Fisher, Cabrera, Allenby and Kim contest
Volvo World Match-play semi-finals
FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
England's Ross Fisher will take on Masters Tournament champion Angel Cabrera and American Anthony Kim will have a rematch with Australian Robert Allenby in the semi-finals of the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain.
Fisher beat India's Jeev Milkha Singh to top his group in the new format and so made it to the last four, just as he did in the World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play in Arizona in February.
Cabrera, runner-up to Ernie Els on the last staging of this event at Wentworth two years ago, ended the hopes of Rory McIlroy and Simon Dyson when he defeated Dyson by a massive seven hole margin.
Kim, meanwhile, produced one of the shots of his life, a 274yd three-wood to four feet on the final hole, to deny Scott Strange a place in the last four.
And with Allenby getting the win over Oliver Wilson that he needed to knock out the Englishman, he will face Kim three weeks after their Presidents Cup clash, which the American Ryder Cup star won by 5 and 3.
After that match Allenby was alleged to have made late-night drinking allegations about his 24-year-old opponent.
They have spoken since and are trying to put the matter to bed, but it was perhaps written in the stars that they would face each other again at the first available opportunity.
“I've played well the last three rounds, and I hope I can keep the form going for the weekend,” said Allenby.
“I've just taken it one match at a time and just tried to beat the opponent that I'm playing, and I've done a good job of that so far.
“I have an opportunity tomorrow to try and advance a little bit further. It doesn't matter who you go up against in this tournament, everyone is a tough gig. So you've just got to play your best golf and hopefully it's good enough. So far, it has been.”
Kim just smiled when told it was Allenby he would be taking on again.
After two wins on the opening day, Kim had to be beaten by four holes by Strange not to progress - and that was the situation with one to play.
But he then produced his killer finish and said afterwards: "It was a special shot for me. I haven't been able to swing that way and trust my swing - and I really had to trust it. It felt so good."
Fisher is a member at Wentworth but has made his debut in the championship on the very first occasion it has not been staged there.
"It would have been great to experience it there. But it's not, and this is a great venue," he said.
"There's a long way to go, but I am in there with a chance. It's also massive for The Race to Dubai."
He is currently seventh - but top four Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, McIlroy and Paul Casey all failed to make it through.
Fisher was not sure of his place, though, until the final hole of the day. He was two up on Singh - and when he saw on the leaderboard that Colombian Camilo Villegas had only halved with Westwood, he was safe.
It was a good job too - because he had just hit a wild second into the crowd and was waiting for a ruling after television coverage showed a spectator picking up the ball and then putting it down again.
Westwood beat Fisher and halved with Villegas, but his first-day defeat to Singh meant he finished only third in Group D.
McIlroy beat Dyson and Henrik Stenson, but his loss to Cabrera 24 hours earlier left him second to the Argentinian in Group C.
Allenby is the only unbeaten player left, but Cabrera beat McIlroy by five and Dyson by seven and - with two Majors to his name - is a serious threat.
“I played a spectacular round today, especially in the early afternoon, because in the morning things didn't go well for me,” he said.
“I was hitting very well off the tee and I was making good shots to the pins and I was making all of the putts, pretty much everything, when in the morning, I wasn't doing any good.
“I am very comfortable with my swing. I am very comfortable and very calm going into the semi-finals.”
TODAY'S RESULTS
(Seeding number in brackets; all matches of 18 holes duration).
Group A - Qualifier: Anthony Kim (US).
(8) Retief Goosen (SAf) bt (1) Paul Casey (Eng) 1 hole
(16) Scott Strange (Aus) bt (9) Anthony Kim (US) 3 holes
Group B - Qualifier: Robert Allenby.
(4) Sergio Garcia (Spa) bt (5) Martin Kaymer (Ger) 4 holes
(12) Robert Allenby (Aus) bt (13) Oliver Wilson (Eng) 2 holes
Group C - Qualifier: Angel Cabrera.
(3) Henrik Stenson (Swe) bt (11) Angel Cabrera (Arg) 2 holes
(6) Rory McIlroy (NIrl) bt (14) Simon Dyson (Eng) 2 holes
McIlroy bt Stenson 4 holes.
Cabrera bt Dyson 7 holes
Group D - Qualifier: Ross Fisher.
(2) Lee Westwood (Eng) bt (10) Ross Fisher (Eng) 2 holes
(7) Camilo Villegas (Col) bt (15) Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 3 holes
Westwood halved with Villegas.
