Fisher and McIlroy impress in Arizona

Ross Fisher, Rory McIlroy and Stewart Cink got off to positive starts at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club as third-round play got under way in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

McIlroy jumped into a lead at the opening hole as Tiger Woods’ slayer Tim Clark got off to a bad start in their match.

Cink quickly stole a march on American Ryder Cup team-mate Phil Mickelson in their match, taking a three-up lead following consecutive birdies at the second, third and fourth holes. He remained three up after six holes.

Fisher, who crushed Pat Perez 6&5 yesterday, was one of five Englishmen still in the field at the last-16 stage and playing American Jim Furyk.

He went one up at the par-three third, which he parred but Furyk bogeyed, and then birdied the par-four fourth to take a two-up lead.

South African Clark, who cut short Woods’ comeback from an eight-month injury lay-off with a 4&2 victory over the world number one last night, bogeyed the par-four first hole as 19-year-old McIlroy parred.

McIlroy capitalised further with a birdie four at the second to go two up.

South Africa’s Ernie Els went into his last-16 match with England’s Luke Donald in confident mood having beaten Soren Hansen 4&2 and Steve Stricker 3&2 to reach day three of this first World Golf Championships event of the year for the first time since 2001.

Els had been a first-round casualty on his last four appearances in the tournament, but he continued his momentum this time around by winning the second hole with a birdie four and then took the fourth following a Donald bogey five to take a two-up lead.

Donald pegged Els back by winning the fifth hole but the South African, a seven-time World Match Play champion at Wentworth, regained his two-up lead by winning the seventh.

England’s Oliver Wilson was following his shock second-round victory over world number 11 Anthony Kim with a match against Justin Leonard, another US Ryder Cup winner from last September.

Wilson was all square with Leonard having played four holes while Camilo Villegas drew first blood in his match against Geoff Ogilvy when he chipped in from 32 feet from greenside rough at the opening hole.