Day, Els have no trouble advancing
Jason Day and Ernie Els advanced with relative ease while Rickie Fowler and Victor Dubuisson had to fight hard to reach the WGCAccenture Match Play Championship semifinals.
Day beat ailing Louis Oosthuizen 2and1 to become the first player to make the last four at Dove Mountain in Marana, Ariz., while veteran Els progressed with a 4 and 2 win over an out- of- sorts Jordan Spieth in a match where he never trailed.
Fowler booked his place with a see- saw, 1- up victory over Jim Furyk, who came from three down after 12 holes to go one up after 16 before running out of steam. Dubuisson edged Graeme McDowell1- up.
“Jim started to come on pretty hard there, I just had to stay patient,” Fowler said. “I forced him to make some birdies. I knew it was going to be tough for him to keep on doing that.
“I just made some good swings coming in. Obviously it’s nice to get a win, no matter howit happens.”
Day, beaten by eventual champion Matt Kuchar in last year’s semifinals, will next face Fowler while Dubuisson will take on Els.
Dubuisson, making his debut thisweek in aWorld Golf Championships ( WGC) event, rallied from two down after three holes against McDowell with five birdies over the next12 to wrest control.
McDowell, whohad delivered Houdini- like escapes to win his first three matches, faced a mid- range birdie putt at the 18th to force extra holes but his attempt slid past the left edge of the cup, allowing Dubuisson to advance.
Day had trailed by one after Oosthuizen made a fast start with birdies at the second and third but then upped his game to take charge as his opponent struggled with back pain.
“We both played well today … it didn’t seem like Louis had a sore back because the way he played was pretty good,” Day said after finishing birdie- birdie- parpar. “I’ve loved match play ever since I was a little kid. You just have to grind at it and keep fighting until the end.” Nordqvist’s lead grows: Anna Nordqvist briefly lost the lead Saturday, but did not panic with a star- studded list of names trying to chase her down at the Honda LPGA Thailand. She will take a four- shot lead into the final round after shooting a 5under 67.
Nordqvist stands at 11 under as she attempts to win her first LPGA event since 2009.
Michelle Wie briefly took the lead as Nordqvist was making the turn, but Nordqvist quickly jumped back out front with a tap- in eagle on the par- 510th hole.
Nordqvist steadily pulled away and pushed the lead to four shots with a birdie on the18th hole.
Attempting to defend her title, world No. 1 Inbee Park also shot a 67 and enters the final round tied with Wie in second place.