McGinley's in good form

Paul McGinley revelled in the role of underdog when he began his HSBC World Match Play quarter-final against Ryder Cup team-mate Luke Donald today.

Ranked 36th in the world against Donald’s 14th – it made them the 11th and third seeds respectively – the Dubliner raced into a four-up lead after just six holes.

The two are both making their debuts in the championship, which offers golf’s richest first prize of £1m (€1.47m), and had already claimed one scalp each.

Donald thrashed Bernhard Langer, the man who gave him a Ryder Cup wild card last year, seven and six, while McGinley hammered Thomas Bjorn six and five.

A bogey at the second put Donald one down and he then witnessed four successive birdies from McGinley, who holed from eight feet at the third, two-putted the long fourth, 18 feet on the 191-yard fifth and 20 feet at the next.

Donald did manage to save a half at the fourth and then made a 20-footer of his own at the seventh to narrow the gap, only to follow that with a bogey five to fall four down again.

McGinley’s fast start was matched by top seed Retief Goosen – and the South African did not let up against Australian Mark Hensby, the first day conqueror of Colin Montgomerie.

After 11 holes Goosen was an amazing eight-up and on track to smash his own tournament record margin of 12 and 11 against American Jeff Maggert last year.

The world number five, who crushed England’s Kenneth Ferrie eight and seven yesterday, won the first and third with pars, then the fourth, fifth and seventh with birdies.

When Hensby bogeyed the ninth he was out in an untidy four over par 39 against Goosen’s 32 and after missing another green at the short 10th the Melbourne golfer bogeyed again and lost further ground.

And Goosen needed only a par on the next as well to make the difference eight.

His words after beating Montgomerie were coming back to haunt him.

“If I play well I’ll give him a match. If not I won’t have a chance,” he had said.

Goosen has won his last two tournaments – in China and Germany – and can this week take a big leap towards winning a third European Order of Merit crown.

Yet, surprisingly, he is seeking his first semi-final appearance in six attempts at the event.

Meanwhile, New Zealand’s US Open champion Michael Campbell was all square with Australian Steve Elkington after nine, while Spain’s Jose Maria Olazabal trailed Argentine Angel Cabrera, the second seed who won the BMW Championship at the course in May, by two after seven.

Campbell led by two when he birdied the second and was conceded an eagle on the fourth, but he then bogeyed the seventh and eighth.

Cabrera struck first with a birdie at the third and doubled his advantage when Olazabal bogeyed the seventh.