McIlroy keeps hopes alive

Rory McIlroy won three of the last four holes to beat Simon Dyson 2 up and keep his hopes alive of qualifying for the semi-finals of the Volvo World Match Play in Spain.

McIlroy must beat Stenson in SpainThe Ulsterman, 20, was one down playing the 15th but won that one with a par and then edged clear by holing a 20 footer for birdie at the par three 17th.

A birdie four at the last, combined with Henrik Stenson's 2 up win over Angel Cabrera means that all players in Group C are tied on points with one win apiece.

McIlroy is still bottom of the group in terms of holes won or lost following his 5 hole defeat to Cabrera on Thursday but can still go through if he beats Stenson for the second time in match play this year. The Holywood hotshot had a one hole win over the Swede in September's Vivendi Trophy.

Set to face Stenson this afternoon, McIlroy said: "If I win and the other boys (Cabrera and Dyson) halve then I’m through. But I can’t rely on what the other guys do.

"I have to go out and beat Henrik by a good margin and he has to do the same. I have a mental edge over him after that great match we had in the Seve Trophy. I was five or six under that day and I will probably have to play as well again today or better."

Relieved to get his first win after another day of frustration on the greens, he added: "I gave myself a lot of chances again and I actually putted really well with nothing going in.

I hit a lot of really good putts that just went by or shave he hole. I’m playing nicely. If I can get a couple more putts to go in it would have looked like a pretty comfortable match."

He was certainly relieved to hole a 20 footer on the 17th to edge clear of Dyson.

"It was 20 feet. One had to go in. It was long overdue. It was nice to see it go in and then play the last hole like I did, a great drive and a great iron. Every hole is important. "

Cabrera tops the Group with 3 holes, followed by Dyson with one, Stenson with minus one and McIlroy with minus 3.