GOGGIN LOSES OUT TO FOLEY OVER FINAL ROUND AT PANAMA CITY

FROM THE US WEB.COM TOUR WEBSITE
By Joe Chemycz, Web.com Tour staff
PANAMA CITY, Panama – Kevin Foley rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to break free of Mathew Goggin and win the Panama Claro Championship for his first career title. 
Foley’s fourth birdie of the day was good for a 3-under 67 at the always-difficult Panama Golf Club put him at 8-under 272 and one in front of Goggin, the 54-hole leader, who needed a birdie at the 18th to force a play-off.

Goggin’s second shot at the 465-yard hole came up a yard short and settled into a greenside bunker. When he failed to hole it from the sand, the champions’ trophy and a check for $108,000 went to Foley, a 25-year old, second-year pro from New Jersey.
“It you had told me a year ago that I’d be standing here I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” said the Web.com Tour’s first champion of the 2013 season. “I’d take it, but I wouldn’t believe it. A lot has happened in a year.”
Foley had no status on any tour to begin the 2012 season but fought through Monday qualifiers and top-25 finishes and earned full status to begin the year in Central America.
Georgia’s Scott Brown (66) was alone in third place, two back. Scott Dunlap (68), Len Mattiace (69) and Roland Thatcher (71) shared fourth place at 4-under 276.
“I knew it was going to be a shootout today because there were a bunch of guys lined up to start the day,” said Foley, who entered Sunday 5-under and tied for second, two back of Goggin, the 2010 champion. 
“It wasn’t the windiest day but with tough pin positions and the course getting firmer, I knew I just had to play smart and steady all day.”
The former Penn State Nittany Lion followed his game plan perfectly, with only one bogey and several solid par-saving putts, to claim the win.
Goggin, on the other hand, battled through a less-than-perfect day but managed to shoot an even-par 70 despite a bogey, a double and a triple.
“I played really poorly for 13 holes,” said the 38-year old Scottsdale, Arizona resident. “I wasn’t playing particularly well but I was hanging in there. You’re just waiting for one or two holes or one or two shots to get you going and then instead of a good one you have the absolute worst one.”
Goggin bounced back from a double-bogey at No. 3 with three birdies on his next five hole to regain the lead from Foley and Thatcher. He was up one when he snap-hooked a tee shot into the water at the 502-yard, 11^th hole and put a seven on his scorecard.
“Just a bad swing,” he said. “I hadn’t hit one like that all week.”
Still, he wasn’t out of it. Nobody really is on Sunday in Panama when the wind-blown course plays hard and fast and the leaders usually struggle to keep moving forward.
“I told my caddie after that triple that it wasn’t over,” said Goggin. “I figured it was going to be whoever played the last seven holes the best.
Foley gained the lead with a birdie at No. 15 but gave it back with a three-putt bogey from 75 feet on the next hole. Goggin closed to within one at birdies on 14 and 15.
“Coming down the last two holes I knew I would rather pick one up and and force him to tie instead of him making a birdie to beat me,” said Foley, who hit 9-iron from 147 yards. “I knew it was a good look from behind the hole. It was perfect and dropped it in the top-left side of the cup. That was sweet.”
Fourth- Round Notes & Quotes:
• Sunday weather: mostly sunny, wind N 10-20 mph and a high of 93.
• Morgan Hoffmann withdrew prior to the start of the round due to a stomach illness.
• Kevin Foley becomes the fourth player in tournament history to make this win his first career title:
• Texan Jordan Speith posted a 4-under 66 to move up the final leaderboard and finish T7, his first career top-10. Speith, 19, turned professional in December 2012 after a year and a half at the University of Texas, where he helped the Longhorns to the NCAA Championship in his freshman season.
Spieth has played in 10 PGA TOUR events and made the cut in six. His best finish came in his initial start – a T16 at the 2010 HP Byron Nelson Championship. This was only his second start on the Web.com Tour – T44 at the 2012 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational.
With his top-25 effort this week, Spieth gains a berth in next week’s Colombia Championship at the Bogota Country Club.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS
272 Kevin Foley (US) 66 69 70 67
273 Mathew Goggin (Australia) 68 68 66 70
274 Scott Brown (US) 68 70 70 66   

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MATT KUCHAR HEADING FOR WORLD MATCH-PLAY TITLE

Hunter Mahan's grip on the WGC-Accenture World Match-play title is loosening. He is two down after 14 holes in the 18-hole final against fellow American Matt Kuchar.
Mahan was three down after 13 but won the 14th.
In the play-off for third place, Australian Jason Day is one up on Ian Poulter after 17 holes.
The Englishman was two down on the 17th tee but won that hole.

