Day to face Dubuisson in Match Play final
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Marana, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Jason Day and Victor Dubuisson won their semifinal matches Sunday at the WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship and will battle for the title on Sunday afternoon.
Day, the second seed in the Bobby Jones bracket, ousted Rickie Fowler, the 14th seed in the Ben Hogan bracket, 3 & 2.
Victor Dubuisson, the seventh seed in the Sam Snead bracket, rallied from an early 3-down deficit to beat Ernie Els, the eighth seed in the Gary Player bracket, 1-up, at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Day never trailed in his match with Fowler. The Australian birdied the first to go 1-up and remained there as they halved the next five holes.
At the seventh, Fowler made bogey and Day's birdie gave him a 2-up lead. Day followed with another birdie on No. 8 to go 3-ahead.
Fowler was conceded the ninth, but Day birdied No. 11 to again move 3-up. Day missed a 5-foot par putt on the 12th, then 3-putted for bogey on 13 to trim his lead to 1-up.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fowler made a mess of the 15th and conceded Day's 3-footer for birdie. Fowler looked to be in control on No. 16. After Day raced his long birdie try by the hole, Fowler missed from just inside six feet. Day made his 4-footer for par, but Fowler missed his short par putt to lose the match.
Els took the first and second with a par and a birdie. Dubuisson made a mess of the fourth and conceded that to Els to fall 3-down. Dubuisson finally got on the board as back-to-back birdies at eight and nine got him within 1-down.
Dubuisson kept charging around the turn. He chipped to tap-in range on the par-5 11th, then watched Els miss a short birdie effort from inside four feet. That squared the match.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After Dubuisson's tee ball on the par-3 12th stopped within 15 feet, Els badly missed the green right and he could not get up and down for par. Dubuisson failed make his birdie putt, but was conceded par and suddenly fought himself 1-up.
Els hit his second to about 18 feet on No. 14 and was conceded the birdie putt after Dubuisson came up short with his second, chipped well past the hole with his third, then rolled a par effort well by the cup.
Dubuisson converted a 7-foot birdie putt at 15 after Els missed from a couple of feet further out, and the Frenchman was 1-up for a second time. Els poured in a 35-footer for birdie at the par-3 16th and that squared the match after Dubuisson failed to convert from 12 feet out.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}They matched pars at 17, then Els dumped his approach into a bunker at the last. Els blasted to 13 feet, then watched Dubuisson lag his birdie putt to two feet. Els failed to make his par putt and conceded Dubuisson's par and the match.
NOTES: Day is going for his second PGA Tour win, while Dubuisson will go for his first tour title ... Dubuisson could become the first player to ever win a World Golf Championship event in his first WGC start.