Stenson, Dubuisson, Reed advance to World Match Play quarters

Kent, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Henrik Stenson and Patrick Reed both won on Friday, while Victor Dubuisson suffered his first loss of the week, but all three were among eight players to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Volvo World Match Play Championship.

Stenson finished atop the Palmer group with five points, Reed led the way in the McCormack group with four points and Dubuisson finished tied for first in the Gabrielsson group with Pablo Larrazabal, meaning both of them advanced. Defending champion Graeme McDowell suffered his second straight loss and he was eliminated.

Stenson used an eagle on the 17th hole at The London Golf Club to defeat last year's runner-up Thongchai Jaidee, 2 & 1, which ousted Jaidee from the tournament. Reed came through with a 3 & 2 victory over Jamie Donaldson to advance and eliminate the Welshman. Stephen Gallacher defeated Ryder Cup teammate Dubuisson for his first win of the week, but Dubuisson still advanced, while Gallacher was sent packing.

McDowell, who needed at least a halve and some help to move on, could not make the putts down the stretch as he fell 2-down to Joost Luiten, who won all three of his matches in group play. Luiten finished with six points to lead the Larson group.

Jonas Blixt, George Coetzee, and Mikko Ilonen all finished second in their respective groups, earning them a trip to the quarterfinals. Blixt halved his match with Paul Casey and the duo finished tied for second in the McCormack group. Blixt went on to par the first extra hole to move on.

Coetzee fell 2 & 1 to Francesco Molinari, but thanks to a halve with Stenson on the first day, Coetzee earned three points throughout the week, which was good enough to advance out of the Palmer group. Ilonen was also able to outlast Alexander Levy and his 1-up win earned him two more points for a grand total of four in the Larson group.

Stenson, the No. 1 seed who halved with No. 16 Coetzee on day one, started off strong by winning two of the first four holes at one and four against Jaidee. Jaidee was conceded No. 6 to get to 1-down, but Stenson came back later with wins on 10 and 13 to get to 3-up. Jaidee attempted a comeback by making birdie on 15 and 16, but Stenson slammed the door when he holed out from the fairway for eagle on 17 to claim a 2 & 1 win.

"I felt like if I can stick my lob wedge in there a little bit past and try to spin it back, and came out with a nice flight and knew it was going to be pretty good but (it was) a bonus that it went in the hole and spectacular way to finish," Stenson said about his last shot.

After losing his first match on Wednesday, Reed picked up his second win in a row. Reed won back-to-back holes on three and four before Donaldson got back to 1-down with a birdie on six. Reed won three in a four-hole stretch from No. 9, while Donaldson took No. 10. Reed took 14, Donaldson took 15 and the two birdied the 16th to give Reed the 3 & 2 victory.

"It feels good. The first round felt like I didn't make any putts," Reed said. "When you lose the first one, you know your back is up against the wall and you have to win going out. To be able to play very solidly the last two rounds, especially late in the day, I made a lot of putts and today I made a lot of clutch and solid putts, which is key to match play."

Dubuisson opened up with a 1-up lead after winning the first, but Gallacher got back to all-square with a birdie on five. Dubuisson took his last lead with a birdie on eight, but Gallacher responded by winning three in five holes at nine, 10 and 13 to go 2-up. The duo halved the next four holes, giving Gallacher a 2 & 1 win.

McDowell won the first to take the early lead, but Luiten squared the match after a par on four. McDowell ripped off three straight wins from No. 6, but Luiten came back with three wins in a four-hole stretch from nine. Again McDowell took a 1-up lead after a birdie on 13, but Luiten closed things out with birdies on 15, 17 and 18 to take the match.

"Very disappointed of course by my defense, but (there's) quality golf out there," McDowell said. "The golf course is set up to be ripped apart and unless you're shooting 64, 65, you're going home."

Larrazabal went 2-up early with wins on one and three. Lowry birdied the fifth to get to 1-down. Larrazabal parred the eighth to go 2-up again, but Lowry won eight and 10 to square the match. Lowry briefly took the lead with a birdie on 13, but Larrazabal rattled off three straight wins from 14. They both halved the 17th and the match was Larrazabal's.

Casey had the early advantage with a win on one, but Blixt came back with two wins on two and three to go 1-up. His advantage was extended to two with a win on seven, but Casey got things squared up with back-to-back wins on 10 and 11. Casey won 13, Blixt won 15 and they halved the final three holes to halve the match.

Since one had not beaten the other and finished group play tied, Blixt and Casey went to a sudden death playoff. Casey missed a mid-range par putt to allow Blixt to advance.

"Paul played great, especially on the back nine," Blixt said. "He definitely put a lot of pressure on me and snuck away with a couple holes. I snuck away with a couple holes, as well. It was just a great match. I talked to my caddie about it and we were like, this is how we want to play a golf match."

Ilonen and Levy exchanged blows all day. After Ilonen won the first with an eagle, Levy made par to square the match on two. Levy went 1-up with a birdie on five, but Ilonen won back-to-back holes on eight and nine. Levy squared things up once again with a birdie on 10, but Ilonen drained a pair of birdies on 13 and 14 to go 2-up. Levy won 15 to get to 1-down, but it was not enough as three straight halves gave the match to Ilonen.

Molinari, who had not won the first two days, took one and nine with seven halves in between to take a 2-up lead. Coetzee got one back with a birdie on 10, but Molinari was 2-up again after a birdie of his own on 13. Another birdie from Coetzee on 15 got him to 1-down, but a victory for Molinari on 17 sealed the match.

NOTES: Casey and Blixt both shot 10-under 62 in their match ... McDowell's loss was his fourth ever at this event. Along with winning here last year, McDowell finished runner-up in 2012 and made the quarterfinals in 2011 ... Gallacher broke a string of 10 straight losses in singles match play ... The quarterfinals will be played on Saturday, while the semifinal and championship rounds will take place on Sunday along with the third- and fourth-place matchup.