Jason Day has stormed into the final eight of the World Golf Championships Match Play Championship with a comprehensive 4 and 3 win over Masters champion Bubba Watson.
Day never trailed in the match on the Dove Mountain course in the Arizona desert, destroying Watson by matching his power and dominating on and around the greens.
“It was just really steady golf. Bubba gave me a couple early on and I just tried to hold that lead, and then I tried to extend it,” said Day who started his round with a 28-foot birdie from the fringe on the first green, quickly going 1-up.
“I think I was 4 under through 14 holes, so overall very, very happy with how I played.
Day now faces Northern Irishman and 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell in an afternoon quarterfinal after he took down former giant killer Shane Lowry 3 and 2.
“G Mac (McDowell) is going to be tough,” he said.
“It’s going to be mentally and physically tough. I have to try and get back into the right frame of mind before I head back out to the course.”
In the other early matches American Robert Garrigus beat Swede Fredrik Jacobson 3 and 1 to set up a match against Matt Kuchar who outlasted Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts 4 and 3.
Webb Simpson will play defending champion Hunter Mahan after Simpson beat Gonzalo Fdez-Castano 1-up and Mahan prevailed 5 and 4 over German Martin Kaymer.
Steve Striker beat fellow American Scott Piercy 1-up to set up a match against Ian Poulter who hammered South African Tim Clark 5 and 3.