CARLSBAD, Calif. -- The semifinals of the Match Play Championship didn't have Tiger Woods, just the kind of golf everyone expected from him.
Andrew Magee and Jeff Maggert delivered the drama in a Final Four devoid of the big names, both coming from three holes down to advance to the finals and a chance to win $1 million."I came here to make 25 grand, and now we're talking about $1 million," Magee said after his 3 and 1 victory over John Huston. "We've got to have more of these match-play tournaments."
The semifinals were supposed to be a snore without marquee names like Woods, David Duval, Ernie Els and Mark O'Meara, all long departed. Maggert disposed of Woods in the quarterfinals on Friday afternoon, and showed he had plenty of game left.
Trailing by three holes with eight to play, he got the biggest roar of the day with a 40-foot eagle putt on No. 12 that started his comeback over Steve Pate. It ended on the 18th hole -- the fourth time in five matches that Maggert went the distance -- when he two-putted for par from about 30 feet.
"I feel lucky and fortunate," Maggert said of his 1-up victory. "But on the other hand, I feel really good about the way I played the last nine holes."
Maggert and Magee, who have gone at least five years without winning, will play 36 holes on Sunday at La Costa Resort to try to win the richest prize in tour history. The loser gets $500,000.
Huston and Pate will play a consolation match over 18 holes with $400,000 going to the winner and $300,000 for fourth.
"I want the victory more than just putting a few more dollars in my bank account," Maggert said.
The Final Four -- not to be confused with the Fab Four -- has only 16 PGA Tour wins and no major championships among them. Maggert is the biggest hard-luck case of them all, 12 times a runner-up with a reputation of not being able to hold the lead.
TUCSON OPEN: At Tucson, Ariz., Tommy Armour III and Barry Cheesman took different paths to leadership of the Tucson Open.
Armour, who won in Phoenix nine years ago and has been seeking his second title ever since, carded a bogey-free, 5-under-par 67 in the third round Saturday. Cheesman settled for a 69 when he bogeyed the 18th hole -- his third attempt at saving par in the last five holes.
LPGA AUSTRALIAN MASTERS: At Gold Coast, Australia, Karrie Webb already has set one LPGA record. Now she's is in position at the Australian Ladies Masters for the best finish ever on the LPGA Tour.
Webb sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the last green for a three-round total of 194, a 54-hole tour record 22-under par.
If she finishes just two under par on Sunday the Australian will break the existing record of 23-under, shared by South Korean Se Ri Pak (1998) and American Wendy Ward (1997) and Canadian Lisa Walters (1998).
ACE GROUP CLASSIC: At Naples, Fla., Allen Doyle overcame a shaky start to fire a 2-under-par 70 Saturday, extending his lead to two shots entering the final round of the Ace Group Classic seniors tournament.
The former college hockey player, whose course-record 64 gave him a one-shot lead after the first round, recovered from two bogeys in the first three holes for a two-day total of 10-under 134 at Bay Colony Golf Club.