MIAMI: World number one Dustin Johnson stayed on track to become the first player to win all four World Golf Championships events when he advanced to the semifinals at the WGC-Dell Match Play in Texas on Saturday. Johnson lost three consecutive holes during his quarterfinal against Alexander Noren, but had enough in reserve to secure a 3&2 victory over the Swedish eighth seed at Austin Country Club.
Next up for the American top seed is a Sunday morning semifinal against Japanese 54th seed Hideto Tanihara, while Spaniard 21st seed Jon Rahm and American 42nd seed Bill Haas meet in the other semi. The final will be played in the afternoon.
“It’s a long way to go but I like my chances,” Johnson told NBC television after dusting off Noren.
“I gave him a hole there (by hitting into a water hazard on the 11th) and on 10 missed a short putt, but other than that I played really solid, drove it well, hit some good iron shots and rolled some nice putts in.”
A victory on Sunday would make Johnson the only player other than Tiger Woods to win consecutive World Golf Championships events, after his Mexico Championship triumph three weeks ago. Giant killer Tanihara, a 14-time winner on his home tour, earned a spot in the final four with an emphatic 4&2 win over Englishman Ross Fisher.
Even if he goes no further, Tanihara has already achieved his objective of qualifying for the Masters in two weeks. He started the week ranked 60th in the world, but is now assured of jumping into the top 50 and punching his ticket to Augusta. “My goal was to get to the Masters. I’m really happy.”
Haas, meanwhile, took out five-time Major winner Phil Mickelson 2&1 in an all-American quarterfinal.
Rahm made quick work of the other quarterfinal, giving Dane Soren Kjeldsen a 7&5 shellacking. — Reuters
WGC Match Play results
Quarterfinals
Bill Haas (USA) bt Phil Mickelson (USA) 2&1
Jon Rahm (ESP) bt Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 7&5
Hideto Tanihara (JPN) bt Ross Fisher (ENG) 4&2
Dustin Johnson (USA) bt Alex Noren (SWE) 3&2
Round of 16
Bill Haas (USA) bt Kevin Na (USA) 1 up
Phil Mickelson (USA) bt Marc Leishman (AUS) 4&3
Jon Rahm (ESP) bt Charles Howell (USA) 6&4
Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) bt William McGirt 5&4
Hideto Tanihara (JPN) bt Paul Casey (ENG) 2&1
Ross Fisher (ENG) bt Bubba Watson (USA) 4&3
Alex Noren (SWE) bt Brooks Koepka (USA) 3&1
Dustin Johnson (USA) bt Zach Johnson (USA) 5&4
Semifinal pairings
Jon Rahm (ESP) v Bill Haas (USA)
Hideto Tanihara (JPN) v Dustin Johnson (USA)
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