Teenage sensation Rory McIlroy did his part to put some excitement back into the Accenture Match Play Championship, crushing the player who knocked out Tiger Woods to advance to the quarterfinals on Friday. The same could not be said for Phil Mickelson, who failed to reach the weekend for the fifth straight year. McIlroy, the 19-year-old from Northern Ireland who keeps adding credentials to be the next young star, built a 4-up lead after six holes and never gave Tim Clark of South Africa a chance to catch up in a 4-and-3 victory. One day after Clark was practically flawless in sending Woods home early from Dove Mountain, hardly anything went right. It was the third straight time that a player who beat Woods in this tournament lost in the next round. The atmosphere was far more subdued than earlier in the week, when Woods made his heralded return to golf from knee surgery after an eight-month absence, only to last two rounds. The gallery spread itself among the eight matches, and there were some entertaining ones, for sure. Mickelson had not trailed all week until Stewart Cink ran off three straight birdies to build a 3-up lead after four holes. Mickelson rallied to square the match twice, and both times let it get away. Mickelson hit his tee shot into a desert bush on the 15th hole and fell behind, then tied it on the 16th when Cink missed the green. But on the next hole, Mickelson's third shot from a desert waste area sailed over the gallery, and he missed a 4-foot bogey putt to lose the hole. His last chance was a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, which missed below the cup. Ross Fisher, one of five Englishmen remaining in the draw in the third round, booked a quarterfinal berth with a 4 and 3 victory over US veteran Jim Furyk. Fisher, the 28-year-old who enjoyed a stellar 2008 season on the European Tour with a victory in the European Open and a slew of other top-ten finishes, next meets either compatriot Oliver Wilson or American Justin Leonard. Sean O'Hair had a 3-up lead with four holes to play over Ian Poulter, while Justin Leonard and Oliver Wilson were headed for overtime. England's Luke Donald, who missed the latter part of the 2008 season after having left wrist surgery in August, conceded his match against South African Ernie Els at the 18th tee after feeling discomfort in the wrist. Donald had trailed by as much as 3-down and was 1-down to Els when they arrived at 18. But he appeared to have a problem with his wrist at 17 and said he didn't want to risk a new injury. “I hit my tee shot on 17 and for the first time since coming back I felt a little twinge in my wrist,” Donald said. “It didn't feel great when I hit that bunker shot either. So rather than risk it, I wanted to play it safe and conceded the match to Ernie.” Donald, who eliminated Fiji's Vijay Singh in 19 holes on Wednesday, said he expected to head to New York to consult with the surgeon who repaired the earlier problem. “Hopefully, I haven't damaged it again,” he said.
