Spieth off the mark at WGC Match Play

View photo

Jordan Spieth lines up his putt on the seventh hole during round one of the World Golf Championship Cadillac Match Play at TPC Harding Park on April 29, 2015 in San Francisco, California (AFP Photo/Christian Petersen)

San Francisco (AFP) - Masters champion Jordan Spieth launched his assault on the WGC-Match Play Championships here Wednesday with a comfortable opening victory in the new-look $9.25 million event.

The in-form 21-year-old, fresh from a scintillating start-to-finish victory at Augusta, had little difficulty in putting away Finland's Mikko Ilonen 4&2 at San Francisco's Harding Park course.

It was a sobering reality check for Ilonen, the lowest ranked player in the field who had only traveled to California as a reserve before entering the tournament when Phil Mickelson withdrew from the 64-man field on Sunday.