THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012
GOLF
PAGE 7B
No.1 seed Luke Donald out in opening round
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MARANA, Ariz. — Luke Donald won't be playing the 18th hole at Dove Mountain this year, either.
Donald, so dominant in winning the Match Play Championship last year that he closed out every match before the 18th hole, became only the third No.1 seed to lose in the opening round Wednesday in another predictably crazy day on Dove Mountain.
Ernie Els, who only got into the 64-man field when Phil Mickelson took his family on a ski vacation, delivered the biggest shocker in the first round with a 5-and-4 victory.
Rory McLtry, of Northern Ireland, flops the ball onto the 16th green while playing George Cootzee of South Africa during the Match Play Championship golf tournament on Wednesday, Feb. 22, in Marana, Ariz.
"I don't think it would have mattered who I played today. I just didn't play well." Donald said. "I struggled. I gave away too many holes and made too many mistakes. You can't do that in match play against anyone, let alone Ernie."
Tiger Woods nearly found that out against Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
Woods had to play left-handed in one of his three journeys into the desert. He trailed the Spaniard with four holes to play, and both of them looked beatable. That changed when Woods drove the par-5 15th green to win with a two-putt birdie, won the 16th with a par and then closed out the Spaniard with an 8-foot par putt for a 1-up win.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"We both made our share of mistakes, there's no doubt about that," said Woods. "But somehow, I was able to move on."
That was the only objective in this World Golf Championship, a single-elimination format in which the only proper use of the word "upset" is the mood of the 32 guys who are headed home.
lan Poulter, the Match Play winner two years ago, suffered his worst loss in nine appearances when Bae Sang-moon beat him, 4 and 3.
Among them:
In the most thrilling match of the opening round, Jim Furky was on the verge of sending Dustin Johnson home early for the fourth straight year when Johnson hit his tee shot into the desert and had to take a penalty drop on the 20th hole. Furky chipped across the green and three-putted for bogey to lose.
— Rafael Cabrera-Bello was 3 up with three holes to play against Jason Day when he bogeyed three straight holes, and punt beat him with a 4-foot birdie put on the 19th hole.
The other top seeds didn't have too many problems.
U. S. Open champion Rory McLlroy won four straight holes on the back nine to seize control against George Coetzze. He was 2 up with two holes to play. Lee Westwood never trailed in his 3-and-1 win over Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium. The test for Westwood comes on Thursday against Robert Karlsson, when he tries to advance to the third round for the first time. Martin Kaymer easily dispatched Greg Chalmers, while Steve Stricker outlasted Kevin Na.
— Bill Haas, coming off that monster win at Riviera just three days ago, looked like a winner when he was 1 up on the 17th green and had a 5-foot birdie put. Ryo Ishikawa held from 18 feet, Haas missed, and the Japanese star made par on the 18th to win.
Fernandez-Castano got some attention this week for saying Woods was "beatable" and not at his best. "He's beatable, too," Woods replied, and the way they played, both were
McIlroy and Westwood now have a chance to replace Donald at No. 1 in the world with a win this week.
well. It's disappointing. I've been working really hard. To lose control of the golf ball like I did today is really frustrating, but I believe the hard work will start paying off soon."
Donald will head home to Florida to shake off a poor start to his season.
A year after becoming the first player to win money titles on the PGA and European tours, he was not a factor at Abu Dhabi or Riviera, and this the first time he's had three straight events out of the top 30 since August 2009.
"I'm not sure where to start," Donald said. "I just didn't play very well."
right.
Woods lost the opening two holes and looked as though he might fall 3 down until making a 10-foot par save. Woods won three of the next five holes, one of them with a 50-foot birdie putt, and that's when the match became a case of give-and-take.
Woods was on the verge of going
2 up until he three-putted the ninth
and Fernandez-Castano got up-and-down for bogey. Three holes later, Woods had to make a par to avoid falling 2 down.
He wasn't wild all the time, but it cost him when he was — a left-handed shot out of the desert on No. 2, too much club that sent him over the 11th green and into the desert. But he settled down right about the time the Spaniard began
to struggle with the putter, missing putts inside 10 feet on the 15th and 16th holes that enabled Woods to take the lead.
SOCCER
"I think if there was one day to beat Tiger Woods, this was it," Fernandez-Castano said. "I didn't take the opportunity. I missed a few shots. And of course, you can't miss spots if you want to beat one of the greatest in history."
Sporting Kansas City picks up midfielder
Midfielder Graham Zusi has signed a new contract with Sporting Kansas City after putting together a breakout season in which he scored five goals and added nine assists.
Zusi had the eventual winning goal in the U.S. team's 1-0 victory over Panama.
The 25-year-old Zusi also had a career-best 35 appearances while gaining a reputation for his long-range goals. His strong MLS campaign earned him a spot on the U.S. men's national team, where he started in each of his first two international appearances last month.
The former second-round draft pick said the culture of Sporting KC had a lot to do with his new contract：“The culture, fans, atmosphere and organization are top-notch, and our objectives are the same, to win championships.”
Associated Press
BASKETBALL
Magic beats Nets for 9th straight time
NEWARK, N.J. — Dwight Howard had 20 points and 17 rebounds and the Orlando Magic rolled to a 108-91 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday night.
