Nicolas Colsaerts reached the semi-finals of the Volvo World Match Play Championship for the second year running with a 4 and 3 victory over Brandt Snedeker.
The European Tour’s longest hitter won four of the first six holes - all with birdies – before his American opponent hit back with three holes in a row from the eighth.
But the Belgian responded with a hattrick of wins from the 13th to close out the contest, having seen off in-form Englishman Justin Rose on the same 15th green earlier in the day.
“I went off on a flyer,” said the 29 year old. “I was just holing one birdie after another, and got quickly four up and then made one or two mistakes that allowed Brandt to come back.
“All of a sudden it started to get a little more tense but then Brandt made one or two mistakes where I just went in and wasn't going to give anything away then.”
Colsaerts now faces Scotland’s Paul Lawrie, who was equally impressive in knocking out Thomas Björn and Retief Goosen.
“He's a fierce competitor,” Colsaerts added. “I played with him in the last round in Qatar last year. He's not going to give you anything, so it's your job to play well and go get it yourself.
“When you get to the stage like this, you expect everybody to be tough. It's your job to play well, produce and get the job done.
“It's fantastic to play well in these events. There's a lot of positives.”
