Europeans march on in Tucson

Rose leads group of six Euro stars into round three after comfortable win over Mickelson

Of the 16 players still fighting it out for the first lucrative WGC title of the year - the Accenture World Match Play - five are European. Paul Casey, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson and Niclas Fasth are all in the hunt for the winner?s cheque of £690,000.

It was England's Rose (pictured) who stole the headlines on day two by defeating world number three Phil Mickelson, 3&1. For the American this defeat only adds to his dismal match play record ? he has failed to progress past the second round three times in the last five years at the Accenture. Justin Rose now faces in-form Charles Howell III who despatched Sergio Garcia in round two.

With Jim Furyk also losing to Chad Campbell yesterday, the draw has opened up nicely for Tiger Woods, who demolished South African Tim Clark 5&4. Woods is gunning for his eighth consecutive PGA Tour title but he?ll be wary of his next opponent. Australian Nick O?Hern is one of the few left in the field who knows how to tame Tiger having beaten him at the World Match Play two years ago at La Costa.

Also going head to head in round three are Poulter and Trevor Immelman. There will be no shortage of self-confidence as these two look to build on growing reputations.

Neil Tappin
Editor

In July 2023, Neil became just the 9th editor in Golf Monthly's 112-year history. Originally working with the best coaches in the UK to produce instruction content, he has also presented many Golf Monthly videos looking at all areas of the game from Tour player interviews to the rules of golf. 

Throughout his time with the brand he has also covered equipment launches that date back well over a decade. He clearly remembers the launch of the Callaway and Nike square drivers as well as the white TaylorMade driver families, such as the RocketBallz! If you take a look at the Golf Monthly YouTube channel, you'll see his equipment videos dating back over a decade! He has also conducted 'What's In The Bag' interviews with many of the game's best players like Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm. Over the years, Neil has tested a vast array of products in each category and at drastically different price-points. 


Neil is currently playing: Driver: TaylorMade Stealth Plus Fairway Wood: Titleist TSR2 Hybrid: Titleist TS3 Irons: PING Blueprint S (4&5), PING Blueprint T (6-PW) Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM7 50˚, 54˚, 60˚ Putter: Odyssey Triple Track Ten Ball: Titleist Pro V1X