GMAC is Back...

Graeme McDowell is through to the final of the World Match Play, but Paul Lawrie was beaten in the semi-finals.

Northern Ireland's McDowell recorded a two-hole win over Spain's Rafael Cabrera-Bello to book a final meeting with Nicolas Colsaerts.

Colsaerts recovered from losing the first four holes against Scotland's Lawrie to halve the match on the 18th.

The Belgian then claimed victory at the second extra hole to move into Sunday afternoon's final.

Both matches were held up because of a lightning threat, with Lawrie one up with two to play after Colsaerts had bogeyed the 16th.

But Colsaerts recovered to birdie the last, and got and up down from just off the green when the pair went down the 18th for a second time to advance.

McDowell won three of the first four holes against Cabrera-Bello, but was forced to go down the last after the Spaniard birdied the 16th following the lightning interruption.

"It was a tough one, Rafa had a head of steam after the delay," said McDowell.

"I haven't putted well enough so far this week so I'll be on the practice green before the final."

McDowell into Volvo Semi-finals

Graeme McDowell took advantage of the Spaniard's dodgy putting and will now play Rafael Cabrera-Bello in the next round of the Volvo World Matchplay semi-finals in Spain.

Garcia three-putted from just 20 feet to hand ­McDowell victory at the first extra hole of their scrappy quarter-final last night.

McDowell will now play another Spaniard Rafael Cabrera-Bello, who won the Desert Classic in February, in this morning’s semi-finals.

In the second match ­Scotland’s Paul Lawrie will take on the big-hitting ­Belgian, Nicolas Colsaerts.

And there will be a lot at stake for both Lawrie and McDowell who currently lie fifth and eighth in the ­qualifying table for this year’s Ryder Cup.

Should either of them ­collect the £560,000 winner’s cheque and 34 world-­ranking points, that would ­guarantee their place to take on the United States at Medinah near ­Chicago.

But where Lawrie, aiming to play for Europe for the first time since his debut at Brookline, looked ­impressive in thrashing double Major winner Retief Goosen 6&5, McDowell’s golf was strewn with errors.

He topped one shot with his three wood from semi-rough ­beside the eighth fairway, and he three -putted from off the green at the 18th hole to let Garcia take the match into ‘extra time’.

McDowell said: “The result was a good ­result, because it was a weird game. We handed it back and forth to each other. It was not a quality game and I feel like I dodged a bullet. But sometimes you have to win ugly to win these events.”

Earlier in the day, Ian Poulter was knocked out of the last-16 round by ­Alvaro Quiros in ­unusual ­circumstances. He had spent most of the night with a foot packed in ice after it had been run over by a woman in a ­motorised buggy on Friday night.

Pre-tournament favourite Poulter, however, took a 4&3 beating on the chin, ­saying: “I’m not going to use the ­injury as an ­excuse.”

Fellow favourite Justin Rose lost to Colsaerts by the same margin.

GMAC and Garcia Meet in Volvo

Spain's Sergio Garcia reached the last eight of the Volvo World Match Play Championship with a comfortable 4 and 3 victory over 21 year old Tom Lewis.

The Spaniard will now play Graeme McDowell in the quarter-finals afterhe beat Richard Finch 3 and 2.

Afterwards the former US Open Champion said: “Sergio is a tough player and obviously knows his way around some Spanish golf courses. 

“You want to play against the best players and like I say it really doesn't make a huge amount of difference what name you're going to play because all of these guys are capable of shooting low numbers and I've just got to go and try and beat them. 

“I feel like I'm playing well and getting the hang of this golf course as the days go on. I’m looking forward to the game.”

Lewis, who led The Open Championship as an amateur last July and then captured the Portugal Masters in only his third start as a professional, bogeyed the long third, could not match his opponent's birdie at the 334 yard next and then conceded the next.

It was uphill from then on and Garcia sealed his win by holing a 20 footer on the 15th and seeing Lewis miss from 12.

