Accenture Match Play reports for all fourth-round matches
Feb. 28, 2009
Here's a quick look at each match in Saturday morning's fourth round of the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. Click here for the updated bracket.
|
| Fourth-round match reports |
| Players |
Score |
Bracket |
| GEOFF OGILVY, Australia def. RORY McILROY, Northern Ireland |
2 and 1 |
Jones |
| The 19-year-old Rory McIlroy grew up playing match play as an amateur in Northern Ireland. More recently, though, Geoff Ogilvy has practically perfected the art at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship -- and Saturday was no exception. Ogilvy, the 2006 champ and '07 runner-up, made eight birdies in the quarterfinals, including a 13-footer on the last hole to assure the victory, while the young Irishman was looking at a 9-footer of his own. McIlroy didn't go down easy, though. The match was all square at the turn after Ogilvy made his only bogey of the day at No. 9. The Aussie rebounded with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 11 and 12 to go 2 up, but McIlroy answered with a birdie on the 13th hole to narrow the deficit. A furious finish saw Ogilvy birdie the final three holes to put the gritty McIroy away. "I couldn't have done much more," McIlroy said. "He threw quite a few birdies at me. ... I think he'll be very tough to beat." Ogilvy returned the compliment. "He's a great player," said Ogilvy, who improved his Accenture Match Play Championship record to 15-2. "I had to play really well. It's the best I've played all week. I birdied the last three holes and only won one of them. He's going to be a top-10 player in the world for as long as he wants." Ogilvy, who planned to spend the break eating lunch with his wife and two young children, said he was glad he brought his best game for a day when he faced two matches. Next: Stewart Cink |
| PAUL CASEY, England, def. SEAN OHAIR, USA |
4 and 3 |
Player |
| Paul Casey set the tone for the day when he made a 7-footer for birdie at No. 1 and an 8-footer for eagle at the second hole. The Englishman never trailed, and as OHair struggled, shooting 4 over on the front, the lead continued to mount. When Casey made a 21-footer for birdie at the 10th hole, he led 6 up. OHair birdied both par 5s on the back nine, but it was too little too late. The American had a 15-footer to extend the match at the 15th hole but he wasnt able to convert. "He didnt make any mistakes and the way I played, it wasnt even a match," said OHair, who plans to take a week off before heading to Doral for the next World Golf Championships event. "Im disappointed I didnt give him a match but he played great and obviously, I wish him the best." Next: Ross Fisher |
| STEWART CINK, USA, def. ERNIE ELS, South Africa |
2 and 1 |
Hogan |
| Cink is one win away from potential redemption in the championship match after winning a tight battle with the affable South African. Cink, who lost to Tiger Woods 8 and 7 in last year's 36-hole final, has come up with the clutch shots when he needed them this week and Saturday was no exception. He only trailed once in the quarterfinals -- when he made bogey on the first hole. Cink bounced back with a birdie at the next to square the match and another at the fourth to go 1 up. Birdies on the two par 5s on the back nine put Cink 2 up and kept him there, then he won the 15th with his fifth birdie of the day to go dormie. Els got one back when Cink missed the green at the par-3 16th, but the Big Easy couldnt extend the match after finding a fairway bunker and greenside bunker on the 17th hole when he needed to make birdie. This was the first match Cink had played this week that didnt go the distance, or beyond. "I keep shrinking the number of holes," said Cink, who has now played 77 holes and owns a 17-9 match play record. "Thats either a really good thing for later today or a really bad thing. My short game was definitely shining today. I put a lot of pressure on Ernie with it today." Next: Geoff Ogilvy |
| ROSS FISHER, England, def. JUSTIN LEONARD, USA |
2 and 1 |
Snead |
| Ross Fisher is still on track to become the first player to win the Accenture Match Play Championship in his debut after Saturdays hard-fought win over Justin Leonard. The Englishman was 7 under for 17 holes while Leonard was 5 under in the well-played match. The American drew first blood with an eagle at the second hole, but Fisher squared the match with a birdie at the seventh hole -- which was the second of three straight as he battled to keep pace with Leonard. Fisher went 1 up when the American conceded the 11th hole after getting into trouble off the tee and won the 12th with yet another birdie. Leonard twice cut the deficit to 1 down, the last with a 5-footer for birdie at the 16th hole. But Fisher closed him out when Leonard missed an 8-footer for birdie at No. 17 and he made his own from 7 feet. "He was too much for me today," Leonard said. "I made a bunch of birdies, though, so I played really well. It would have been nice to have made that putt and gone to the 18th, but hats off to him." Fisher has made 22 birdies in his first four matches while making just four bogeys -- three of which came in the first round. "I feel pretty good," said Fisher, a two-time winner on the European Tour. "I am obviously very relieved to get past Justin. Obviously, he is a great competitor, He fought all the way." Next: Paul Casey |
|
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network