McDowell has been one of the most consistent players in the elite 24-man field all week. But after defeating Richard Finch 3&2 in this morning’s last 16 contest, he had to draw on all his match play pedigree to overcome García. After 18 holes of fiercely competitive golf left the players tied, the former Ryder Cup teammates headed back down the 18th for a sudden death play-off. McDowell’s par at the first extra hole was good enough for to see him through, after García missed a short putt.

Meanwhile, Rafael Cabrera-Bello’s dream debut at the Volvo World Match Play Championship continues; a 3&1 victory over compatriot Álvaro Quirós means he’ll now meet McDowell in tomorrow’s second semi-final.

Cabrera-Bello, one of three Spaniards to reach the last eight, has looked confident all week. And the Dubai Desert Classic champion continued to show why he’s such a bright prospect for European golf, carding three birdies in the last four holes, to eliminate Quirós at the quarterfinal stage for the second consecutive year. The 27-year-old is expecting another difficult match tomorrow.

“Yes, I have to play GMac (Graeme McDowell), and he has a lot of experience and is a Ryder Cup hero, so he's obviously going to be a very, very tough guy to beat. You know, I'm going to try my best and I'm playing well. Hopefully I can start as good as I did on my first two matches and if I don't, I know I can come from behind and make it through. So we'll just see what happens.”

Nicolas Colsaerts’ love affair with Volvo events appears to be showing no sign of waning. The Belgian 2011 Volvo China Open winner had put in a near faultless performance to defeat form man Justin Rose in the last 16. And he claimed another major scalp in the last eight, taking down American star Brandt Snedeker 4&3. He’ll now have the chance to avenge his defeat to Ian Poulter at the semi-final stage in 2011, with a victory against Paul Lawrie in tomorrow’s first semi-final.

“I went off on a flyer, I was just holing one birdie after another, and quickly went 4 up, but then made one or two mistakes that allowed Brandt to come back. All of a sudden, it started to get a little tenser, but then Brandt made one or two mistakes, where I took advantage. I wasn't going to give anything away then.”

Lawrie, whose looking to mark his 500th European event with his eighth career title, got through to the last four after recording two comprehensive wins today. In the afternoon, the former Open champion thrashed Retief Goosen 6&5. Goosen, who was making his 11th appearance at the event, had looked very strong in his morning victory over Robert Rock. But Lawrie gave the South African no chance to get into the match – going 13 holes without making a bogey, while carding four birdies along the way.

TOMORROW’S SEMI-FINAL MATCHES:
Paul LAWRIE v Nicolas COLSAERTS
Graeme MCDOWELL v Rafael CABRERA-BELLO