanced to the semifinals with a 7-5, 3-0 win over Australian Open semifinalist Li Na, who retired from the match because of back spasms. ... Infielder Erick Aybar and the Los Angeles Angels agreed yesterday to a $2.05 million, one-year contract that avoided a salary arbitration hearing.