Lucas Bjerregaard produced a mature, battling display to beat Tiger Woods and reach the semi-finals of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Texas.
Quarter-final results
- Matt Kuchar bt Sergio Garcia 2up
- Lucas Bjerregaard bt Tiger Woods 1up
- Francesco Molinari bt Kevin Na 6&5
- Kevin Kisner bt Louis Oosthuizen 2&1
Lucas Bjerregaard produced a mature, battling display to beat Tiger Woods and reach the semi-finals of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Texas.
Playing in the event for the first time, Bjerregaard - touted as a future Ryder Cup star - came from one down with three to play to win the match on the 18th green.
The Dane found himself two behind early on and was still trailing by one heading to the 16th hole, before pouring in a long-range eagle putt to draw level.
Woods then matched his birdie at the 17th to send the match down the last, where the 14-time major champion missed a short par putt after finding sand with his second shot.
With Bjerregaard having safely made his four, that sent the youngster through on a dream tournament debut which began with victory over Justin Thomas on Wednesday.
"A shame it had to end the way it did," said Bjerregaard. "We played really well, didn't really give each other much.
"It was a great match, and it was really fun to play against Tiger. He's my golfing hero - I remember taking his book to the range and studying his swing.
"I've always looked up to him, and he was very nice to play with today."
For Woods, it was a huge opportunity missed, having produced a controlled display to beat Rory McIlroy earlier in the day, as his focus slipped over the sort of short par putt which once would've been considered a formality.
"He hit a lot of good shots today," said the 14-time major champion, who now heads to Augusta in search of a fifth Masters title and major number 15.
Bjerregaard will face former winner Matt Kuchar in the semi-finals, after the American beat Sergio Garcia 2up in a controversial contest.
Garcia had a putt to draw level at the seventh hole, but after missing proceeded to tap his ball towards the hole before Kuchar had the opportunity to concede for the half.
The hole was therefore awarded to Kuchar, who also won the next after Garcia missed from seven feet.
The Spaniard rallied with birdies at the 15th and 16th holes to get back within one, but after finding trouble at the last was forced to concede defeat.
"I screwed up, it's as simple as that," said Garcia, who had remonstrated with Kuchar on the course and maintained that the American might have moved to rectify the situation.
What matters most is that it's Kuchar who advanced to the last four once again, where he'll meet big-hitting Bjerregaard in another fascinating clash of styles.
"It's a heck of a victory," said Kuchar. "Sergio made a great run on the back-nine - I thought I was going to close him out early."
Pressed on the issue at the seventh, he added: "It's tough. It's one of those rules - it's certainly not a tactic I use, any sort of gamesmanship. It's one of those rules and it's unfortunate."
On the other side of the draw, Francesco Molinari left Kevin Na trailing in his wake as he raced to a 6&5 victory, despite losing the first hole of an otherwise one-sided match.
He'll face Kevin Kisner in the last four, after the tenacious American kept alive his bid for back-to-back final appearances with a 2&1 success against Louis Oosthuizen.
The South African had led by one until Kisner produced a series of outstanding shots late on, including an approach to within three feet at the 17th to close out the match.
Last-16 review
Tiger Woods held off a fightback from Rory McIlroy to win 2&1 and advance to the quarter-finals of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Texas.
Having established a comfortable lead around the turn, Woods was put under pressure during the middle part of the back-nine before McIlroy made a fatal mistake at the par-five 16th.
Losing that hole saw him fall two-down with two to play and Woods was able to roll in from 13 feet when presented with a putt for the match at the 17th.
He remains on course for a 19th World Golf Championship success and second PGA Tour title since returning from surgery less than 18 months ago.
Heading into their much anticipated last-16 clash, McIlroy had never trailed in the tournament - but that changed with a birdie from Woods at the fifth hole.
Woods then doubled his lead with another birdie and when McIlroy made a mistake at the 10th hole, he was staring at a heavy defeat with just eight holes left to overturn a deficit of three.
The Northern Irishman rallied, though, birdies at the 12th and 13th holes enough to get within one, and when he split the fairway at the par-five 16th it looked as though the match would be tied with two to play.
Then came the decisive moments of the match, as McIlroy first came up short with his approach, before hitting his third shot from a difficult lie out of bounds.
That allowed Woods to steal a two-up advantage heading to the 17th and despite missing the green by a distance, he was able to roll in a 13-foot par putt to halve the hole and close out the match.
Next for Woods is a clash with Lucas Bjerregaard, by far the least experience player remaining after his 3&2 success over Henrik Stenson.
On the other half of the draw, Francesco Molinari's relentless headway continued with a 5&4 demolition job over Paul Casey, while Louis Oosthuizen saw off Marc Leishman 2&1.
Kevin Kisner had to go to extra holes to advance from his group but was a convincing 6&5 winner over Hao-tong Li, while Kevin Na caused an upset with a 2up victory over Justin Rose.
Last 16 results
- Sergio Garcia bt Branden Grace 1up
- Matt Kuchar bt Tyrrell Hatton 4&3
- Tiger Woods bt Rory McIlroy 2&1
- Lucas Bjerregaard bt Henrik Stenson 3&2
- Kevin Na bt Justin Rose 2up
- Francesco Molinari bt Paul Casey 5&4
- Kevin Kisner bt HaoTong Li 6&5
- Louis Oosthuizen bt Marc Leishman 2&1