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SEAN LAWRIE SECOND AT ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO

Sean Lawrie, nephew of Paul Lawrie and a student at Midland College, Texas, finished joint second in the New Mexico Military Institute Invitational college golf tournament at Roswell on Saturday.Lawrie, a member of Portlethen Golf Club, scored 69 and 68 for a total of seven-under-par 137 over a par-72, 6,765yd course.He tied for second place with Dan Young (Western New Mexico) from Cheshire. Young scored 71-66.Further down the field, two English freshmen students at Western New Mexico, Ben Skinner and Tom Neve finished on 141 and 146 respectively.
Skinner, a former pupil at Loretto School, Mussleburgh and originally from Hertfordshire, shot 68-73 for a share of nine place while Neve, from Epsom, had scores of 72-74 for 14th place in a field of 29. Winner by five shots was one of Lawrie's Midland team-mates, Russell Lara, with scores of 67-65 for 12-under 132.Midland won the team title ahead of New Mexico College and New Mexico Military Institute.

ISAACS, GALLAGHER WIN SOME EUROS IN SPAIN

Malcolm Isaacs (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) and John Gallagher (Duddingston) earned 225 Euros apiece for finishing joint sixthin a field of 65 players for the Gecko Pro Tour event, scheduled for 36 holes but reduced to one round because of bad weather at Valle RomanoGolf Club, Estepona on Spain's Costa del Sol.They both shot one-over-par 72s and finished three shots behind the English winner, Blane Breheny, who had a 69.Myles Cunningham (Longniddry) and Elliot Saltman (Archerfield Links) finished out of the money with scores of 78 and 80 respectively.

IT'S HUNTER v MAHAN ALL-AMERICAN FINAL TO WORLD MATCH-PLAY

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
MARANA, Arizona -- Hunter Mahan is one match away from a successful title defence after beating the 2010 champion, Ian Poulter, by 4 and 3 i the semi-finals of the WGC-Accenture World Match-play championship at Dove Mountain.
Mahan will meet fellow-American Matt Kuchar in the 18-hole final later today. Kuchar beat Australian Jason Day, also by 4 and 3, in the other semi-final.
Mahan has now won his last 11 matches -- and he hasn't trailed since the sixth hole of his 2012 opener, a span of 166 holes. He is looking to become the first player to successfully defend his title since Tiger Woods in 2004 and '04. In Poulter on Sunday, Mahan was facing one of the game's virtuoso match players but he never let the Englishman get the edge in the blustery conditions.
Mahan won the second hole with a 4-footer for birdie but the match went back to even after the American made bogey at No. 4. Poulter returned the favor at the next hole, though, and Mahan never trailed again.
Mahan got up and down for birdie at the par-5 eighth to make the turn 2 up. He chipped in for birdie at the 12th to go 3 up and won the 14th with a par to pad his lead. When the two halved the driveable 15th with birdies, the match was done.
"I'll tell you what, it's easy to get up for Ian because he's so good in match play," Mahan said. "He's such a competitor. He's never going to be out of a hole. He's always going to find a way.  Today I played really well, got up and down from a lot of tough spots, and my short game definitely carried me today."
Mahan said the winds that were gusting to 30 mph made the match extremely challenging. "On a golf course like this where kind of accuracy is premium, and the wind the way it's blowing, it's difficult out there," he said.
Poulter, who has a 22-10 record at the Accenture Match Play Championship, said he was "personally disappointed. 
"I think I would like the outcome to have been slightly different, but Hunter played very solid today," Poulter said. "He chipped it unbelievably well when he had to, and I think there was a key turn around 11 or 12.
"I had a putt there to win the hole on 11 from about eight feet and I missed it, and then he hit the wrong club on 12, gone flying through the back of the green. I put it in position on the back of the green, he chipped in. 
"Huge turnaround there. I could have changed that match around at that point there. And from that point there was no letup. ... I think it was tricky this afternoon with the wind, and it was very tricky to go at some of those pins.  It made it difficult."
SCORECARD STATS: Mahan made five birdies and two bogeys. Poulter made three bogeys and two birdies, both of which came in his last three hole.
HOLES WON: Mahan won five holes. Poulter won one.
NEXT OPPONENT: Mahan plays Matt Kuchar, who beat Jason Day 4 and 3 in the other semi-final. The championship match will begin at 2:15 p.m. ET (12:15 p.m. MT). Poulter will play Day in the third-place match beginning at 1:55 p.m. ET (11:55 p.m. MT).