Fisher bt Milkha Singh 1 hole
Volvo World Match-play semi-finals
FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
England's Ross Fisher will take on Masters Tournament champion Angel Cabrera and American Anthony Kim will have a rematch with Australian Robert Allenby in the semi-finals of the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Spain.
Fisher beat India's Jeev Milkha Singh to top his group in the new format and so made it to the last four, just as he did in the World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play in Arizona in February.
Cabrera, runner-up to Ernie Els on the last staging of this event at Wentworth two years ago, ended the hopes of Rory McIlroy and Simon Dyson when he defeated Dyson by a massive seven hole margin.
Kim, meanwhile, produced one of the shots of his life, a 274yd three-wood to four feet on the final hole, to deny Scott Strange a place in the last four.
And with Allenby getting the win over Oliver Wilson that he needed to knock out the Englishman, he will face Kim three weeks after their Presidents Cup clash, which the American Ryder Cup star won by 5 and 3.
After that match Allenby was alleged to have made late-night drinking allegations about his 24-year-old opponent.
They have spoken since and are trying to put the matter to bed, but it was perhaps written in the stars that they would face each other again at the first available opportunity.
“I've played well the last three rounds, and I hope I can keep the form going for the weekend,” said Allenby.
“I've just taken it one match at a time and just tried to beat the opponent that I'm playing, and I've done a good job of that so far.
“I have an opportunity tomorrow to try and advance a little bit further. It doesn't matter who you go up against in this tournament, everyone is a tough gig. So you've just got to play your best golf and hopefully it's good enough. So far, it has been.”
Kim just smiled when told it was Allenby he would be taking on again.
After two wins on the opening day, Kim had to be beaten by four holes by Strange not to progress - and that was the situation with one to play.
But he then produced his killer finish and said afterwards: "It was a special shot for me. I haven't been able to swing that way and trust my swing - and I really had to trust it. It felt so good."
Fisher is a member at Wentworth but has made his debut in the championship on the very first occasion it has not been staged there.
"It would have been great to experience it there. But it's not, and this is a great venue," he said.
"There's a long way to go, but I am in there with a chance. It's also massive for The Race to Dubai."
He is currently seventh - but top four Lee Westwood, Martin Kaymer, McIlroy and Paul Casey all failed to make it through.
Fisher was not sure of his place, though, until the final hole of the day. He was two up on Singh - and when he saw on the leaderboard that Colombian Camilo Villegas had only halved with Westwood, he was safe.
It was a good job too - because he had just hit a wild second into the crowd and was waiting for a ruling after television coverage showed a spectator picking up the ball and then putting it down again.
Westwood beat Fisher and halved with Villegas, but his first-day defeat to Singh meant he finished only third in Group D.
McIlroy beat Dyson and Henrik Stenson, but his loss to Cabrera 24 hours earlier left him second to the Argentinian in Group C.
Allenby is the only unbeaten player left, but Cabrera beat McIlroy by five and Dyson by seven and - with two Majors to his name - is a serious threat.
“I played a spectacular round today, especially in the early afternoon, because in the morning things didn't go well for me,” he said.
“I was hitting very well off the tee and I was making good shots to the pins and I was making all of the putts, pretty much everything, when in the morning, I wasn't doing any good.
“I am very comfortable with my swing. I am very comfortable and very calm going into the semi-finals.”
TODAY'S RESULTS
(Seeding number in brackets; all matches of 18 holes duration).
Group A - Qualifier: Anthony Kim (US).
(8) Retief Goosen (SAf) bt (1) Paul Casey (Eng) 1 hole
(16) Scott Strange (Aus) bt (9) Anthony Kim (US) 3 holes
Group B - Qualifier: Robert Allenby.
(4) Sergio Garcia (Spa) bt (5) Martin Kaymer (Ger) 4 holes
(12) Robert Allenby (Aus) bt (13) Oliver Wilson (Eng) 2 holes
Group C - Qualifier: Angel Cabrera.
(3) Henrik Stenson (Swe) bt (11) Angel Cabrera (Arg) 2 holes
(6) Rory McIlroy (NIrl) bt (14) Simon Dyson (Eng) 2 holes
McIlroy bt Stenson 4 holes.
Cabrera bt Dyson 7 holes
Group D - Qualifier: Ross Fisher.
(2) Lee Westwood (Eng) bt (10) Ross Fisher (Eng) 2 holes
(7) Camilo Villegas (Col) bt (15) Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 3 holes
Westwood halved with Villegas.
Fisher bt Milkha Singh 1 hole
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