Pierre Fulke wins through to final

Final Report

Swede Pierre Fulke pulled off the shock of the week to knock out top seed Ernie Els and reach the final of the Accenture world match play championship in Melbourne today.

Having beaten American Ryder Cup player Brad Faxon on the first extra hole before lunch, Fulke moved to within one victory of the million-dollar jackpot by defeating Els two and one.

American Steve Stricker, originally the 26th reserve for the £3million event and playing only because so many stars chose not to make the long trip so soon after Christmas, will be his opponent in the 36-hole final.

He beat Japan's Toru Taniguchi by the same margin.

Even if he fails to succeed Darren Clarke as champion tomorrow Fulke will still be £334,336 richer - and will be certain of a Ryder Cup debut in September, having already won the Volvo Masters last November.

Els had been the only one of the top 20 seeds to make the last eight, but has not been on top form all week and Fulke gleefully took advantage.

It was not scintillating stuff from the 29-year-old rising star of European golf either, but he said: "To beat Ernie is phenomenal whatever the scoring."

All square with seven to play, Els was favourite to win the long 12th, but three-putted after Fulke had conjured up a wonderful chip-and-run from the trees between two bunkers for a conceded birdie.

He then holed from 25 feet at the 15th to move two-up and halved the next two, Els failing with 12-foot putts at both.

"It's just a shame I didn't give Pierre a better game," said the world number two. "He did what he had to do and I kind of ran out of steam."

Fulke's victory over Faxon took him ahead of Lee Westwood at the top of the Ryder Cup points list with over £625,000 - almost twice the figure which was needed to make the last side.

It came, however, after a huge slice of luck at the 16th hole.

Faxon had just birdied the 15th from 12 feet to be only one behind and his opponent's approach to the 474-yard 16th was heading into real trouble until it hit a spectator on the head and rebounded onto the fringe of the green.

As the fan's cut was being, treated Fulke two-putted for a half - but then lost the 17th after an equally wild drive.

He had to make a six-footer to stay alive on the last and won at the 19th despite fluffing a pitch short of the green. Faxon flew into a bunker behind the green and after Fulke had failed to save par.

"Brad opened the door because I knew it was going to be easy for him to get up and down and I hit a good putt," said a relieved Fulke.

"I started off pretty bad and had a bad slump towards the end, but I pulled things together and hopefully I can take the good stuff into this afternoon."

Els admitted his putting saved him against Craig Stadler - and not just at the last, where he dramatically holed from 18 feet for victory.

On the previous four greens he holed from four, six, five and 10 feet to preserve the one-hole lead he had taken at the 13th - where he also single-putted.

"It's my worst nightmare to play someone who putted like I did, so I know how Craig must feel," said Els.

Stadler took it wonderfully well, though.

He had hit his second to eight feet on the last, but did not get the chance to hole it when Els made his and instead pointed his putter at the South African as if to shoot him, then picked the ball out of the hole and threw it down the fairway.

Els admitted to being slightly flat early in the match and blamed it on the "emotion and stuff going on yesterday."

That was a reference to his heated match with Jean Van de Velde, where the Frenchman appeared to get on Els' nerves with what he thought was excessive fist-pumping.

In the other quarter-finals, Stricker put out Australian left-hander Nick O'Hern at the 20th - with £100,000 O'Hern still won almost twice his previous biggest cheque - and Taniguchi beat compatriot Shigeki Maruyama two and one.

Quarter Final Story

Steve Stricker continued his amazing run through the Accenture Match Play Championship today, winning on the 20th hole to reach the semifinals and ending an even more improbable journey by Nick O'Hern.

Stricker holed a speedy 12-foot birdie putt on the 19th hole to stay in the match, then won it on the 20th with an approach into 3 feet as O'Hern found trouble off the tee.

Top-seeded Ernie Els also got through to the semifinals, putting like a two-time U.S. Open champion to hold off Craig Stadler 1-up.

Els will play Pierre Fulke, who defeated Brad Faxon on the 19th hole.

Stricker, at No. 55 the lowest seed to reach the semifinals in the three-year history of this championship, will play Toru Taniguchi, who defeated Shigeki Maruyama, 2 and 1, in the battle of Japanese.

The play was lethargic compared to the first three rounds, but no less exciting. Stricker and Els both required clutch putts to survive.

Clinging to a one-hole lead, Els made five consecutive crucial putts to keep his cushion and then buried Craig Stadler with an 18-foot birdie on the final hole for a 1-up victory.

At the point, all Stadler could do was aim his putter at Els like a shotgun. He retrieved Els's ball from the cup and playfully flung it down the fairway.

"It wasn't a very pretty match, but it was a good one,'' said the Walrus, who received $150,000 for reaching the quarterfinals.

It was the third straight day Els was forced to go the distance, and he has come up with crucial putts every time.

"From No. 14 on, I had to make a a putt on every hole,'' Els said, and that's what he did.

He made a curling 5-footer on the 14th, then a 6-footer on the next hole when he hit his 75-foot birdie putt too hard. The 16th required a 5-foot par putt that was downhill and swung sharply to the right.

But the biggest putt was on No. 17.

Els hit into the right bunker and was shocked when his blast out checked up some 10 feet from the hole. He made that par putt, too.

Stadler, No. 92 in the Official World Golf Ranking, was 1-up through seven holes but never gave himself a chance to put any pressure on Els. The few he hit to within medium range were above the hole and required caution.

His best shot? At No. 18, into about 8 feet. He never got a chance to make it after Els closed out the match with a birdie.

"I putted myself out of trouble,'' Els said. "That's something I learned from Tiger. He hangs in there. You're not always going to play the way you want to play.''

Just ask Stricker.

He was so erratic off the tee that he raised his arms triumphantly when he finally hit a fairway on No. 14. But the Wisconsin native has the right parts of his game working -- crisp irons, a delicate touch around the greens, and clutch putting.

"I struggled a bit in the middle, but started hitting the ball better in the end,'' Stricker said. "That's the beauty of match play.''

O'Hern was trying to continue his Cinderella story -- from No. 103 in the World Ranking, to 39th alternate in the World Golf Championship, and almost to the semifinals.

Stricker, who had never trailed in any of his first three matches, never led today until the 20th and final hole. Thanks to his putting, he at least got to the 20th hole.

With the match all square on the 17th, Stricker stroked his 25-foot birdie putt about 10 feet past the hole and had to make the par putt coming back to stay even.

The first extra hole was the 14th, and it appeared O'Hern would win with a wedge that stopped 3 feet from the hole. But Stricker, facing a do-or-die putt, nailed it for birdie to continue the match, then won on the next hole.

Fulke, who has all but clinched a spot on the European Ryder Cup team with his play here this week, holed out a bunker shot for eagle on No. 12, but was wild off the on the 17th and the match went to extra holes, starting on the 14th.

Fulke took a huge gamble that failed, hitting driver on the 319-yard hole where position is everything. He was well left and chunked his approach short of the green. Faxon played an iron off the tee to the fairway, but hit his wedge long into the back bunker, a difficult place from which to save par.

His blast went 20 feet by, while Fulke putted up some 80 feet for a tap-in par for the victory.

For Maruyama, it was the end of his perfect record in Melbourne. Maruyama was 5-0 in the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne two years ago, and 3-0 at Metropolitan until he ran into his buddy Taniguchi, who built a 4-up lead at the turn and made a birdie on the 15th as Maruyama was trying to make a run.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page