Clarke Fails at Volvo in Finca Cortesin

Darren Clarke lost by two holes to England’s Robert Rock on Friday and faced Justin Rose in the afternoon at Finca Cortesin in Casares to remain in the Volvo World Match Play. 

Rock was two holes up with two to play but Clarke birdied the 17th from five feet to stay alive in the game. However, Clarke failed to get up and down from sand on the last to lose the match. It left the Northern Irishman needing to beat Rose just to get into a play-off between the three of them to decide which two carry on in the event.

Rose crushed Rock 7&6 when they met earlier in the event.

However Justin Rose sealed Clarke's fate in the afternoon 6 & 4.

In contrast Graeme McDowell qualified for the last 16 of the World Match Play Championship before they even hit a ball on Friday.

Having grabbed a narrow victory over Robert Karlsson on Thursday, McDowell saw the Swede earn only a half with Jbe Kruger, guaranteeing a spot in the next round.

McDowell then beat Kruger 4 & 3.

GMAC Wins on Final Stretch

Graeme McDowell trailed entering the closing stretch, and birdied the 16th, got up and down from a bunker at the short 17th and then almost eagled the 568-yard last - leaving Karlsson, in sand for two, needing to hole from eight feet for a half. Which Karlsson missed.

“One down with three to play against a great player, I feel very fortunate,” said the Northern Irishman, who now meets South African Jbe Kruger.

Brandt Snedeker began his opening group game with just 10 clubs in his bag and yet won the first three holes before more arrived.

Snedeker was forced to seek replacements when his usual set went missing en route from Florida on Monday. They eventually showed up at Malaga Airport this morning, then were driven to Finca Cortesin an hour away and taken to him on the fourth tee.

Under the rules he was allowed only to add four to those he had started with, but was so happy with the driver he had borrowed from Australian John Senden and the putter he had chosen in the pro shop that he continued with them.

“The driver worked really well, so I think it’s mine now and no longer his,” said the three-time PGA Tour winner, who hopes to use this week to impress American Ryder Cup captain Davis Love.

“It was kind of a weird day to say the least. I didn’t like my chances at all actually. I knew Thomas was a world-class player and it was pretty windy, so I knew it favoured him.”

Bjorn, though, has been suffering from a virus lately that forced him out of the last two events in America, and he could never recover from bogeying the opening three holes, falling five down after six and losing 5&4.

It was not the biggest defeat of the day, however. Robert Rock crashed 7&6 to fellow Englishman Justin Rose, who birdied the first five holes, winning four of them, and later added two more.

The week is not yet over for Bjorn, Rock, Karlsson and the other four who lost on the opening day - Sweden’s Peter Hanson, Senden, Alvaro Quiros and top seed Martin Kaymer - under the revised format of the famous event.

They could yet make it through to the last 16 if they win their second games. Ian Poulter won the title last year after failing to win either of his group matches - he halved them both.

Second seed Rose said: “The game was good, I adjusted to the speed of the greens quickly and Robert didn’t.”

To guarantee himself a place in the knock-out stages Rose now needs only a half against British Open champion Darren Clarke, the lowest-ranked player in the group after his slide to 70th in the world.

The same applies to Poulter against Tom Lewis, the 21-year-old who led the Open as an amateur last July and then won the Portugal Masters on only his third professional start.

Scot Paul Lawrie started his 500th European Tour event with a 2&1 victory over the higher-ranked Hanson, winning the 16th with a par to go one-up and then making birdie from five feet on the next after his six-iron tee shots kicked off the bank right of the green.

Lawrie and Hanson now have to play Colombian Camilo Villegas, while Kaymer lost 3&2 to Dubai Desert Classic winner Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Spain’s other winner was Sergio Garcia, who came from behind to beat compatriot Quiros 2&1.

There was also one halved game, last year’s Masters champion Charl Schwartzel making birdie on the last to square things against last year’s surprise semi-finalist Nicolas Colsaerts.