Golf's "Smiling Assassin" finally got in someone else's crosshairs.

But what a ride it was for Japan's Shigeki Maruyama, whose 8-0 run in match play dating to the Presidents Cup in December ended in the quarterfinals of the Match Play Championship.

Not even Andrew Magee's 1-up victory Friday afternoon at La Costa Resort could wipe the big smile off Maruyama's face.

"It was a very good experience for me," Maruyama said. ``I lost, but I learned a lot."

Maruyama was one of the least-known players on the International team in December's Presidents Cup, but he stole the show and earned his nickname by being the only player to win all five of his matches.

Then he came to La Costa and won his first three matches.

He wanted to make one thing clear about his nickname.

"I'm not like, you know, a bad guy," he said through an interpreter.

He proved that by the way he played and by his cool demeanour in a tournament in which some pretty big names -- Fred Couples and Phil Mickelson to name two -- admitted to feeling the pressure of match play. They folded one round before Maruyama.

Maruyama smiled after good shots and after bad ones, whether they went into the water, a trap or, like in Friday morning's third round against Loren Roberts, under a portable restroom on No. 17.

No problem. He took a drop, and went on to save par, winning the match 2 and 1 when Roberts missed a short putt.

"I feel pressure, but it's a reverse way of thinking, excitement, to me," Maruyama said. "That's what I need, very much all the time. Actually the profession needs that excitement, otherwise I cannot play good golf in front of the audience. Excitement is very important."

It was exciting when he won the 16th hole to even the match with Magee. But the kind of excitement Maruyama didn't need came one hole later, when he hit an iron shot into the water en route to a bogey while Magee won the hole with a par to go 1-up. Magee won the match when they halved the 18th. It was the first time this tournament that Maruyama played the 18th.

Maruyama took off his hat, bowed to Magee, shook his hand and bowed again.

"He's a great guy," said Magee, who has played in Japan before. ``I like him. He's a nice dude."

Maruyama said he'd have to win big-time in the United States for his countrymen to really take notice.