Ogilvy on verge of victory

Geoff Ogilvy was in dominant form against Paul Casey in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship final on Sunday, closing in on a second title in four years.

Ogilvy, the 2006 champion and 2007 runner-up, was three up at halfway in the 36-hole contest thanks to six birdies and Casey missing two short putts on the severely undulating greens.

Casey did enjoy some good moments against his friend and fellow member of Whisper Rock Golf Club in Scottsdale, holing out at the 10th with a six iron from 204 yards for an eagle.

But he was never able to get close enough to apply the pressure and Ogilvy was on the verge of victory at six up with nine to play.

The pair had played a practice round together at the new Jack Nicklaus-designed Ritz-Carlton course a little over two weeks ago and their preparations paid dividends as Casey advanced to the final with a semi-final win over fellow Englishman Ross Fisher.

Ogilvy, having knocked out two in-form players in Camilo Villegas of Colombia and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy in previous rounds, defeated last year’s runner-up Stewart Cink in his semi-final.

Casey, chasing a first PGA Tour win of his career and having never trailed in his matches en route to the final, was four down after 17 holes but gave himself a boost heading into the lunch break when he won the 18th with a birdie.

Both Ogilvy and Casey had won their first events of 2009, Ogilvy at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Hawaii and Casey at the Abu Dhabi Championship.

Yet Ogilvy looked the most likely to add a second title of the year, getting off to the best possible start after the break when he birdied the first for the second time in the day to re-open a four-hole lead.

That margin did not last for long, however, as Casey bounced back to win the 20th hole with a birdie four.

Casey had a 15-foot putt to win the 21st hole but had to settle for a share of the spoils and he remained three down as temperatures in the desert reached the mid-80s.

Casey’s putter was getting just as hot as he rolled in a 40-footer for birdie at the 22nd, but Ogilvy simply rolled in his own birdie putt from close range.

At the 25th Casey again laid down the gauntlet, firing in an iron to around 15 feet only for Ogilvy to match it and cash in when his rival missed his birdie putt.

That left Ogilvy four up and he cranked up the pressure even further by winning the eighth with an eagle three.

Cink and Fisher, meanwhile, were contesting an 18-hole match for third place and were all square at the turn.