It was a remarkable Quarter Final Saturday in the Volvo World Matchplay Championship at the London Golf Club.

Three of the four matches went 17 holes whilst the fourth was won by one of the biggest margins in the competition’s 50 year history.

It was Dutchman Joost Luiten who continued his new found love affair with the London Club as he stormed into the semi-finals with a sparkling display of golf that lit up an overcast Saturday afternoon.

Luiten, the only man to have won all three of his group games was in sensational form as he birdied the opening two holes against Pablo Larrazabal and never looked back.

His thirteen hole score of eight under, one of the best of the week, had the Spaniard chasing shadows and despite finishing himself with two birdies at 12 and 13, it wasn’t to be Larrazabal’s day.

His opponent in the semi-finals will be Finland’s Mikko Ilonen who defeated European Ryder Cup hero Victor Dubuisson by two holes after winning two of the last three holes in a topsy turvy contest in ever worsening conditions.

Dubuisson flew out of the traps eagling the first, but the Finn clawed his way back and on the front nine whenever either player gained an advantage, they promptly lost it in the next hole.

The Frenchman’s second eagle of the day on the 15th brought the pair level again, before he bogeyed 16 to open the door for Ilonen – a door that the Finn slammed shut at the last.

In the other half of the draw, George Coetzee was the second man through after beating Patrick Reed 2&1. South African Coetzee didn’t drop a shot in his round and finished eight under par, whilst the American couldn’t capitalise on a brilliant eagle 3 at the par five 6th, and was always chasing the game after Coetzee’s birdie on the opening hole.

Despite exchanging holes through the front nine Coetzee finally broke the shackles at the 12th as he birdied the first four holes on the back nine. Reed never rediscovered his Ryder Cup form at the London Club and duly conceded defeat as the two players pared the 17th.

He will face Henrik Stenson after a titanic all Swedish battle saw the World number five (and top seed for this event) edge out his compatriot Jonas Blixt by two holes at the 18th

Stenson bossed the front nine and but for a bogey five at the ninth would have been three up after birdies at 1, 2 and 7 after Blixt played par golf after birdieing the first.

Stenson then won 10 and 11 to lead by three – a lead that was chipped away at as Blixt birdied 13, 14 and 15 to reduce the deficit to one.

The 16th was halved in three and 17 halved in 4 before at the 18th Stenson held his nerve to clinch a two hole victory.

Incidentally for Stenson it’s proving a tough week as he’d now played at least 17 holes on every one of his four rounds so far with two of his matches finishing on the last.

So Sunday morning’s semi-finals will see Stenson play Coetzee and Ilonen take on Luiten for the right to face off in Sunday afternoon’s final.