Lee Westwood booked his quarter-final berth at the WGC Match Play Championship on Friday, defeating Nick Watney 3 and 2 to keep alive his hopes of regaining the world No.1 ranking.

England’s Westwood had been eliminated from the elite WGC event in each of the past two years by Watney, but he birdied the first two holes to gain an early edge en route to turning the tables on the American who had ousted Tiger Woods on Wednesday.

“I really didn’t want to make it a hat-trick of wins on his part,” said Westwood, who was in the third round for the first time in 12 Match Play starts.

Westwood next faces Martin Laird, a 3 and 1 winner over fellow Scot Paul Lawrie.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who can also can move to the top of the world rankings with a win in the event, was playing Spanish veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez in the third round.

In other early matches, American Matt Kuchar defeated Germany’s Martin Kaymer 4 and 3 and Hunter Mahan defeated fellow American Steve Stricker 4 and 3.

Kuchar and Mahan will meet in the quarter-finals, ensuring an American in the semi-finals for the first time since 2009.