McIlroy adds to credentials by reaching the last eight

Published on Saturday 28 February 2009 00:00

RORY McIlroy, the teenager from Northern Ireland, did his part to put some excitement back into the Accenture Match Play Championship, crushing the player who knocked out Tiger Woods to advance to the quarter-finals.

The same could not be said for Phil Mickelson, who failed to reach the weekend for the fifth straight year.

McIlroy, the 19-year-old from Holywood near Belfast who keeps adding credentials to be the next young star, built a four-up lead after six holes and never gave Tim Clark of South Africa a chance to catch up in a 4 and 3 victory.

One day after Clark was practically flawless in sending Woods home early from Dove Mountain, hardly anything went right. "I think, yesterday, obviously playing on so much adrenaline, it's tough to come out today," Clark said. "And I just felt a little bit flat. Rory played really well."

McIlroy won the Dubai Desert Classic last month for his first European Tour victory and right know, it seems, the world No 17 can do no wrong. It was the third time in as many years that the player who knocked Woods out in this tournament lost in the next round.

"I think Tim didn't play his best golf," was McIlroy's take on it. "Understandably, he was probably a little flat after all that happened yesterday and I came out and got off to quite a fast start and got an early lead, and I was able to hang on and get the win. It's great, fantastic."

McIlroy now plays the 2006 winner, Geoff Ogilvy, in the last eight after the Australian beat Camilo Villegas of Colombia 2 and 1.

The atmosphere was far more subdued than earlier in the week, when Woods made his heralded return to golf from knee surgery after an eight-month absence, only to last two rounds. The gallery spread itself among the eight matches, and there were some entertaining ones, for sure.

Mickelson had not trailed all week until Stewart Cink ran off three straight birdies to build a three-up lead after four holes. Mickelson rallied to square the match twice, and both times let it get away.

Mickelson hit his tee shot into a desert bush on the 15th hole and fell behind, then tied it on the 16th when Cink missed the green. But on the next hole, Mickelson's third shot from a desert waste area sailed over the gallery, and he missed a four-foot bogey putt to lose the hole. His last chance was a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, which missed below the cup.

Ross Fisher won the first of three England v USA matches, easily beating Jim Furyk 4 and 3. But the Americans won the other two.

Sean O'Hair had a three-up lead with four holes to play over Ian Poulter, and eventually closed it out to win 2 and 1. Justin Leonard and Oliver Wilson needed an extra hole to separate them, but it was the American who won at the 19th.

On a disappointing day for the English contengent, Paul Casey lost 4 and 2 to Sweden's Peter Hanson.

Another Englishman's match ended early under the wrong kind of circumstances. Luke Donald was one down to Ernie Els on the 18th tee when he took a practice swing with his driver, felt a twinge in his left wrist and conceded the match.

Donald, who had surgery on that wrist last summer and missed two majors, felt some pain on his tee shot at the 17th, and took extra time hitting his bunker shot to 12 feet.

"For the first time since coming back, I felt a little twinge in my wrist," Donald said. "So rather than risk it, I wanted to play it safe and concede the match to Ernie. Hopefully, I've just pulled it a little bit and nothing serious."

Despite his 4 and 2 defeat to Clark on Thursday, Woods was satisfied with his performance and, more importantly, stood up well to the physical demands on his return from a knee operation after seven months out.

"I'm very pleased actually with the way I hit the golf ball," he said. "Also the way my leg feels after walking, and especially on this golf course, going up and down the cart paths."

QUARTER-FINAL LINE-UP:

Rory McIlroy v Geoff Ogilvy

Ross Fisher v Justin Leonard

Peter Hanson v Sean O'Hair

Stewart Cink v Ernie Els