CARLSBAD, Calif., Feb. 21 (UPI) -- The top seeds continued to fall by the wayside Thursday at the upset-plagued World Golf Championships-Match Play Championship.
Five more top-10 seeds were bounced in the second round of the 64-player event as South Africans Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, Fiji's Vijay Singh and Americans Davis Love III and Chris DiMarco all went down.
They joined Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and David Duval, the top three seeds who were sent packing in Wednesday's first round.
The highest-seeded player to reach the third round is No. 4 Sergio Garcia of Spain, who defeated No. 36 Charles Howell III, 1-up, in a back-and-forth battle of two of the game's brightest young stars.
With eight of the top 10 seeds out, Garcia appears to have emerged as the favorite. The only other top-10 seed to reach the round of 16 is No. 6 David Toms, the reigning PGA Championship winner, who defeated No. 27 Rocco Mediate, 1-up. Toms advanced when Mediate missed a short par putt on No. 18.
No. 28 Tom Lehman posted the day's first upset, rallying from 3-down after nine holes to defeat Els, the fifth seed, in 19 holes. It was hardly the only surprise.
Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal, the 26th seed, held on to beat Goosen, the No. 7 seed and reigning U.S. Open champion, 1-up. Olazabal was 5-up after seven holes but needed to make a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to win the match. Goosen pulled even with a birdie on No. 17.
No. 41 Niclas Fasth of Sweden, the runner-up in last year's British Open, posted the day's biggest upset with a 3 and 2 victory over Singh, the No. 9 seed.
No. 25 Paul Azinger ousted No. 8 Love, 2-up, and No. 10 DiMarco, the tour's leading money winner, fell to No. 23 Mark Calcavecchia, 2 and 1.
Australia's Peter O'Malley, who posted the tournament's biggest shocker with his 3 and 2 victory over Woods on Wednesday, could not pull off a second straight upset but he put up a good fight before falling to No. 32 Nick Price of South Africa, 2 and 1.
No. 62 Kevin Sutherland and No. 63 John Cook continued their surprising runs. Sutherland, who ousted Duval in the first round, advanced with a
2 and 1 victory over No. 30 Paul McGinley. Cook, who shocked Mickelson on Wednesday, stayed alive with a 1-up victory over Lee Westwood.
No. 53 Matt Gogel, who earned his first PGA Tour win earlier this year, survived the day's longest match, defeating Steve Lowery on the second extra hole. Other winners included No. 14 Jim Furyk, No. 17 Bob Estes and and No. 54 Steve Flesch.
The third round takes place Friday, followed by the quarterfinals and semifinals Saturday. The 36-hole final is Sunday.
