Three of the men who will carry European colours into next week’s Ryder Cup at The K Club – Paul Casey, Robert Karlsson and Colin Montgomerie – ensured their match play skills continued to be honed to the highest level when, along with American Shaun Micheel, they moved into the semi-finals of the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth Club.
Casey beat Canadian Mike Weir 5 and 3 while the 15th green also saw the end of the match between Karlsson and Argentina’s Angel Cabrera, the Swede winning 4 and 3. In a closer encounter, Montgomerie accounted for defending champion Michael Campbell on the final green.
Casey will now face Montgomerie in a mouth-watering last four clash while Karlsson comes up against Micheel, the 37 year old American – who saw off World Number One Tiger Woods in Round One – also putting paid to the hopes of a clean sweep of European Ryder Cup players in the semi-finals when he beat Luke Donald by 4 and 2.
Casey was the first man to book his berth in the semi-finals. All square after the morning 18 holes, the 29 year old Englishman’s steady golf saw him gradually pull away from Weir in the afternoon, but the match’s quick conclusion owed much to a painful back spasm suffered by the Canadian as he struck his tee shot on the short 14th.
The 2003 Masters Tournament Champion visibly winced in pain as the ball left the club and from then on he struggled to walk as well as bend down to mark his ball on the greens. Three down at the time, it was little surprise that he bogeyed both the 14th and 15th holes to lose the match 5 and 3.
Casey admitted the match with Montgomerie would be something to savour. “He should be the favourite as he knows this place very well,” said the Englishman. “With the greens as receptive as they are too, it will bring his long irons close, so I’ll have to play extremely good golf to get near him.”
For the second day running Montgomerie, the oldest man left in the field, had to go the full 36 holes to see off Campbell as he had done the day before to see off another Ryder Cup colleague David Howell.
All square coming down the 18th for the second time in the day, both players found the same bunker to the left of the green in two, their golf balls finishing in an almost identical place in the sand.
Campbell was first to play but a snatched effort saw the New Zealander’s ball clip the top of the hazard and fall back into the sand. Montgomerie fared better with his escape shot to ten feet which he rolled confidently into the hole for a winning birdie four.
“That was a good putt, a very good putt to hole,” said the Scot. “If I had missed, he would have had his five footer for a half and we could well have been on our way to the 37th hole. I had to get mine in and I did. It was a good victory but I’m very tired.”
Ironically, a victory looked remote for Montgomerie after a poor start which saw him four down after only six holes of the morning 18 holes. But showing the grit and determination which has characterised his career, the Scot battled back and by the time the pair broke for lunch, the match was all square. “That was very important,” he admitted.
Montgomerie moved two up after ten holes of the afternoon round but then it was the turn of Campbell to battle back, squaring the match with a birdie four at the 17th before the dramatic final conclusion a hole later.
The final part of the European triumvirate to take their place in the semi-finals was Karlsson who, apart from being behind for one hole – the ninth of the morning round – against Cabrera, was always in control of his match against the Argentine, birdies at the 12th and 13th putting him on the verge of victory before a Cabrera double bogey at the 15th finished matters.
“My short game has been good and has been the key to my success so far,” said Karlsson, who beat World Number Two Jim Furyk in the first round. “I holed a few fantastic putts today and chipped in once yesterday. I three putted once today but that can happen – overall my chipping and short game have been good.”
Keeping the Stars and Stripes fluttering in the semi-finals is Micheel, who followed up his excellent dismissal of Woods with a comprehensive victory over Donald. Indeed the margin of victory could have been even greater as Micheel, five up at lunch, won the first two holes of the afternoon round to move seven holes up.
But Donald gritted his teeth and stemmed the flow on the outward nine of the afternoon round before gradually chipping away at the deficit. He won the eighth, 11th, 12th and 15th to give some flicker of hope to the home fans in the gallery but when Micheel holed from ten feet for a wining birdie on the 16th green, the Englishman’s revival was ended.
“When you get a big lead like that, sometimes it is difficult to play, it is hard to explain,” said Micheel. “Most people say you have to go for the throat and that’s what I was trying to do but I made a few mental errors.
“As I said yesterday, match play is a series of ebbs and flows where you get into a series of runs. I made some pretty good runs this morning and he (Luke) did as well towards the end but it was just a little bit too late.”
