The Final Four

10/30/2009

16 of the best players set out on the first day of the inaugural Volvo World Match Play Championship and played 24 games of match play golf over the first two days; now there are only four men left standing as they get down to the business world’s most evocative match play event.

16 men started out on the road to Volvo World Match Play Championship glory but after the first two of the four days, only four men are left standing, American Anthony Kim, Australian Robert Allenby, Angel Cabrera from Argentina and young Englishman Ross Fisher.

Kim qualified despite losing to 2009 Volvo China Open champion Scott Strange, an eagle 3 on the last enough to see off the Australian on holes won and the 24-year-old Californian was pleased with his day’s work.

“Scott Strange played great today and I did not know if I could hold onto him in the early part of our match, but I managed to squeeze in with a three on 18, which I knew I needed to win, but it was close,” he said.

The only undefeated player left in the championship is Australian Robert Allenby, who earned his place in Saturday’s semis courtesy of a two-hole win over England’s Oliver Wilson, the Australian saying, “Only a victory would do today and I knew that and I was pleased with my all-round performance.”

But the performance of the day was unquestionably the seven hole thrashing of Simon Dyson by US Masters champion Angel Cabrera; he halted Rory McIlroy’s impressive comeback and edged into the last four on holes won.

“I played a spectacular round today,” was the Argentinean’s verdict, adding, “I am very calm going into the semi-finals.”

Last man into the semis was young Wentworth-based Englishman Ross Fisher, whose narrow win over Indian Jeev Milkha Singh was enough to take him into the weekend at the expense of Colombian star Camilo Villegas.

“The Volvo World Match Play Championship is a very big title [and] a win would be great,” said Fisher, concluding, “But I’ve got a long way to go, 36 holes against the US masters champion so I need to be on form tomorrow if I’m going to make it one more day.”

Four men left and 36 holes of match-play golf, head-to-head, mano-y-mano to decide which pair go through to Sunday’s final and the chance of scooping the US$1.1million first prize. 

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