San Francisco, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - In a battle of former major champions, Jim Furyk beat Louis Oosthuizen, 4 & 2, in the quarterfinals at the WGC- Cadillac Match Play Championship, while the final match was suspended due to darkness.
World No. 1 Rory McIlroy rallied from a 2-down deficit on the front nine to force extra holes. McIlroy's match with Paul Casey, a two-time runner-up at this event, was suspended due to darkness after 21 holes.
"It was back and forth. I thought the match was pretty good," said McIlroy. "I made a couple of key up and downs when I needed to coming down the stretch. I had a couple opportunities to close it out, but couldn't quite convert."
The winner of that match will face Furyk in Sunday's semifinals at TPC Harding Park.
Gary Woodland beat Australian John Senden, 5 & 3. Woodland will take on Danny Willett in the other semifinal match. In a matchup of two Englishmen, Willett cruised to a 4 & 3 victory over Tommy Fleetwood.
Oosthuizen and Furyk traded bogeys at three and four. Oosthuizen rolled in a 13-footer for birdie at five to move 1-up. After four straight halves, Furyk's short birdie try on No. 10 was conceded after Oosthuizen failed to save par from six feet out.
Furyk grabbed control of the match with a short birdie putt at 12. Oosthuizen conceded the 14th to drop 2-down. Furyk pushed his advantage to 3-up with a 9- foot birdie putt at 15. Furyk closed out the match by taking the 16th.
"I think Louie and I were talking on six or seven, and it kind of seemed to really cool down even more," Furyk said of the chilly conditions. "Holes 10 through 14, are right there by the lake, the wind is whipping across the lake picking up the coolness ... so it was a difficult stretch of holes. I played them very well, and that was kind of the difference in the match."
McIlroy got off to a quick start with a birdie at the par-5 first. After a pair of halves, Casey birdied the fourth from 10 feet out to square the match, then 2-putted for birdie on the fifth to move 1-up.
Another birdie at the seventh pushed Casey's advantage to 2-up. McIlroy drained a 21-footer for birdie at the 10th to trim his deficit. After Casey bogeyed the 13th, McIlroy dropped a shot at 14 and was 1-down with four to play.
They matched pars at 15 and birdies at 16. Casey missed a 6-foot par putt on the 17th to square the match. After Casey missed a 16-foot birdie chance at the last, McIlroy failed to convert his 11-footer for the win, and the pair was off to extra holes.
The duo moved to the 14th for the first extra hole. Both players missed the green with their approach shots. After McIlroy chipped to four feet, Casey's chip stopped close to the hole and was conceded. McIlroy rolled in his putt to extend the match.
At the 15th, McIlroy's 59-foot birdie try stopped just short and was conceded. Casey left his 17-footer for birdie just short as well.
They headed to the drivable 16th. Casey's drive went right into the trees, but he chipped to 41 feet. McIlroy missed left off the tee, then pitched to six feet. After Casey's putt came up short, McIlroy had a chance to close out the match.
McIlroy's 6-footer for birdie slid by the right edge. Casey made a 4-foot par putt, then the pair agreed to resume the match Sunday morning at 9:45 a.m. ET.
"I kind of dodged a couple of bullets, but then I felt like I gave him one or two," Casey stated. "I'm glad we're teeing off tomorrow, simple as that. Standing here on this green (No. 16), I thought I was done for the day, and done for the week."
Woodland got off to a quick start. He 2-putted for birdie at one and drained a 21-footer for birdie at three to quickly move 2-up. Senden missed a 9-foot par putt at four and conceded Woodland's short birdie effort.
The American converted an 8-foot birdie try to move 4-up after five holes. Senden missed the green at the seventh and failed to get up and down for par. After a pair of halves, Woodland made the turn with a 5-up cushion.
They traded bogeys at 10 and 11, then Senden birdied the 12th to trim his deficit to 4-down with six to play. After a pair of halves, Senden failed to hole his bunker shot for birdie at 15, and he conceded the hole and the match to Woodland.
Willett birdied the third and Fleetwood tripped to a bogey at four to fall 2- down. The duo traded bogeys at six and seven, and again at the 10th and 11th. Willett got up and down for birdie from a greenside bunker at 12 to stretch his lead to 3-up.
Fleetwood missed a 9-foot par chance at 14 to slide 4-down with four to play. When Fleetwood's 46-footer for birdie at 15 didn't drop, Willett was on to the semifinals.
NOTES: Casey was the only quarterfinalist to trail on every match this week ... Furyk and Oosthuizen were facing each other for the first time in match play.
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