Maggert and Magee survive to reach final

Andrew Magee and Jeff Maggert aren't the marquee names everyone wanted in the finals of the Match Play Championship.

All they did Saturday was deliver the drama everyone expected.

Magee didn't punch the air with an uppercut when he chipped in for birdie on the 17th to close out his match. He didn't even expect to be around for the weekend at La Costa Resort, evidence by the fact he had to buy two pairs of socks for the weekend.

Maggert doesn't wear wraparound shades, hit the ball a mile and routinely make birdie putts. Nothing suggested he would be able to survive four of five matches that came down to the last hole, considering he has a record of blowing leads down the stretch and has only one PGA Tour victory.

Now, they share something else in common beyond their anonymity compared to Tiger Woods and David Duval -- both will be playing for $1 million on Sunday.

Maggert holed a 40-footer for eagle to start his comeback from three down with seven holes to play, beating Steve Pate 1-up for his second straight rally.

"I feel lucky and fortunate," Maggert said. ``But on the other hand, I feel good about the way I played the last nine holes."

Magee could do without the way he played the first three holes, falling three down and wondering how much he could make in the consolation round Sunday. But he caught John Huston, passed him with a routine par and closed out the match by chipping in for birdie from the rough on the 17th for a 3 and 1 victory.

"I came here to make 25 grand, and now we're talking about $1 million," Magee said. "I like money. Money is a motivating factor in this tournament. I'm sure it's going to make all the other guys who didn't qualify very upset when Jeff and I just pass everybody on the money list."

Maggert and Magee, who have gone at least five years without winning, will play 36 holes on Sunday at La Costa to try to win the richest prize in tour history. The loser gets $500,000.

Huston and Pate will play a consolation match over 18 holes with $400,000 going to the winner and $300,000 for fourth.

The semifinals were supposed to be a snore without marquee names like Woods, Duval, Ernie Els and Mark O'Meara, all long departed.

The Final Four -- not to be confused with the Fab Four -- has only 16 PGA Tour wins and no major championships among them. Maggert is the biggest hard-luck case of them all, 13 times a runner-up who has had problems closing the deal.

He's making a nice name for himself as a player who knows how to come from behind.

Pate took a 3-up lead with a birdie on the par-3 11th and was headed for a short day of work when Maggert came up with the biggest shot of the day. With Pate in easy birdie range, Maggert's 40-footer crept to the hole and dropped on the last turn to give him the lift he desperately needed.

He picked up another hole when Pate caught a plugged lie in the bunker on No. 13 and took a bogey.

"All of a sudden, in two holes I was right back in the match," Maggert said.

And just like he did against Woods on the back nine Friday afternoon, he got better and better with each shot.

Maggert dropped in a 10-foot birdie putt to square the match on No. 15, then took his first lead since the fifth hole when Pate three-putted from about 40 feet away from the fringe on the par-4 16th.

"Momentum was definitely on my side," Maggert said. ``From then on, I felt like I had it."

Pate made him work for it. He made a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 17th, but Maggert matched him by swirling in a 10-footer to keep the lead. Needing to hit it close on the last hole, Pate's approach stopped 35 feet away.

"I still like this format," Pate said. ``It's like playing on Sunday with a chance to win every day, which is a lot of fun."

Magee seems to be measuring his success this week by apparel. If he had to iron another shirt at night, that meant he was still in the game the next day. Still, he packed his bags for one week in Los Angeles and no more than two days at La Costa, and found himself out of socks. He dropped down $10 in the shop Saturday morning.

A $1 million check should take care of that, although it looked like Magee might have to settle for much less.

Huston, whose 19 birdies this week were more than anyone at La Costa, picked up three more on the first three holes to go 3-up. But momentum can change at a moment's notice in match play, and even Huston's strong start couldn't stop it.

Magee flew the green on No. 4 and Huston was still in the fairway with a wedge in his hand. But he, too, went long, catching a miserable lie in the thick collar. Magee got up and down for par, and Huston took bogey.

"On the fourth tee, I started wondering what the consolation was," Magee said. "But he gave me one. I felt like I was back in the game. Things change so fast in this format, it's incredible."

Magee got to within one hole with a birdie on No. 10, then pulled even when Huston's drive wound up behind a tree and he took another bogey. When Magee made a 6-footer for birdie on No. 12, he had his first lead and never came close to losing it.

Huston never capitalised on his advantages. Just like on No. 4, when he was in the fairway with Magee in trouble, Huston flared an iron to join Magee in the bunker on No. 16. And just like earlier in the day, Magee managed to save par and win the hole when Huston couldn't match him.

Trailing by two with two to play, Huston blocked another shot right and the ball trickled down into the rocks framing the pond. He took a drop and hit his fourth shot to 2 feet, but Magee chipped in for birdie to close out the match.