Nick
Price putted with efficiency and defending champion Mark O'Meara survived three
playoff holes to win quarterfinals today in World Match Play and set up a semi-final
showdown.
Price
won 6 and 5 over Retief Goosen and O'Meara defeated Craig Parry on the third playoff
hole -- the 39th in the 36-hole daily event.
In
the other two matches, Colin Montgomerie defeated American Notah Begay III 2 and
1, and Padraig Harrington beat Ernie Els on the second playoff hole. They meet
in Saturday's other semi-final
Price,
with an 8-under 64 on the first 18, dropped putts of 32, 28 and 24 feet in the
first 11 holes of the second 18, then closed out Goosen on the 31st to advance
6 and 5.
``There's
a bit of life left in the old dog yet,'' Price said. ``That's about the best I've
putted in a long time. I probably haven't putted like this since '94.
``I'd like to putt like
this for two more years and then I'd hang my clubs up. I hit some bombs today.''
Price said the ``face-balanced''
putter, which he has experimented with for four months, is similar to one he used
in winning the 1992 PGA Championship. He quit using the model when the manufacturer
threatened legal action six years ago because of a contract with another club
maker.
O'Meara,
who shot a blistering 9-under 63 in the morning's 18 playing with a stiff neck,
beat Parry on the third playoff hole when he chipped in from 15 feet for a birdie
as Parry took par.
O'Meara
missed a 3-foot putt for par on the 36th hole that would have given him a 1-up
victory, finishing regulation with 70 to Parry's 67.
``It's
just so hard to explain how ugly I felt over the ball,'' said O'Meara, who couldn't
swing a club on Wednesday because of back spasms and the stiff neck. ``I was just
trying to strike the ball on the clubface ... just trying to hit the ball somewhere
and advance it.''
Montgomerie,
three down after seven holes against Begay, rallied to lead by one hole after
18. He won two of the first four holes on the second 18 -- including an eagle
on No. 4 with a 12-foot putt -- to stay ahead.
Montgomerie,
who has never won this event, will have an infected tooth pulled Monday and played
``with painkillers and antibiotics.''
He
also praised Begay, the first American Indian to win a U.S. Tour event, lauding
his putting and iron play and calling him ``a very nice chap.'' Montgomerie has
had run-ins with American fans and some players.
Harrington
defeated three-time champion Els with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 No. 2
after Els missed his birdie putt from 12 feet.
The
Irishman all but conceded the semi-final to Montgomerie.
``If
he (Montgomerie) plays his game and plays it well, he'll win. That's a fact.''
