Ian Woosnam carried on from where he had left off on Thursday night as he moved serenely into an impressive lead against former winner Colin Montgomerie in the quarter-final match. Having despatched US Open champion Retief Goosen 4 and 3 in the first round, Woosnam was three up on Montgomerie, champion in 1999, after 18 holes.
Woosnam complained gently of fatigue after his unexpected victory over Goosen, but after making a slowish start he got his round moving with an eagle three on the par-five fourth, hitting a majestic five-iron second shot and holing the 25-foot putt with ease.
Woosnam has an uneasy relationship with his putter, but when it is working, he can still be a formidable competitor, even at the age of 43, and with Montgomerie faltering slightly, Woosnam cranked up the pressure to be two up through the turn. He had extended his lead to four holes by the 14th and although his opponent birdied the 18th, Woosnam was still in form control of the match.
Thomas Bjorn, returning to action after a month out with shoulder and neck injuries, was as impressive against defending champion Lee Westwood as he had been in defeating young Australian Adam Scott in the first round. Westwood did little wrong - indeed, he was round in an approximate 68 - but Bjorn was a touch steadier. He took virtually every chance that was offered to him and
went into lunch two up.
Darren Clarke did not lead at any time in the first 18 holes of his match against the in-form Padraig Harrington, so dominant in his 9 and 8 mauling of Nick Faldo in the first round. Harrington twice went two up, the first time on the ninth and the second and last time on the 13th. It was a lead he retained after 18 and the feeling was that Harrington was asking all the questions in an intriguing encounter.
Meanwhile, Vijay Singh, the tournament favourite, created a World Match Play record when he had five consecutive threes from the 10th. The sequence included an eagle, two birdies and two pars and it moved him from all square with Sam Torrance to three up.
Veteran Torrance is not the sort to yield easily, however, and a birdie four on the 17th brought him back with two of Singh. He could have reduced the Fijian's lead to a single hole, but after putting impressively all morning, he inexplicably missed a two-foot putt on the last hole.
