The Starter: Round 4, Accenture Match Play Championship

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Mar. 1, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The fourth day of matches will soon begin at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. Here's how it sets up:

Matches We're Watching

Tee time	Players
9:20 am ET (7:20 am local)		Geoff Ogilvy, Rory McIlroy Ogilvy is the only past champion still in the field, but he'll likely have his hands full with Europe's fastest-rising young star.
9:32 am ET (7:32 am local)		Ernie Els, Stewart Cink These two battle-hardened match-play veterans are both steely competitors hiding beneath their laconic exteriors.
9:56 a.m. ET (7:56 a.m. local)		Justin Leonard, Ross Fisher Leonard is a certified Ryder Cup hero, but Accenture rookie Fisher has dominated his last two opponents.

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Michael Collins previews Saturday morning's quarterfinal action:

UN-CINK-ABLE: Stewart Cink is the man who just won't die! Can he really take out Ernie Els after taking out Phil Mickelson? Seriously? He's played 60 holes already -- his match with Phil ended on the 18th and he looked around like, "we done already?"

Saturday's forecast

Sunny
Temp: 89 high/49 low
The skies should be sunny and very warm. The winds will blow out of the east-northeast from 10 to 20 mph.

KEEN TEEN: How about Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy? 19 years old going up against a major champion winner and a guy who broke teenage girls hearts all over the world by taking out Camilo Villlegas. Heck, Geoff Ogilvy could be considered the hottest playing golfer on TOUR right now. But if he doesn't have his a game on, he too will fall to golf's newest teenage sensation and the best new thing to come outta Ireland since U2. OK, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but you see where I'm going. Maybe I'm just excited cause that's who I'm following on Saturday.

JUSTIN'S TIME: Of course it's Justin Leonard's world and Ross Fisher is just a squirrel trying to get a nut, right? What? He beat Robert Allenby, Pat Perez and Jim Furyk to get to here. Uh, Justin, Upset is on the phone, so you might not wanna pick up!

DRESSED FOR SUCCESS: And my favorite match of the day, Sean O'Hair vs. Paul Casey. Casey was not a happy camper after his win over Peter Hanson -- not because he played bad but because he was wearing the exact same outfit as Stewart Cink (they're both Nike guys!) except for the shoes. Believe me when I tell you, Paul's white belt and white shoes were a much better combo than Stewart's white belt and black shoes with white accents.

Casey says he's gonna call Justin and make sure they don't both wear orange on Saturday. He's playing a guy who could care less about fashion even though he is a good dresser. But he can kill you with boredom playing against him -- fairway, green, fairway, green, fairway, green. You mess up and next thing you know you're 3 down to a guy who looks like he could be your waiter at Carrabba's.

JUST GETTING STARTED: And don't forget, four of these guys are gonna have to play another 18 in the afternoon. Ah, the price of winning -- more golf in perfect weather on a beautiful golf course. Sometimes I hate these guys.

Stewart Cink vs. Rory McIlroy and Sean O'Hair vs. Justin Leonard. That's my final four prediction.

The one stat(s) you need to know

Of the 12 first-time participants this week, two made it through to Saturday morning's quarterfinals: Ross Fisher and Rory McIlroy. They will be trying to match Toru Taniguchi (2001), Pierre Fulke (2001), Scott McCarron (2002), Peter Lonard (2003) and Geoff Ogilvy (2006) as the only players to advance beyond the quarterfinals in their first start.

NOTEWORTHY NUGGETS
Compiled by Elias Sports Bureau, Inc.

• Ernie Els might have found the form that helped him win three majors earlier in his career. Els won seven holes in his first-round match against Soren Hansen, six holes in his second-round match with Steve Stricker and six holes in his third-round match versus Luke Donald, for a total of 19 holes won. Since 2003, the only player to win more than 19 holes over the first three rounds was Justin Rose, who won 21 holes in 2007.

• Rory McIlroy is the youngest player to advance to the weekend in this year's event. At 19 years, 299 days old, McIlroy advanced to the fourth round by defeating Tim Clark, 4 and 3. Before McIlroy, the youngest player to advance to the fourth round was Adam Scott in 2003 (age 22 years, 226 days), who went on to a third-place finish.

• Phil Mickelson was able to win two matches in a row in which he held a four-up lead with five holes to play but then allowed his opponent to advance to the 18th hole. On Friday, Mickelson played Stuart Cink and lost, 1 up. Mickelson lost five holes to Angel Cabrera and four holes to Zach Johnson in victory, but he couldn't survive Cink winning six holes Friday. Mickelson is the first player since Stephen Leaney in 2003 to lose 15 holes over the first three rounds. Leaney also lost in the third round in 2003.

• Camilo Villegas won 14 holes combined over the first two rounds, but lost his third round match, 2 and 1, to Geoff Ogilvy, winning only three holes. Villegas was the ninth player to win 14 or more holes over the first two rounds since 2003, but of those nine players only two won their next match.

The Film Room

	PGA TOUR Today Win McMurry updates action from the third round at Dove Mountain and previews what to watch for in Saturday's quarterfinals. Watch it
	Shot of the day Ross Fisher drained a very long putt on his way to defeating Jim Furyk in Friday's third round in the Arizona desert. Watch it
	Third-round highlights 2006 Champion Geoff Ogilvy is heading to the quarterfinals after defeating Camilo Villegas in Round 3. Watch it