Rickie Fowler 'upsets' Ian Poulter at WGC- Accenture Match Play Championship

American golfer Rickie Fowler has taken an early lead on Wednesday at the nine million-dollar World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, beating English ace Ian Poulter, who became the first major upset at the tournament.

Upsets became the order of the day with Swedish 15th seed Peter Hanson ousting US second seed Dustin Johnson 4 and 3, South African 14th seed George Coetzee eliminating US third seed Steve Stricker 3 and 1 and Frenchman Victor Dubuisson, a seventh seed, beating US 10th seed Kevin Streelman 4 and 3.

According to Sport24, world number 15 Poulter, who won the Match Play crown in 2010, crashed out in the first round this year at the hands of Fowler, who birdied to win the fourth and took the par-3 sixth and par-four seventh with pars to lead early on 3-up.

The report mentioned that Fowler, a 14th seed in the quarter of the draw, then topped Poulter's birdie at 14 with an eagle to win the hole and advance to a second-round match against the hottest player on the US PGA Tour, fellow American Jimmy Walker.

Walker, seeded sixth, eliminated South African 11th seed Branden Grace 5 and 4, while Bubba Watson, coming off his first victory since the 2012 Masters last week at Riviera, opened with a 2 and 1 win over Finland's Mikko Ilonen, the report added.