South Africa’s George Coetzee continued his excellent recent form to brush aside Steve Stricker and progress to the second round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.
Coetzee, who claimed his first European Tour title at the Joburg Open ten days ago, sealed a 3 and 1 victory over the US Ryder Cup veteran to win his first match at Ritz Carlton on his third appearance.
Stricker’s participation in the first World Golf Championships of 2014 had been in doubt until his brother underwent a successful liver transplant at the weekend, and Coetzee raced two ahead after two holes – needing only pars to do so.
The 27 year old won the seventh and ninth in similar fashion either side of a decisive Stricker birdie to turn three up and, after his 46 year old opponent birdied the 13th and 14th to get within one, saw out the contest with gains at the 15th and 17th.
Elsewhere, Ryder Cup star and former champion Ian Poulter suffered his third first-round exit in four years at Dove Mountain.
Englishman Poulter was defeated 2 and 1 by American Rickie Fowler, who led from the fourth hole onwards and will now face compatriot Jimmy Walker in the second round.
Walker, who has already won three times in the 2014 US PGA Tour season, secured the first victory of the day with a comfortable 5 and 4 win over South African Branden Grace.
After the opening three holes were halved, Fowler won three of the next four and needed only one birdie to do so, although 2010 champion Poulter then reduced his deficit with a birdie on the eighth.
A par on the tenth was enough for Fowler to move three up once again and although he gave the next hole back with a bogey six, a superb eagle on the par five 13th - with Poulter in trouble over the green - restored a three-hole cushion.
In typical fashion Poulter refused to throw in the towel and won the 14th with a birdie from 18 feet as Fowler missed from much closer, but further birdie chances went begging on the next three holes to seal his fate.
Finland's Mikko Ilonen had looked like creating a shock when he led Bubba Watson by two holes with six to play, but lost the next three holes and Watson - who claimed his first win since the 2012 Masters Tournament in the Northern Trust Open on Sunday - sealed a 2 and 1 win on the 17th.
"After number 11 I knew I had to fight hard and somehow I did it," Watson said.
"It's very tough, with all the media and attention around me after the win on Sunday, to focus enough on golf so hopefully this match scared me enough that I will focus a little harder."
There was better news elsewhere for two more of the 25-strong European contingent, with Peter Hanson three up on Dustin Johnson after ten and France's Victor Dubuisson ahead of Kevin Streelman by the same margin at the turn.
Spain's Sergio Garcia had been two down after three holes against Australian Marc Leishman, but birdies at the sixth and 11th got Garcia back on level terms.
Poulter admitted he was beaten fair and square, writing on Twitter: "Disappointed with my performance today, did not deserve to move on, congrats to Rickie Fowler."
Fowler: "I knew it was going to be a tough match. He wasn't playing great today but I knew he was going to find a way to hang around and give me something at the end.
"Obviously it feels good to get a win against him and I am excited for tomorrow."
Sweden's Jonas Blixt was the next man into the last 32 with a 2 and 1 win over former US PGA Champion Keegan Bradley.
In the later matches, Rory McIlroy lost the first hole to a birdie from Boo Weekley but hit back with a two-putt birdie of his own on the par five second to get back on level terms.
Hanson completed a 4 and 3 win over Johnson - the World Number Eight has now lost in the first round five times in the last six years - and will face Dubuisson in the last 32 after he saw off Streelman 5 and 4.
The biggest margin of victory so far belonged to American Billy Horschel, who defeated Welshman Jamie Donaldson 6 and 5, while Bill Haas beat Miguel Angel Jiménez 5 and 4 and Thomas Bjorn defeated Francesco Molinari 2 and 1.
Two matches so far had been decided on the 18th, Patrick Reed beating Graeme DeLaet and Jordan Spieth edging out Pablo Larrazábal, while the first to require extra holes involved Garcia and Leishman.
Garcia won the 17th with a birdie to get back to all square but could only bogey the 18th and Leishman scrambled a five after hacking his third shot from out of the undergrowth near the green.
