Two of Europe’s Ryder Cup heroes will play each other in the second round after the Accenture Match Play Championship finally got going again.
It will be Justin Rose against Nicolas Colsaerts following contrasting victories.
The first world championship of the year is playing catch-up after an amazing snowstorm cut short the opening day and then another overnight meant the resumption was delayed until 1pm.
Belgian Colsaerts easily dispatched American Bill Haas 5&4, but Rose breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw off South Korean KJ Choi following the loss of a four-hole lead.
Fifth seed Rose was even in danger of falling behind at the 15th, but sank a 15-foot birdie putt and Choi missed from 12.
He did not even need to putt two holes later as his 42-year-old opponent got in trouble and conceded, but Rose said: “I said at the beginning of the week it comes down to that one moment in the round where you need to make something happen.
“That moment for me was on 15. I was looking like I was going one down. To make a putt when I really needed it feels good and I felt like that’s what I’ve begun to do a lot recently.” He did, of course, produce a breathtaking finish to beat Phil Mickelson at the Ryder Cup and then won the World Golf Final in Turkey two weeks later with wins over Westwood (twice), Tiger Woods, US Open champion Webb Simpson and this week’s defending champion Hunter Mahan.
“It’ll be a tough game,” Rose said of his match against Colsaerts.
“But it’s obviously one that I’m looking forward to – and I’ll have to make some birdies.”
Another all-Ryder Cup clash was on the cards, but Medinah match-winner Martin Kaymer, who beat South African George Coetzee 2&1, was kept waiting to discover his opponent when Lee Westwood lost a three-hole lead and was taken into sudden death by Spain’s Rafael Cabrera Bello.
