World number one Luke Donald was knocked out of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Marana, Arizona, while four of the six Australians also crashed out.
Donald bowed out of the tournament in the first round after he was thumped by Ernie Els at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.
The veteran South African notched a convincing 5-and-4 win, with Donald giving his opponent an early advantage after he found the water on the third hole.
Although Donald levelled proceedings with a birdie at the seventh, Els produced a quick response before the Englishman surrendered three of the next four holes with bogeys.
That was enough for Els – who has won the World Match Play Championship a record seven times - to cruise home to a terrific victory, with Donald's ranking as the top golfer in the world potentially under threat this week.
The two men who can become the new world number one – Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood – both won their way into the second round.
Northern Ireland's McIlroy was a 2-up winner against South African George Coetzee while Englishman Westwood defeated Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts 3-and-1.
Jason Day and John Senden were the only two Australians to win their opening round matches with Day edging Spaniard Rafael Cabrera Bello in 19 holes and Senden beating England's Simon Dyson 4-and-3.
Day and Senden will now play each other in the second round with the winner to play either Charl Schwartzel or South Korean Bae Sang-Moon, who upset former champion Ian Poulter 4-and-3.
Two-time champion Geoff Ogilvy was defeated by Keegan Bradley 4-and-3, while German Martin Kaymer accounted for Greg Chalmers 4-and-2.
Adam Scott was surprised by Englishman Robert Rock who won 1-up and Aaron Baddeley became the fourth Australian to bow out when he lost 2-and-1 to South African Louis Oosthuizen.
Tiger Woods – who has won the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on three occasions – struggled past Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano with a 1-up victory, while Italian Matteo Manassero played well late in his 3-and-2 triumph over American Webb Simpson.
Nick Watney of the United States cruised to a 5-and-4 win over Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke and Dustin Johnson beat Jim Furyk after 20 holes in an all-American clash while in other clashes between golfers from the United States, Hunter Mahan needed 19 to defeat Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker beat Kevin Na 2-and-1 and Matt Kuchar toppled Jonathan Byrd with a 1-up win.
Italian Francesco Molinari needed 20 holes to sneak past Denmark's Thomas Bjorn, South Korean YE Yang defeated Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell 2-and-1 and Japan's Ryo Ishikawa upset American Bill Haas in a 1-up triumph.