IAN POULTER TWO DOWN AFTER 11 HOLES IN SEMI-FINAL

It's looking like an all-American final to the WGC-Accenture World Match-play championship at Dove Mountain, Arizona.
In this morning's (local time) semi-finals, Matt Kuchar is two up after 12 holes against Australia's Jason Day.
In the other semi-final, defending champion Hunter Mahan is two up on England's Ian Poulter after 11 holes. 

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AND, LATER TODAY, THE 18-HOLE FINAL

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ADMIRABLE EFFORT FROM CRICHTON TO LEAD SCOTS IN S AFRICA

Aberdour's Scott Crichton is the leading Scot of the 12-strong SGU squad among the field of 144 players after the first qualifying round of the South African men's amateur match-play championship at Johannesburg Country Club today The Fifer, pictured, shot a three-under-par 69  - birdies at the second, 12th, 14th and 15th, one bogey at the 16th - to be joint fifth at halfway in the stroke-play eliminator which will reduce the field to 64 for the match-play stages. Scottish youths champion Ewan Scott (St Andrews), joint fifth in the recent South African stroke-play championship, and Jamie Savage (Cawder) are sharing 12th place on 71. Scott birdied the 12th, 13th and 16th between bogeys at the first and 17th. Savage had four birdies in the first 13 holes.  Balmore's Fraser McKenna highlighted an round of 72 with a four-under-par run with birdies at the 12th and 14th and an eagle 3 sandwiched between at the 13th but he had ruyn up a double bogey 6 at the eighth. McKenna is joint 20th. Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) and Ross Bell (Downfield) both shot 73s for a share of 36th place. Reinstated amateur Graham Gordon (Newmachar), Connor O'Neil (Pollok) and James White (Lundin) are joint 48th on the 74 mark. Graeme Robertson (Glenbervie) had a 75 for a share of 66th place. Fraser Moore (Glenbervie) and Michael Daily (Erskine) shot 76s to be joint 79th.  Leading the field is the South African No 1, Haydn Porteous with a six-under 66. SOUTH AFRICAN AMATEUR MATCH-PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP Johannesburg Country Club. First qualifying round Players from S Africa unless stated. 66 H Porteous67 A Light, T Tree (Eng)68 P KruseSCOTS' SCORES69 S Crichton (Aberdour) (T5).71 E Scott (St Andrews), J Savage (Cawder) (T12).72 F McKenna (Balmore) (T20).73 A Dunton (McDonald Ellon), R Bell (downfield) (T36).74 G Gordon (Newmachar), C O'Connor (Pollok), J White (Lundin) (T48).75 G Robertson (Glenbervie) (T66)76 M Daily (Erskine), F Moore (Glenbervie) (T79). ends

CHAWALIT BIRDIES LAST TWO HOLES TO WIN MYANMAR OPEN

       AND THE WINNER IS ... Chawalit Plaphol

Yangon, Myanmar: Thailand’s Chawalit Plaphol dashed Mithun Perera’s hopes of making history when he birdied the last two holes to win the Zaykabar Myanmar Open presented by Alpine today.

Overnight leader Chawalit was tied with Mithun on 17-under heading into the last hole but the Thai set up a three-foot birdie putt with an exquisite approach shot at the par five 18^th hole to win his fourth Asian Tour title at the Royal Mingalardon Golf and Country Club.

Chawalit closed with a three-under-par 69 while Mithun, aiming to be the first Sri Lankan to win on the Asian Tour, fought bravely with a sensational 65 at the US$300,000 event, which is the curtain raiser for the 10^th Asian Tour season.

There was heartbreak again for Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who lost in a play-off last year, as he settled for third following a 70. 