Howard, who can become a free agent in July if the Magic don't trade him by the March 15 trading deadline, got the loudest cheers from the crowd of 15,364 in the oregame introductions.
And the center didn't disappoint in leading the Magic to their ninth straight win over the Brooklyn-bound Nets.
Deron Williams had 23 points, six rebounds and eight assists to lead New Jersey, which headed into the All-Star breaking having lost 8 of 11. Rookie MarShon Brooks added a game-high 24, while Brook Lopez had 15 in his second game of the season after recovering from a broken right foot.
Glen Davis, who hit his first seven shots, added 16 points for Orlando, which won for the eighth time in 11 games.
NBA
Associated Press
Pierce and Garnett win 11th straight at home
I ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kevin Garnett's return after a two-game absence wasn't enough to lift the Celtics, who were still without point guard Rajon Rondo as he served the second game of a two-game suspension.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Russell Westbrook scored 31 points, Kevin Durant added 28 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Boston Celtics 119-104 on Wednesday night for their 11th straight win at home.
Boston trailed by as many as 27 in the third quarter before rallying to get within 108-102 after Pierce's free throw with 3:31 left. Durant banked in a pair of jumpers and hit two free throws during an 11-2 run to close the game for Oklahoma City.
Paul Pierce and Garnett scored 23 points apiece to lead Boston, and Garnett also had 13 rebounds after missing the previous two games for personal reasons. The Celtics head into the All-Star break on their second five-game losing streak of the season, both punctuated by losses to Oklahoma City.
The Thunder took control with a mammoth 30-3 run that carried over into the second quarter, including a span of 21 consecutive points, and eventually pushed their lead to 83-56 after Daequan Cook's 3-pointer from the left corner with 7.07 left in the third quarter.
The Celtics cut their deficit in half with a 16-4 run to finish the third, with much of the damage coming after Durant picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench with just under 3 minutes remaining.
Ray Allen's jumper to start the fourth quarter got Boston within 94-82 but there was still too much room to make up.
Boston got as close as six following an 11-2 run that came during a stretch when two Oklahoma City players were called for technical fouls. Kendrick Perkins got one after fouling out, and Serge Ibaka got one soon after replacing Perkins.
The Thunder got it back together to finish it out, ending up with a 43-32 advantage on the boards — including only three offensive rebounds for Boston — and 27 fast-break points, one off their season best. The 119 points were also one shy of their most in regulation this season.
Cook and James Harden chipped in 17 points apiece for Oklahoma City. Backup power forward Nick Collison missed his second straight game with left quad contusion.
Oklahoma City missed nine of its first 10 shots and quickly fell behind 15-5, then could hardly miss for the rest of the first half. The Thunder made 18 of 23 shots during their most impressive stretch, making that early deficit nothing but an afterthought.
Allen scored 21, Mickael Pietrus 16 and Avery Bradley 12 as all five Boston starters reached double figures. The bench provided only nine points.
The Thunder put together a 30-3 surge spanning the break between the first two quarters, including the final 21 points in a row. That was one point better than the 20-0 run Oklahoma City put together against Denver three nights earlier in a game that ended up going to overtime.
By the time Harden hit a 3-pointer to end the first quarter, it was a 10-point margin in the opposite direction at 35-25 and that was only the beginning.
OLYMPICS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Emergency service personnel escort people with mock injuryies away during an exercise of a simulated terrorist attack on the London Underground network at a disused tube station in central London, Wednesday, Feb. 22. British police, fire and ambulance staff held a huge pre-Olympics security exercise centering on a mock terrorist attack on the London subway system.
Fake attacks help prepare London for summer Olympic-sized crowds
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Police escorted bloodied passengers to ambulances, cordoned off the street near a stricken London subway station and rushed off to find a half-exploded knapsack.
But it was all just an Olympic security drill.
Britain's police, fire and ambulance services tested their ability Wednesday to deal with a terrorist attack during the London Olympics, swooping on a disused subway station for a drill that revived painful memories of the 2005 bomb attacks on London's transit system.
The two-day test — called "Forward Defensive" — started at the Aldwych subway station, which has been closed to commuters since 1994. The London Underground maintains the station so it can be used in movies and rented for parties. Its narrow staircases, looping track, tunnel and platform make it the perfect location to simulate dealing with an emergency in close quarters.
"If there are mistakes, this is the time to make them, not when there's a real incident," said British Transport Police spokesman Simon Lubin.
For participants, the test evoked memories of the July 7, 2005, London transit attacks, when four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters on three subway trains and a bus. That attack came a day after London was awarded the 2012 Olympics.
ability of emergency workers, different police services, government ministers and transport officials. Official reports and an inquest had criticized the emergency services' response to the 2005 bombings.
"I think we have obviously since that event (the 2005 attack) learned a number of lessons," said Howard Collins, chief operating officer of London Underground. "A lot of investment has happened, not only in the Tube but also in those emergency services, new radio systems, new equipment. So we are going to see all those new things tested."
The security exercise involving 2,500 people simulated an attack on one of the busiest days during the 2012 London Olympics.