Geoff Ogilvy made five birdies on the back nine to hold off teenager Rory McIlroy 2 and 1 and advance to the semifinals in the Accenture Match Play Championship on Saturday. Ogilvy, who reached the semifinals for the third time in four years, faced Stewart Cink in the afternoon. Cink played his shortest match of the week in beating Ernie Els 2 and 1. The American went to extra holes in the first two rounds, and defeated Phil Mickelson in 18 holes on Friday. “I keep playing less and less,” Cink said. “That's either a good thing or a bad thing.” Paul Casey didn't have to break much of a sweat in beating Sean O'Hair, who was suffering from food poisoning and shot a 40 on the front nine to fall hopelessly behind. Casey, who captured the World Match Play Championship in England in 2006, won 4 and 3. In an all-England semifinal, Casey will take on Ross Fisher, who beat Justin Leonard, 2 and 1. That guarantees England a spot in the championship match for the first time in the 11-year history of this event. McIlroy, the 19-year-old from Northern Ireland who won last month in Dubai, had hopes of becoming the youngest champion in American professional golf history. Johnny McDermott was about three weeks older when he won the 1911 US Open. But he ran into one of the toughest players in this format. “I birdied the last three holes and only won one of them,” Ogilvy said. “I had to play well today. He's the real deal. He's going to be around for a while.” McIlroy now heads to the Honda Classic with his confidence growing. “I can take a lot out of this,” he said. “It was a great week under pressure. I couldn't have done much more against Geoff.”
