No. 1 Donald gets dispatched, well, big and easy

By Steve Elling

MARANA, Ariz. -- OK, so the opponent was Ernie Els, a former world No. 1 and a seven-time winner at the European Tour's match-play event.

Defending champion Luke Donald would have had trouble beating practically anybody in the first round of the Accenture Match Play Championship on Wednesday.

"I don't think it would have mattered who I played today," said Donald, the top-seeded player in the field and the current world No. 1. "I just didn't play well."

He didn't play long, either.

Els hammered Donald, 5 and 4, closing out the defending champion with four birdies in their 14 holes, though that wasn;t so much the determining factor.

Donald, one of themost unerring players of the era, was all over the map and made four bogeys, making it easy for the Big Easy.

"I'm not sure where to start," Donald said. "I just didn't play well. It's disappointing. I;ve been working really hard.To lose control of the golf ball like I did today is really frustrating."

It marked the third time in event history that the No. 1 overall seed was kicked to the curb on the first day of play, with Donald joining early departures Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker.

Given the seeding and ranking, it lends new meaning to "one and done."

"I gave away too many holes and made too many mistakes," Donald said. "You can't do that in match play against anyone, let alone Ernie."

nokoman56 Since: Sep 9, 2008	Posted on: February 23, 2012 1:09 pm No. 1 Donald gets dispatched, well, big and easy You want me to offer 32 " well dones?" Lets get this straight Gimmie. You are a one dimensional golf fan. You are a Woods Only Fan. You have SFA to offer . You obviouly haven't the slightest idea what match play is. The number of insults stays pretty high with you as you are a confirmed Woods arse licker. [ Reply to Comment ]
Kingston_Rick Since: Sep 16, 2007	Posted on: February 23, 2012 12:59 pm No. 1 Donald gets dispatched, well, big and easy What is there to say you moron? Els played great , Donald didn't. It's match play. How about: Well done Ernie! A player not really at the top of his game taking down World #1 5-and-4, what a great performance! Something along those lines. I can always tell when you're on the defensive, suddenly the number of insults increases substantially. And once again you reveal your true objective here, basically to belittle Woods in any way possible. "What is there to say?" ?? You've already told us; you have nothing to say. [ Reply to Comment ]
bunt16911 Since: Apr 12, 2008	Posted on: February 23, 2012 11:49 am No. 1 Donald gets dispatched, well, big and easy Well, the fact of the matter is that Luke Donald is #1 in the world simply by default. Now before you jump all over my back hear me out. Donald is a wonderful golfer, and is a bonafied top 5 or 10 player, but he is more along the lines of a Jim Furyk than a true #1. He accumulates his OWR points based on consistency, rather than wins. He is good for a win, perhaps 2 in a season. But where he truely shines is top 10's. He also is off to a sputtering start to his 2012 campaign. He simply doesn't drive the golf ball well enough, doesn't hit enough fairways. And short to medium length and crooked is not a good combination. However, he has every other tool in the bag. The #1 player in the world going forward in my opinion will be one of the following in the following order.(long to medium term), MCIlroy, Manessero, Kaymer, Schwartzel. Longer shots to me at this point would be Haas, Mickelson or Woods. [ Reply to Comment ]
nokoman56 Since: Sep 9, 2008	Posted on: February 23, 2012 10:59 am No. 1 Donald gets dispatched, well, big and easy What is there to say you moron? Els played great , Donald didn't. It's match play. Do you have the slightest idea what match play is?? Seemingly not. The same pair could go out today and the result revesred. Els has 64 wins world wide. He won the the World match play 3 years in a row, in fact he's done this twice. He is obviously VERY comfortable in match play. What is it you don't understand? Gimmie you really are terribly stupid. [ Reply to Comment ]
Kingston_Rick Since: Sep 16, 2007	Posted on: February 23, 2012 10:37 am No. 1 Donald gets dispatched, well, big and easy VaHawk: To be honest, I have a hard time watching either of them play. Els always looks like he's going to fall asleep at any moment. "The Big Snoozy" would be a better nickname. @ LannyH: But what about THIS story? The one that has sat here for more than 12 hours without anyone commenting on the lopsided Els-#1 WGR Donald victory? Surely a "true golf fan" would have been falling all over himself to post a comment or two here? Apparently not. He'd rather read about how Tiger Woods played and then complain about it! Only after I pointed that out, did a member of the Skin Flute Orchestra show up -- to attack me, of course, not to actually comment on the match. [ Reply to Comment ]
LannyH Since: Sep 19, 2011	Posted on: February 23, 2012 10:12 am No. 1 Donald gets dispatched, well, big and easy King, rather than try to convince yourself this is still 2001 and Tiger Woods is still the most popular and respected athlete in the world, why don't you go read my lenghty comment on the McIlroy article? WARNING: it actually has golf-related subject matter. [ Reply to Comment ]
VaHawk Since: Oct 20, 2008	Posted on: February 23, 2012 9:59 am No. 1 Donald gets dispatched, well, big and easy Luke Donald has abut as much killer instinct as Ghandi. Ernie should have actually been favored in that match - Donald is a little mouse compared to the big easy. Not a surprising result at all - [ Reply to Comment ]
Kingston_Rick Since: Sep 16, 2007	Posted on: February 23, 2012 9:45 am No. 1 Donald gets dispatched, well, big and easy ..and then when someone finally comments, he comments on what I said rather than on Ernie Els or Luke Donald. Brilliant! [ Reply to Comment ]
nokoman56 Since: Sep 9, 2008	Posted on: February 23, 2012 8:27 am No. 1 Donald gets dispatched, well, big and easy More wasted electricity from the Vice Captain of the Flat Ears Society [ Reply to Comment ]
Kingston_Rick Since: Sep 16, 2007	Posted on: February 23, 2012 8:20 am No. 1 Donald gets dispatched, well, big and easy ..and what's more, it proves to me what I've always suspected, that you certainly do care more about Woods and how he's playing than any other player, even if it's only to watch and comment on a poor performance. Every time you skip over a story like this, you expose yourselves as hypocrites. [ Reply to Comment ]

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