 Hwang In-choon (67) of Korea, Darren Beck (69) of Australia and Angelo Que (70) of the Philippines were a further shot back in fourth.

“I’m happy but a first win in two years is not enough! I want to win more Asian Tour titles. I knew at the 17th hole that Mithun was on 17-under. Luckily, I managed to hole a 15-foot birdie putt (17) to tie for the lead,” smiled Chawalit, who registered 18-under-par 270 and won US$54,000.

Chawalit, 38, was a figure of consistency through the week and held the lead for most of the round until Perera came charging home with five birdies in the last seven holes.

“It wasn’t smooth for me during the front nine because I was forcing myself to play it safe. I gave myself a bit of pressure and it felt better on the back. This win gives me more confidence to play on the Asian Tour,” said the Thai, who was cheered on by his countryman on the 18^th hole.

Perera finished 50^th on the Asian Tour Order of Merit last year to earn an Asian Tour card for 2013 and his career has been on an upswing since then.

Despite his defeat, the Sri Lankan, who is the son to Nandasena, a famous name on the old Asian circuit during the 1980s and 1990s, remains upbeat of winning his first title on the region’s premier Tour.

“All you need is one good week to turn your life around. I think the win is not far away for me. I’m sure my father and my country are proud of me. This week, I flew the Sri Lankan flag high,” said the 26-year-old, who was five shots off the lead at the start of the day.

Thai rising star Kiradech cut a forlorn figure as he failed to make amends for last year’s play-off defeat. “I played good this week. I couldn’t make a putt on the front nine but tried hard. I think the key moment for me was when I birdied 15 to tie for the lead. Again, I couldn’t make birdie putts in the last three holes. It was still a good attempt from me.”

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 288 (4x72) Yardage 7,218 

270 Chawalit PLAPHOL (THA) 67-66-68-69.

271 Mithun PERERA (SRI) 71-68-67-65.

272 Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) 64-67-71-70.

273 HWANG In-choon (KOR) 66-70-70-67, Darren BECK (AUS) 66-69-69-69, Angelo QUE (PHI) 69-68-66-70.

274 Quincy QUEK (SIN) 71-69-67-67, Lionel WEBER (FRA) 67-69-70-68, Rahil GANGJEE (IND) 71-66-67-70.

275 HUNG Chien-yao (TPE) 67-67-71-70, Arnond VONGVANIJ (THA) 68-67-69-71, Chapchai NIRAT (THA) 64-72-67-72.

276 Rikard KARLBERG (SWE) 67-71-71-67, Antonio LASCUNA (PHI) 67-73-69-67, Himmat RAI (IND) 70-71-67-68, Thanyakon KHRONGPHA (THA) 66-67-74-69, Danny CHIA (MAS) 68-70-68-70, Thammanoon SRIROJ (THA) 69-70-66-71.

277 Prom MEESAWAT (THA) 65-72-71-69, Tim STEWART (AUS) 71-70-67-69, BAEK Seuk-hyun (KOR) 67-68-72-70.

278 Berry HENSON (USA) 70-68-68-72, Young NAM (KOR) 66-73-67-72.

 

US PGA TOUR SET TO OPPOSE BAN ON LONG-HANDLED PUTTERS

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By JAMES CORRIGAN
The US PGA Tour is set to announce its opposition to the proposed ban on long putters here in Arizona today and so force the game’s governing bodies to reconsider the prospective rule change.

Reports indicate that Tim Finchem, the commissioner of the US PGA Tour, will appear in the NBC commentary booth during the final day of this WGC Accenture Matchplay Championship to urge the USGA and RandA to scrap their plan to outlaw “anchored” putting.

How the USGA and RandA react will be intriguing, if only to discover who holds the real power in the game. 
Meetings between the players and US PGA Tour officials this week have made clear the resentment to the rule-makers over this issue. They will fight the ban.

Their threat will go unsaid for the time being, but the message will be stark: if the rule change is enforced the US PGA Tour will move to ignore it and allow its members to continue using the belly putters and broom-handle putters. Golf would essentially have a split between the amateur game and professional game.

Golf would then have the farcical situation of young athletes employing what are seen as a game-improvers, while hackers, not to mention veterans who use the implements because of back problems, would be barred from doing so by the rule book.

