Jason Day celebrated regaining the world number one ranking by beating Rory McIlroy 1-up in an action-packed WGC-Dell Match Play semi in Austin, Florida.
Day will clash with Louis Oosthuizen in the final today after the South African played clinical golf to beat Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello 4 and 3.
But the classic golf was in the Day-McIlroy clash as you expect from two of the bet in the business – with all due respects to Oosthuizen.
It was worthy of a final, with Day opening with a birdie, and McIlroy replying immediately.
They parred the next three before the birdies started again – McIlroy birdied six, Day birdied seven, and McIlroy eight to take a 1-up lead as they turned for home.
That stung Day into action.
He birdied 10, 12, and 13 to take a 2-up lead before McIlroy birdied 14 and that’s where they finished, parring the rest of the way home for a 1-up Day victory.
Giant-killing Cabrera-Bello was never going to be a match for Oosthuizen.
The Spaniard’s ranked 52 in the world, and has only won two tournaments in his 11-year career as a pro – the 2009 Austrian Open, and the 2012 Dubai Desert Classic.
Oosthuizen threw three birdies at Cabrera-Bello in the first seven holes to lead 3-up, but to the Spaniard’s credit, he fought back with birdies at eight and nine,leaving Oosthuizen 1-up heading for home.
Oosthuizen birdied 10 and 14 to go 3-up, and it was all settled when Cabrera-Bello bogeyed 15 for Oosthuizen to win 4 and 3.
So McIlroy will meet Cabrera-Bello in a play-off for third in a match both need like a hole in the head.
The real battle will be on when Oosthuizen will push Day all the way as he attempts to win this tournament for the second time in three years.
The previous win was a classic when it was known as the WGC-Accenture Match Play.
Day beat Frenchman Victor Dubuisson at the 23rd hole when both golfers were so knackered after five days of highly competitive golf, they could hardly speak.
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