Zach Johnson first to reach semi-finals - Accenture Match Play Championship 2006

American Zach Johnson became the first player to reach the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship semi-finals with a surprise 3&2 victory over Retief Goosen on Saturday.

Johnson booked his place in the last four with a regulation par at the short 16th where world number three Goosen missed the green to the right and failed to get up and down.

The bottom match was a roller-coaster with twice U.S. Open champion Goosen forging two ahead after holing birdie putts from 10 and 15 feet at the first two holes.

Johnson, playing in the event for the second year in a row, then picked up three shots over the next four holes to edge ahead before slipping back to all square with a bogey at the seventh.

The picture changed yet again, though, at the par-five eighth where Johnson laid up short of the green in two before hitting a wedge to six feet for his fourth birdie of the day.

South African Goosen levelled after rifling his approach to four feet at the par-four 10th before the American birdied the par-five 11th to regain the lead before ramming in a 17-footer on 15 to go two up.

Goosen had been the only player among the tournament's top 10 seeds to reach the quarter-finals.

In the first match out, Chad Campbell was all square with U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman after 18 holes.

Both players made lengthy birdie putts at the last to take the tie into extra time, Campbell holing from 26 feet and fellow American Lehman from 19.

After fog delayed the scheduled start at La Costa Resort and Spa by 15 minutes, Campbell went two up on Lehman by the turn following birdies at the third and seventh.

But Campbell, who ended Tiger Woods's run in the tournament the previous day, three-putted for bogey on 10 for his advantage to be trimmed to one.

Campbell's woes continued when he drove out-of-bounds at the par-five 11th and missed a four-footer for par at the 13th for Lehman to take the lead for the first time.

However, Campbell got back to all square with a par at the short 16th, where both players found the front right bunker off the tee.

In the second match, Australia's Geoff Ogilvy birdied the last to draw level with Britain's David Howell.

Howell had gone one down after bogeying the par-four fourth, where he found thick rough to the left off the tee, but levelled after reaching the green in two at the par-five 11th to notch the first birdie of the day by either player.

The Englishman, who knocked out Phil Mickelson in the third round, then went ahead for the first time by rolling in a 16-footer for birdie at the par-three 16th.

Davis Love III, beaten by Woods 3&2 in the 2004 final at La Costa, was all square with Ireland's Padraig Harrington after 17 holes.

Love led by two after five holes before Harrington reeled off three consecutive birdies to reduce the deficit to one.

However, the experienced American struck a superb approach to within four feet of the flag at the ninth to regain his two-hole cushion.

The Irishman pulled one back with a six-footer for birdie on 15 and drew level when Love bogeyed the 17th.