Would the RandA and USGA dare to allow such a scenario, and furthermore would they ban the putters from the majors they control – the Open and US Open? The answers to these questions will almost certainly be “No”. They would be acutely aware of how quickly their authority could be eroded.

So they would have to lose face and backtrack. They would not have envisioned the strength of opposition when they announced the 90-day “comment period” back in December.

The controversy has done its best to overshadow the matchplay action in Arizona.

HEATHER SET TO BLOOM AGAIN ON PAUL LAWRIE LADIES PRO TOUR

       Heather Stirling helps former US Tour player Brad Faxon with the line of a putt


By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
Former Curtis Cup Scot Heather Stirling is to make a comeback as a player on the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Scottish Ladies Open Tour.
The one-time Bridge of
Allan player earned Curtis Cup honours for GB and I in 2002, the year she won the Helen Holm Scottish stroke-play at Troon, the Scottish women's amateur championship at Stranraer and the Stirling and Clackmannan county title.
She has done more caddieing at venues such as the Old Course, St Andrews (pictured above with a satisfied customer), and Tampa, Florida than golfing in recent years but that may be about to change.
Now 36, Heather says in an E-mail:
"I think it's a great idea setting up a mini tour in Scotland for lady pros and low-handicap amateurs. Hope it all goes well! 
I am currently in Florida but will be home in April.  I am considering playing in some of the tournaments but would have to get my game in shape first!
"If there is anything I can do to help just let me know."
We have given Heather the same advice we give to everyone else: Enter now - it won't cost you anything until the tournament draws are made - and avoid disappointment if, as we expect to, receive a lot more entries nearer the tournaments.
Since then, Heather has entered the first two events on the Paul Lawrie Scottish Ladies Open Tour - at Marriott Dalmahoy on Thursday, April 18 and Ratho Park on Friday, April 19.
We are limited to around 30 entries at most of the venues on our inaugural schedule and that will break down to a ratio of 20 amateurs to 10 amateurs.
If the amateurs don't take up their entitlement, then more places will go to the professionals - but don't rely on it happening.
Incidentally, if you are trying to recall who was in the same 2002 GBandI Curtis Cup team as Heather Stirling at Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, where the United States beat Pam Benka's line-up 11-7, the side was:
 Alison Coffey, Emma Duggleby, Rebecca Hudson, Sarah Jones, Vikki Laing, Fame More, Kerry Smith and  Heather Stirling.

FREE USE OF PAUL LAWRIE GOLF CENTRE FACILITIES FOR PLGC SLOT

COMPETITORS AT DEESIDE

  
Other news from the PLGC SLOT is that Robbie Stewart, pictured, the PGA Director of Golf at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, on the south side of the River Dee, across the water from Deeside golf course, says all the competitors in the PLGC SLOT at Deeside Golf Club on Tuesday, May 7 can have free use of all the facilities - except the restaurant! - all morning until their tee times at the Bieldside course in the afternoon.

The Paul Lawrie Golf Centre facilities include a par-3 nine-hole course, driving bays and short-game practice that will be expanded before May.
There are good putting and short-game practice facilities at Deeside Golf Club but, on the driving range, the balls that are used fly only threequarters the distance of a "normal" ball, because new houses built at the far right of the range would be within range of big drives.
If you have SATNAV, the post code for the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre is: AB12 5YN.
Easiest way to drive there if you are coming up to Aberdeen from the south is to turn sharp left at the roundabout immediately before the Old Bridge of Dee. After that just keep going west and you will come to the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre on your right, on the banks of the River Dee, about 2 to 3 miles from the Old Bridge of Dee.
Robbie Stewart and his staff would be delighted to see all the competitors in the North-east double-header on May 6-7 (we hope to be able to tell you the name of the Monday venue before the end of the coming week).

