MARANA, February 26, 2012 (AFP) - Rory McIlroy rallied from 3 down Sunday to beat Lee Westwood in the semi-finals of the World Golf Championships Match Play Championship and keep the world number one ranking in his sights.
Northern Ireland's McIlroy beat England's Westwood 3 and 1 to advance to a Sunday afternoon championship showdown with Hunter Mahan, who never trailed in his all-American duel against Mark Wilson and won 2 and 1.
Both McIlroy and Westwood had a chance to supplant England's Luke Donald atop the world rankings with a victory in the elite event at Dove Mountain.
Westwood seized the early advantage, winning three straight holes from the second to seize a 3 up lead.
McIlroy roared back, winning three of the next four holes to square the match, then winning the ninth to make the turn 1 up.
A fortuitous bounce on a cart path at the 11th helped McIlroy halve the hole with a par. He then won the next two holes to go 3 up, sinking a 25-foot birdie putt at 12.
"I thought 11 was the turning point, when he bounced it off the cart path and got the halve," Westwood said.
"Like most matches, it came down to putting," added the Englishman, who had two birdie putts from within 12 feet to win holes and didn't come close.
At 13, Westwood's drive into the gallery found its way into the back of a woman spectator's sweater as she ducked to protect her head.
"Would you mind walking 250 yards forward," Westwood caddie Billy Foster quipped after they discovered the odd lie.
It was a rare moment of levity in an otherwise serious match, with little banter and few conceded putts.
Westwood pulled one back at 15 -- the first hole he'd won since the fourth, driving the green on the 321-yard hole and making his 18-footer.
But two holes later McIlroy closed it out with a par at 17, where Westwood missed his eight-footer.
"Great to be in the final," McIlroy said. "I played Hunter here three years ago and beat him on the final green."
Players had a lunch break before they were due out for the 18-hole championship match, which promised something of a Ryder Cup feel.
It will be just the third Europe v United States title match in the 14-year history of the event, and the first since American Steve Stricker beat Pierre Fulke in Melbourne in 2001.
Mahan, who won the 2010 WGC Bridgestone Invitational, seized control against Wilson by winning the first two holes. Overall he made five birdies, holding off Wilson with a series of key putts.
"You've got to beat five great players to get here," Mahan said. "I've got to beat one more incredible player to win."
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