Sunday 3 May 2015 21:44, UK
World No 1 Rory McIlroy produced a stunning fightback to beat Jim Furyk at the final hole and book his place in the WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship final.
McIlroy had a battle on his hands to reach the final in a topsy-turvy contest against the fifth seed and was one down with two to play, before making a birdie at the 17th and holing a monster 30-foot eagle putt at the last to snatch a 1up victory.
The Northern Irishman had needed just one hole early on Sunday morning to beat Paul Casey and belatedly complete the semi-final line-up at Harding Park, setting up a meeting with the fifth seed.
McIlroy again birdied the opening hole but saw Furyk hole from 15-feet for a half, before a par on the third was enough for the Northern Irishman to move one clear.
The lead was short-lived as McIlroy bogeyed the next, but the four-time major winner reclaimed the advantage thanks to a birdie on the fifth and looked like moving further ahead when he chipped in from short of the green on the seventh.
However, Furyk sunk his 20-foot putt and also birdied the eighth, while a par on the ninth moved him one up at the turn as McIlroy failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker.
McIlroy got back on level terms with a birdie on the 11th and was gifted the lead when Furyk made a mess of the next, pushing his drive into the rough after McIlroy had done the same and then hitting a tree with his second shot.
Furyk bounced back with a superb tee shot on the 13th to set up a five-foot gain to move all square, before seeing a six-foot birdie putt to reclaim the lead at the next lip-out.
The American picked up a shot at the 15th to retake the lead against and both players birdied the next, before McIlroy struck his tee-shot at the 194-yard 17th to with five-feet of the pin and completed the win with a superb eagle putt at the last.
McIlroy now goes on to face 52nd seed Gary Woodland in the final, while Furyk faces Danny Willett in the consolation match after the Englishman was beaten 3&2 in his semi-final.
Watch the WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship final live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf.