AUSSIE GOGGIN LEADS IN PANAMA CITY

FROM THE US WEB.COM TOUR WEBSITE
By Joe Chemycz, Web.com Tour staff
PANAMA CITY, Panama – Australian Mathew Goggin fired a 4-under 66 Saturday to move into sole possession of the 54-hole lead at the Panama Claro Championship, the initial stop on the 2013 Web.com Tour schedule. Goggin jumped to the front of the pack of with his 7-under 203 total, two shots better than Texans Bobby Gates (68) and Roland Thatcher (69) and Kevin Foley (70) of New Jersey.
Georgia’s Brendon Todd (69) is alone in fifth place, three shots back heading into Sunday’s finale.
Five others -- Chesson Hadley (67), Chris Wilson (70), Peter Tomasulo (71), Vaughn Taylor (71) and Len Mattiace (72) are four back.
Second-round leader Dae-Hyun Kim of Korea stumbled with back-to-back double-bogeys on the front nine and wound up shooting a 75 that left him T11.
The whole group is chasing Goggin, who lives in the Phoenix area and has now posted seven straight sub-par scores at the par-70 Panama Golf Club, which annually ranks among the toughest on tour. Only 16 of the 64 players who made the cut managed to break par in the third round.
Saturday’s scoring average of 71.656 marked the 36th time in 38 tournament rounds that the field has been over-par at the 7,171-yard layout. Goggin, in the meantime, is 18-under in his seven rounds and boasts a scoring average of 67.42.
“There are just courses that you like to play,” said Goggin, who came from four shots back to win here two years ago. “They may not necessarily be the finest golf courses around the world but for whatever reason it agrees with me so far.”
Goggin’s round of 66 was the best of a hot, windy day in Central America and stamped the 38-yeard old as the man to beat on a course where he has yet to lose.
“I just think the conditions suit my game,” he said. “It’s not an Australian-style golf course but I’ve had a lot of experience playing in windy, fast conditions and I’m used to having to work the ball with shaping and bounces as opposed to just flying it to the hole.”
Goggin got it close enough to run in six birdies, along with a couple of critical par-saving putts, one of which was in the 18-20 foot range.
“The lines are a bit tricky because they’re a little grainy and they get fast and have some slope in them,” he said. “You can get a bit confused and the first couple of days I wasn’t seeing the line that great and feel like I got locked in there. Today, you hit a really nice putt and you start to feel really good about it. I just got comfortable with the putter.”
Gates moved into contention by using just the right combination of drivers and 2-irons off the tees. The driver in his bag is brand new.
“It’s really easy to just line up there and let it go and you know exactly where it’s going,” he said. “I’m hitting a lot of 2-irons to get the ball in the fairways. The combination of being aggressive when I can be and knowing when to hit it in the fairway is huge. When the wind’s blowing it’s really tough because it swirls through the trees and if the ball gets moving in the wrong direction it won’t stop because it’s so firm out here.”
• Saturday weather: mostly sunny, wind N 10-20 mph and a high of 93.
• This week’s total purse is $600,000 with $108,000 to the winner.
• Mathew Goggin is a four-time winner on the Web.com Tour, having won twice in 1999 and twice again in 2011. The 38-year-old has also made 276 career starts on the PGA TOUR. Last year, Goggin made the cut in 10 of 23 starts and had a pair of top-25 finishes and wound up No. 192 in the FedExCup standings.

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POULTER v MAHAN IN SUNDAY SEMI-FINALS IN ARIZONA

FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
By PGATOUR.COM wire reports
MARANA, Ariz. (AP) -- The stars are gone from the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship. Still alive are Ian Poulter and Hunter Mahan, the best in match play over the last few years.

