Big hitting Dustin Johnson was the first contestant to go through to Friday's third round of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Champion - and not because he teed off first.
Rather it was because he needed only 13 holes to whip Italian Francesco Molinari 7&5 in Thursday's second round at the Ritz Carlton Left handed TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC Irons
Club at Marana near Tukson in Arizona desert country.
Molinari, who had been taken to 20 holes by Thomas Bjorn in the first round on Wednesday, looked decidedly jaded as against a more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Johnson, who also needed an extra hole to beat Jim Furyk in the first round, but who came out with all guns blazing on Thursday and shot six sparkling birdies in his Left handed TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC Irons
win.
The early part of Thursday's second round clearly belonged to the American contingent in the field.
South African Louis Oosthuizen made a good fight of his tussle with Steve Stricker, currently the USA's highest World ranked golfer at No 5 and a former winner of the WGC Left handed TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC Irons Play, but in the end went out when Stricker won the final hole.
A third American, Hunter Mahan, was another of the earliest winners to go through to round three, in his case with a comprehensive 5&3 victory over South Korea's YE Yang, the 2009 PGA Champion.
Yang was the man who looked so accomplished in Thursday's first round when he sent packing Northern Ireland's Graham McDowell, the 2010 US Open champion, in spite of the fact that McDowell shot a "dozen or so birdies" by Left handed TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC Irons.
At this early stage with only three of the 16 matches completed, another Americans going well was Matt Kuchar who was 3-up after nine holes in his all-American duel with Bubba Watson.
England's Lee Westwood was doing even better with Left handed TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC Irons. He was 4-up after eight holes in his duel with Swede Robert Karlsson and at the back of the field another European was looking as if he might pull off the shock win of the day.
Veteran Spaniard Miguel Angel Jim, who had upset compatriot Sergio Garcia in round one, went three up in three holes on US PGA Champion Keegan Bradley
Three of the games biggest names were all square heading towards the turn.
They were Tiger Woods after seven holes in his match with fellow American Nick Watney, World No 2 Rory McIlroy after five holes in his match against Dane Anders Hansen and World No 4 Martin Kaymer of Germany who had gone through the turn all square with American veteran David Toms.
And the Scots, Paul Lawrie and Martin Laird?
Both seemed to be having a good second day and were each two-up, Lawrie after 16 holes in his match against Japan's golden boy Ryo Ishikawa and Laird after 16 in his all-European confrontation with Italian super teen Mateo Manassero.