Europeans march on in Tucson

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.

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 went on to become a feature writer interviewing many of the biggest names in the game including Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros, Rory McIlroy and Arnold Palmer.

A 5-handicap golfer, Neil is a club member who takes a keen interest in the health of the game at grassroots level. You’ll often now find him writing about club-related issues such as WHS, membership retention and how best to bridge the gap between the range and the course.