VIRGINIA WATER (England), Oct 16: Alex Cejka and Fredrik Jacobson made short and not so sweet appearances at the World Match Play Championship at Wentworth on Thursday before exiting after hefty first round defeats at the hands of Vijay Singh and Chad Campbell.

Germany’s Cejka played some of the poorest golf of an otherwise stellar year which has taken him from the status of relative journeyman to serious major title contender. He lost 8&7 to Fiji’s Singh after 29 of the scheduled 36 holes.

Jacobson, a Swede who has similarly improved his reputation this year with top 10 finishes in the U.S. and British opens, was also dispatched without mercy by American Campbell 6&5.

First round results Vijay Singh (Fiji) bt Alex Cejka (Germany) 8 & 7; Chad Campbell (U.S.) bt Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) 6 & 5; Tim Clark (South Africa) bt Stephen Leaney (Australia) 3 & 2 Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) bt Len Mattiace (U.S.) 4 & 3

Draw for Friday’s second round (tee times GMT): 0745-1210 - Ernie Els (South Africa) v Tim Clark 0800-1225 - Shaun Micheel (U.S.) v Vijay Singh 0815-1240 - Ben Curtis (U.S.) v Chad Campbell 0830-1255 - Mike Weir (Canada) v Thomas Bjorn—Reuters