| Els
to face Garcia in final Spain's
Sergio Garcia chipped in at the 35th hole to beat New Zealand's Michael Campbell
2 & 1 and reach his first World Match Play Championship final. The
22-year-old Garcia will meet three-times winner Ernie Els in Sunday's showdown
after the South African, always ahead in his semi-final against Fiji's Vijay Singh,
eased to a comfortable 3 & 2 win in the second match out. Garcia
had been behind for much of the time in his clash with Campbell at Wentworth's
West Course but finally edged ahead by one with a birdie-four at the 30th hole.
He doubled his
lead when Campbell bogeyed the 31st but a bogey-five from the Spaniard two holes
later trimmed his advantage to just one hole. But
Garcia, the world number five, responded immediately. He birdied the 34th and
then sealed victory when he holed a chip-and-run from 90 yards at the next hole.
Despite going
three down after just six holes, Garcia whittled away at Campbell's early lead
and reached the lunch interval on level terms after carding a six-under-par 66
for the first 18 holes. Campbell,
who returned a 67 in the morning, restored his lead at the 19th with a par to
Garcia's bogey-five, only for the young Spaniard to draw level with an eight-foot
birdie putt at the next hole. The
pair traded birdies at the 22nd before Campbell regained the lead after firing
an eight-iron to just two feet at the 24th. But
the New Zealander, who had not been behind in the match at that stage, was errant
with his drive at the next hole and eventually conceded to Garcia after twice
finding the trees. On
the 27th hole, the Spaniard was also wayward off the tee but remarkably his ball
ended up in the pocket of a spectator standing just off the fairway. It
was a lucky break for the 22-year-old, who was given a free drop and went on to
par the hole to stay all square. In
the other semi-final, second seed Els dominated from the start. Three
ahead after the first 18 holes, he extended his lead to four when Singh hit his
second shot at the 19th into the trees -- via a spectator's head -- before making
a bogey-five. The
woman struck by the errant shot received immediate medical attention but was given
the all-clear to continue watching the match. Both
players birdied the short par-five 22nd before British Open champion Els increased
his advantage to five after chipping in from a bunker at the next hole. A
15-foot birdie putt from Singh at the 26th cut the deficit to four, and Els lost
further ground when he three-putted from 45 feet for a bogey at the 29th. The
Fijian then eagled the par-five 30th to close the gap to two, before Els sank
a 15-foot birdie putt at the next hole to restore his three-hole cushion. Both
players parred the 32nd and 33rd holes before Els secured his place in the final
for the fifth time in nine starts with a two-putt from 22 feet for par at the
34th. Els, who
won an unprecedented three successive World Match Play titles between 1994 and
1996, had mixed four birdies with one bogey in the first 18 holes for a three-under-par
69. Singh, winner
of the event in 1997, carded a 73 that included four birdies, three bogeys and
a double-bogey six at 16, where he was wayward off the tee. Email
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