The remaining top four seeds went down, and so did the defending champion.

The often-unpredictable Match Play Championship more than lived up to its reputation in a topsy-turvy second round Thursday at Dove Mountain in Marana, Ariz. An event already minus Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson sent several of the world's best to an early exit.

Lee Westwood, Jim Furyk, Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy -- seeded second through fifth -- were among the losers. Defending champion Geoff Ogilvy was beaten by Colombian Camilo Villegas 2 and 1. Top-seeded Steve Stricker lost in the first round.

The highest remaining seed is England's Paul Casey at No. 6. Casey, the runner-up a year ago who won the World Match Play Championship in England in 2006, swiftly dispatched Canadian Mike Weir, 5 and 4.

Woods skipped the event because of his personal woes and today will make his first public statement since Nov. 27 in a tightly controlled news conference in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Mickelson is on vacation.

"It's definitely different than the NCAA [basketball] tournament, where there's a pretty big discrepancy between one and 16," said American Nick Watney, who beat Westwood 2 and 1.

The final 16 features five players from the United States, three each from England and South Africa and one apiece from Colombia, Spain, Japan, India and Thailand.

"We had nine Englishmen in the field, which was impressive," Casey said. "You kind of want to be the last Englishman here."

Westwood, an Englishman, came back from two down to pull even after 13 holes. Watney, in his first Match Play appearance, regrouped to win the par-4 14th and 15th with birdies for a 2-and-1 decision.

Furyk and Kaymer both lost to South Africans.

A 13-time winner on the PGA Tour, Furyk was beaten by Charl Schwartzel, 3 and 2. Kaymer, from Germany, went down, 3 and 2, to Tim Clark.

The closest two matches of the day went 20 holes, England's Oliver Wilson beating McIlroy, and South African Retief Goosen defeating Ernie Els.

Among the winners was Sergio Garcia, who Peter Hanson, 2 and 1. "It's a funny tournament, this match play," Garcia said, "because some years you come here you feel like you're playing unbelievable, and you get beaten in the first or second round. And some years you come here, and you don't feel quite as great and you manage to somehow get around it."

• LPGA Thailand: Suzann Pettersen of Norway and M.J. Hur of South Korea each shot a 6-under 66 to share the lead after the first round of the season-opening event in Bangkok.

• Mayakoba Golf Classic: Joe Durant birdied five of the final eight holes for a 7-under 64 and a one-stroke lead on the El Camaleon course in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

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