Poulter added to his reputation as one tough customer Saturday when he beat Steve Stricker with one big putt after another, raising his record in this fickle format to 19-3-2 over the last four years.
Mahan outlasted U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson in 18 holes, leaving him two wins away from joining Tiger Woods as the only repeat winners of this World Golf Championship. Mahan hasn't lost a match in two years, and even more impressive than his 11 straight wins is that he has gone 151 holes at Dove Mountain without trailing.
Poulter and Mahan meet Sunday morning in the semi-finals.
Matt Kuchar had no trouble against Robert Garrigus, building a 4-up lead through 10 holes and hanging on for a 3-and-2 win after reaching the quarterfinals for the third straight year. He faces Jason Day of Australia, who won a tight match against Graeme McDowell in 18 holes.
Along with a perfect singles record in the Ryder Cup, Poulter has won the WGC version of the Match Play Championship and the World Match Play Championship in Spain in 2011. He wasn't aware of his record since 2010, nor did he sound terribly surprised.
"I'm pretty proud of it," he said. "Does it surprise me? I love match play."
That much is becoming abundantly clear. After he pulled away from Tim Clark of South Africa in the third round Saturday morning, he faced his toughest challenge yet in Stricker, who started his 46th birthday celebration by making eight birdies in a brilliantly played match against Scott Piercy in the third round.
Stricker holed a 30-foot putt on the final hole for the win, and then ran into someone who putted even better.
The match effectively turned on the third hole. After they traded birdies, Stricker stuffed his tee shot into 6 feet, while Poulter pulled his shot some 40 feet away above the ridge. Poulter wound up making the putt, and all Stricker could do was laugh. He missed his short birdie, and the momentum shifted for good.
Describing the big moment, it wasn't clear if Poulter was talking about his putt or driving through a roundabout in England.
"It was 40 feet, left-to-right, right-to-left, right-to-left again, hopefully slowing down on the ridge, taking a left-hand turn, down the slope and then chucking a little left to right at the end to drop it," Poulter said. "It was really nice."
Stricker didn't win another hole until he was 3 down at the turn, and while he made birdie on the 10th to pick up a little momentum, he gave it right back with a tee shot into the desert on the par-5 11th, leading to a bogey. Poulter won the next with a 20-foot birdie putt, and from there it was a matter of time.
Even the final hole showed Poulter's putting prowess.
Poulter was 3 up with three holes remaining when he missed the green to the right. Stricker came up short and chipped to about 3 feet. As Poulter was studying his chip, a fan near Poulter said, "Pick it up," and Stricker did just that.
"I think it was close enough, anyway, but for a split second, it was a little off-putting," Poulter said. "And I guess I had to hole a 12-footer to finish the match."
That he did, and now plays the defending champion.
Mahan hasn't lost any match around the world since Martin Kaymer beat him in the third round at Dove Mountain in 2011. He exacted a small piece of revenge by beating Kaymer in the third round. Mahan had to play only 43 holes to reach the quarterfinals.
But his match against Simpson was tough from the start, and it was the first time Mahan played the 18th hole in competition since his opening match a year ago.
Neither player led by more than one hole, and Mahan took the lead for good on the par-3 16th when Simpson missed a 10-foot par putt. Mahan had to make a 7-foot par putt on the 16th for his par and the lead, and the finished with pars.
Before the tournament began, Mahan was asked to pick the best three in match play, and Poulter was on his list. Now he gets to find out.
"I have so much respect for the guy and how he plays," Mahan said. "There's not one part of his game that really shines. He has a great short game and he's a great putter, but to me, his determination and his will is his greatest strength. He's never going to think he's out of a hole."
Day fell two holes behind immediately against McDowell, and the turning point might have been the seventh. McDowell had a tough chip behind the green that he moved only a few inches and wound up making bogey. Day holed a 6-footer for par to square the match, and it was a see-saw match the rest of the way.
In the gallery with McDowell was Shane Lowry, the No. 64 seed to eliminated Rory McIlroy in the opening round. McDowell made three birdies in a five-hole stretch at the turn to build a comfortable lead and went on to win, 3 and 2.
His putter let him down against Day, however. He missed a 10-foot par putt on the 17th that gave Day the lead, and then missed a 15-foot putt from just off the green that would have extended the match.
Day became the first Australian to reach the semi-finals since Geoff Ogilvy won in 2009, and it took a lot to get there. He beat the Masters champion (Bubba Watson) and a former U.S. Open champion (McDowell) on the same day.
"It's like playing on Sunday every day here," Day said.
He faces Kuchar, who lost to the eventual champion each of the last two years. Garrigus had said earlier in the week that he looked at his bracket and figured didn't see anyone he couldn't beat. He must have overlooked Kuchar, who birdied the ninth for a 3-up lead and never let Garrigus get close.
Poulter at No. 11 is the highest seed remaining. The other seeds are No. 21 (Kuchar), No. 23 (Mahan) and No. 41 (Day).

IAN POULTER MAKES SEMI-FINALS OF WORLD MATCH-PLAY

WGC Accenture World Match-play quarter-final results

Jason Day (Australia) bt Graeme McDowell (N Ireland) 1 hole
Matt Kuchat (US) bt Robert Garrigus (US) 3 and 2.
Hunter Mahan (US) bt Webb Simpson (US) 1 hole.
Ian Poulter (England) bt Steve Stricker (US) 3 and 2. 

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE ROUND OF LAST 16 RESULTS