Donald marches towards Tucson final

Luke Donald was on the verge of reaching the final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play in Tucson after a stunning opening nine holes in his semi-final against Matt Kuchar.

Having seen off the challenge of Ryan Moore with four holes to spare in their last-eight tie earlier in the day, the 33-year-old, who will go to number three in the world with a tournament win, was up six with nine to play at the turn.

The Hertfordshire man produced a perfect display of putting, birdying seven holes, including a 25-footer that came in from right to left on the ninth, with Kuchar’s birdie on the par-five second stopping him being seven-up.

Donald birdied the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth holes, having previously landed three five-footers in a row as Kuchar was left with no answer.

In the other semi-final between Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer, the pair were all-square after three holes.

Their match started behind schedule after Watson’s marathon quarter-final with JB Holmes.

Having trailed Holmes by five shots, Watson roared back to take the match in a play-off.