MARANA, Arizona |
MARANA, Arizona Feb 24 (Reuters) - Rory McIlroy on Friday delivered his best performance this week to reach the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship quarter-finals and set up a meeting with the tournament's surprise package.
The Northern Irish world number two booked his place in the last eight with a 3&1 win over pony-tailed Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez and will next face in-form South Korean Bae Sang-moon.
While McIlroy stayed on track to become the youngest ever winner of the elite event, PGA Tour rookie Bae added Australian John Senden to a list of victims that also includes 2010 winner Ian Poulter and Masters champion Charl Schwartzel.
"He's been very impressive this week taking down Poulter and Charl, two of the best players," U.S. Open champion McIlroy told reporters after another day of blazing sunshine at Dove Mountain's Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.
"So he's had a great week so far and we'll see what happens tomorrow."
Bae, who topped the Japan Golf Tour order of merit last year after winning three times on the circuit, edged Senden one up after a tight tussle on Friday.
The 22-year-old McIlroy, who would become world number one for the first time should he go on to win Sunday's final, has vivid memories of Bae from when they played together at the 2009 Korean Open.
The duo held a share of the lead after 54 holes and Bae went on to triumph after closing with a 67.
"He ended up winning," McIlroy recalled of their final round together. "I was really impressed with him. He's a very good ball-striker and he played very well then. That's the only time I've played with him."
FIRST MAJOR
McIlroy, who won his first major title by an astonishing eight shots at last year's U.S. Open, has yet to clinch a prestigious World Golf Championships (WGC) crown.
Should he seal victory on Sunday, he would shatter Tiger Woods' record as the event's youngest ever winner, the American having triumphed in 2003 at the age of 27.
While the richly talented McIlroy still needs to win three more matches at Dove Mountain, he has been happy with his steady progression so far this week in the Arizona desert.
"I played my best golf of the week today," he said after fending off the gritty Jimenez. "I hit a lot of quality shots ... for the most part I felt like I drove the ball great.
"I'm not saying I played terrible the first two days, but it wasn't like my best. I definitely saw a glimpse of my best golf out there today at some point."
Asked whether it had been difficult to blinker his mind from the prospect of becoming world number one this week, McIlroy replied: "To be honest it is but in a way that's a good thing.
"It gives me a little bit of motivation, a little bit of an extra incentive. It's a World Golf Championship and there's plenty of ranking points and plenty of money up for grabs. It's nice to have in the back of your mind.
"If you are struggling in a match and find it hard to get yourself up ... if you think about that, you can really dig deep. You still have a chance to become No. 1 so it can work both ways. You can turn it into a positive if you want." (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes. Editing by Patrick Johnston)
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