Montgomerie left powerless by the magic of Els

There was a theory doing the rounds that having won the Open Championship and just become a father for the second time, Ernie Els's mind was not particularly on golf at the moment. This was emphatically dismissed by the South African, in record-breaking fashion, as he beat Colin Montgomerie 6 and 5 in the quarter-finals of the Cisco World Match Play Championship yesterday.

Els produced three eagles and 11 birdies in 31 holes of outstanding golf and will today play Vijay Singh in the semi-finals. The other will feature Michael Campbell against Sergio Garcia, who beat Ian Woosnam and Padraig Harrington respectively. With Campbell also having dismissed Nick Faldo in the match suspended from Thursday, the full set of an Englishman, a Scotsman, a Welshman and an Irishman departed.

Els is used to getting the upper hand against Montgomerie, with two US Opens and a final of the World Match Play on one side of the ledger and a play-off defeat at Sun City, when Montgomerie was just glad to get out of the country alive, on the other. "At the end I wanted to say to Colin that for some reason he brings out the best in me," Els said, "but I didn't think it was the right time."

Montgomerie's day could be summed up by the fact that his (approximate) 65 in the morning was good enough only to be four down against Els. "Bloody hell," sighed the Scot. "I was delighted only to be four down." The South African was awarded a round of 60 for the first 18 holes, a record for the event, beating the 61s of Montgomerie and Harrington.

In matchplay it is often nonsense to speak of scores for the circumstances are very different from a medal round. But they can indicate the quality of golf on offer and from Els it was exceptional. Only two longish putts were conceded, a 15-footer for an eagle at the fourth when he won the hole to go three up, and a six-footer for a par at the 12th when Montgomerie had already won the hole.

But otherwise Els relentlessly hit brilliant approach shots and holed putt after putt. "Everything in my bag, up to the three-wood, was very good," Els said. "To be 12 under against one of the best players in the world is a great feeling." At the 18th he left himself a 30-footer for an eagle that would have given him a 59. "Even though it would not be a real 59, it was still special to have a putt to break 60."

It was a miserable morning, but that did not stop the four matches producing 53 birdies and three eagles. The sun came out after lunch, but Els nor Montgomerie were quite at their best. Even so, Els finished 15 under par, equalling the record of Montgomerie and Sandy Lyle.

Campbell enjoyed a special day by beating Faldo and Woosnam, a combination possessing seven major championships and five World Match Play titles. This is the New Zealander's first appearance in the event, but as the world No 19 is ranked considerably higher than his opponents.

His marathon encounter with Faldo, the longest in the event's history, finally came to an end at the 43rd hole. In other words they resumed at the 17th at 8.15 for only one more hole with Campbell's birdie from 10 feet securing his place in the second round.

It meant so much to Campbell to beat Faldo that he went back to shake his hand for a second time on the green. "I wanted to make the most of it," Campbell explained. "He was a big hero of mine. I used to watch on television in New Zealand and I've read lots of books on him. It is good to have his scalp as well as Woosie's.

"Over the last few years through a mutual friend I got quite close to Nick and played a lot of practice rounds with him. You have to prod him a bit for advice, but he has changed a lot in the last few years. His character shows more and his game is coming back.

"He has the body of a 25-year-old. He is getting his length back and he still has one of the best short game's in the world. There is no reason why he should not be in the next Ryder Cup team."

Campbell's match with Woosnam, the defending champion, was a swifter affair, spanning little more than five and a half hours before the Kiwi won 3 and 2. While Campbell continued to play steadily, Woosnam was a bit in and out and went four down after 15. He won two of the last three before lunch and then three of the first four of the afternoon.

He birdied the second, put his approach at the third to three inches and eagled the fourth, but led for only one hole and a few errors crept in again on the back nine. Campbell had a three-footer to finish the match at the 16th, the same hole where he could have seen off Faldo the day before, but this time he avoided the nine additional holes.

"I am feeling good about my game and comfortable with my fitness, but it is hard mentally to maintain your focus over such a long time," said Campbell, who has played 77 holes in two days.

Garcia came from four down after 16 to beat Harrington 2 and 1. The Irishman went out of bounds on the 17th once on Thursday and twice yesterday. On the first occasion it sparked a run of four holes in a row for the Spaniard, and on the second it ended the game after Harrington had birdied the previous two holes to keep the game going.

WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP (Wentworth) First Round: M Campbell (NZ, 8) bt N Faldo (GB) at 43rd hole. Quarter-finals: Campbell bt I Woosnam (GB, 1) 3 and 2; S Garcia (Sp, 4) bt P Harrington (Irl, 5) 2 and 1; V Singh (Fiji, 6) beat R Goosen (SA, 3) 4 and 3; E Els (SA, 2) bt C Montgomerie 6 and 5 (GB, 7). Semi-finals: 09.30 and 12.45 Campbell v Garcia; 09.45 and 13.00 Singh v Els.

Seeds denoted by numbers