honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 2:53 p.m., Saturday, February 24, 2007

Ogilvy, Stenson advance to Accenture Match Play final

By Doug Ferguson
Associated Press

MARANA, Ariz. —The only streak at the Accenture Match Play Championship belongs to Geoff Ogilvy.

One day after Tiger Woods' winning streak ended on the PGA Tour, Ogilvy won two more matches today to make it 11 in a row at this fickle tournament and advance to the 36-hole championship match against Henrik Stenson of Sweden.

In the frosty morning and sunny afternoon, the 29-year-old Australian stayed hot with his putter in dispatching Paul Casey 5 and 4 in the quarterfinals, then Chad Campbell in the semifinals with one clutch putt after another in a 3-and-2 victory.

And so ended yet another streak: For the first time in the nine-year history of the event, an American will not play for the title.

Stenson, so chilled in the morning that he jogged around the practice range to loosen his limbs, turned in the most spectacular shot of a busy day at The Gallery.

He was all square in his quarterfinal match against Nick O'Hern until hitting his tee shot at the base of cactus. After taking a penalty drop onto the firm sand in the desert, he hit wedge to 2 feet to escape with par and a 1-up victory.

''Things turned out slightly different in my favor,'' Stenson said.

O'Hern was short of the green, chipped to 4 feet and missed the par putt. It was about the same distance from which Woods missed Friday when he lost to O'Hern.

With enough time to eat lunch, Stenson made short work of Trevor Immelman. He made five birdies on the front nine to built a 3-up lead and never gave the South African a chance to get back into the match, winning 3 and 2.

''I'm knackered after playing two rounds,'' Stenson said, looking ahead to his 36-hole final with $1.35 million to the winner.

Ogilvy can't complain of being worn out, certainly not compared to last year.

He played four straight overtime matches a year ago at La Costa, but what a turnaround in the high desert north of Tucson. After five matches, Ogilvy has yet to play the 18th hole. He has played only 79 holes this week, compared with 95 at this point a year ago.

''I'm probably less tired at this point,'' Ogilvy said. ''I'm sure I'll be fresher tomorrow. But it turned out all right last year.''

The quarterfinals was a duel of match play champions — Ogilvy at the Accenture, Casey last September at the HSBC World Match Play Championship in England. They traded birdies in the early going until Casey got sloppy and Ogilvy broke away.

Casey hit one shot so far left that he had to climb a locked cattle gate made of metal and barbed wire to get to his ball. Ogilvy ran off three straight birdies after the turn to pull away.

Campbell has been the marathon man of these matches, going the distance for the fourth straight match in a 1-up victory over Stephen Ames in the quarterfinals. He was 1-up through six holes and faced a 10-foot eagle putt on No. 7 when he missed, and Ogilvy halved the hole with a birdie to keep from sliding further back.

Ogilvy won his first hole with a 15-footer on No. 8 and turned it on. It was the first of four straight birdies, and he made seven birdies on his final 10 holes. The biggest might have come on No. 13.

Campbell holed a 35-foot putt and appeared to have closed the gap to one hole. Ogilvy then poured a 30-foot birdie putt, bending sharply from right to left, into the cup to halve the hole.

''I'm sure it annoyed the hell out of him,'' Ogilvy said. ''He's such a nice bloke, I almost felt sorry for him. You finally have something good happen and then someone throw it in your face.''

Campbell had another chance to get within one with a tee shot into 10 feet on the 16th, but Ogilvy made his 18-foot birdie putt and Campbell missed to end the match.

Neither finalist can ever recall playing with each other in competition.

Stenson is coming off a victory earlier this month in Dubai, where the Swede makes his home. Ogilvy hasn't won since the U.S. Open last summer at Winged Foot, although he took two months off when his wife gave birth to their first child.

Both are big fans of this format.

Stenson lost in the second round of the Accenture last year, but he holed the winning putt for Europe in his Ryder Cup debut in September at The K Club, beating Vaughn Taylor.

Ogilvy made his debut in this tournament last year, and he was left off the Presidents Cup team in 2005.