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Mcllroy, Westwod advance to Match Play quarters

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McIlroy managed to take down Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez 3 and 1.

Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood remain on track for a semi-final showdown and a chance at the world No. 1 ranking after comfortable wins in the third round of the WGC Match Play Championship.On a day when only one of the eight round of 16 matches made it to the 18th hole, Englands Westwood pumped American Nick Watney 3 and 2 and Northern Irelands McIlroy managed to take down Spains Miguel Angel Jimenez 3 and 1.Should either player win the tournament they will usurp Luke Donald as world number one, although currently they are on a collision course for a semi-final clash at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club.First Westwood must account for Scotsman Martin Laird who won an all-Scottish battle over Paul Lawrie 3 and 1 to advance.While McIlroy meets South Korean Sang-Moon Bae who continued his charge with a 1-up win over Australian John Senden in the only match to make it to the final hole.Westwood, who had never advanced past the second round before this year, refused to look towards a potential dogfight with McIlroy, saying most people who had done so had been made to look like fools up to this point.Theres a danger if youre looking too far ahead. Im just happy to be looking for a different restaurant for Friday night, he said.I had a little chuckle watching The Golf Channel on Wednesday morning and listening to them make all their predictions.I dont think they got many right. Its virtually impossible.All I can do is keep playing the way Im playing and do that against whichever opponent Ive got in front of me.You cant control what your opponent does, if he comes out and shoots 62, Im going home.For his part, McIlroy wasnt looking too far ahead either.It (the semi final showdown) will be good. Obviously Lee is playing well at the minute but we both have to win our matches tomorrow, he said.And Im going to have a very difficult opponent in Sang-moon Bae.I played with him in the last round of the Korean Open in 2009 and I might actually have been tied for the lead going into the last day with him.He ended up winning. I was really impressed with him.Westwood spent 22 weeks at world No. 1 over two stints in 2010 and 2011 and while he admits returning to the top of the mountain would be a treat, hes more focussed on notching up a maiden WGC win.Its a World Golf Championship and I havent won one so its very important you try and set yourself goals that you havent achieved in the past, he said. Obviously Id like to be No. 1 in the world, but its not really a priority.Its not really a goal Ive set. To win a major championship, to win these World Golf Championships, to win in the states and do that more regularly, those are goals.If I do that then the number one just comes along as a product of that.But obviously Id be lying if I didnt say every guy playing this week wants to be number one in the world.It was a day full of routs with four matches finishing on the 15th hole.Germanys world No. 4 Martin Kaymer, runner up at the event last year, was handed a 4 and 3 spanking by American Matt Kuchar, who set up a quarter-final with countryman Hunter Mahan.Mahan also won big in the round of 16, hammering Steve Stricker by the same margin.It became a popular winning score when under-rated American Mark Wilson upset big hitting Dustin Johnson, once again to the tune of 4 and 3.Wilson will meet Swede Peter Hanson in the next round after Hanson dusted American Brandt Snedeker, also by the 15th hole with a 5 and 3 belting.
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