Cabrera the man to beat

The way the HSBC World Matchplay has panned out over the past two days shows this is indeed a "world" championship. Of the four survivors, one hails from South America, one from South Africa, one from the US . . . and, with a sigh of relief, one from Europe. Four corners of the globe are covered, so to speak.

And, if you want a form player, who would bet against the South American? Angel Cabrera, who has been fairly anonymous since his US Open win in June, after which he has recorded just one finish in the top-20 on the European Tour, has returned to form with a bang over the West Course. Yesterday he ended Paul Casey's reign as champion with another devastating display of power hitting.

In inflicting a 4 and 3 loss on the Englishman, Casey's first taste of defeat in the matchplay, Cabrera produced 10 birdies and an eagle and set up a semi-final encounter with American Hunter Mahan, a comfortable 6 and 4 winner over an out-of-sorts Soren Hansen.

So, what's the reason for his end-of-season resurgence? "This is a course I love, and a tournament I really like. I feel very comfortable around this course . . . it is one of my favourites," said Cabrera, who won the PGA here two years ago.

"I found it tough to get back my form after the US Open. It gets very complicated after winning a major. You have to deal with a lot of things, answer a lot of questions. It can be tough."

Now, though, Cabrera is again playing with that panache that saw him capture the US Open in June. Yesterday Cabrera was only one-up after the opening 18 holes, despite being five-under-par. The golf was superb, Cabrera and Casey sharing 11 birdies and an eagle.

The afternoon round didn't match that standard, but Cabrera, who didn't lose a hole on the front nine, gradually gained control. By the turn, he was four-up; and an indication that it would be his day came on the 10th, when he chipped-in for par to halve the hole. "That was a big turnaround point. I thought I had lost the hole, and all of a sudden I had a half. It felt like a win."

While Cabrera is familiar with Wentworth, debutant Mahan has found the course to his liking. He didn't need to fire on all cylinders to account for Hansen, and an indication of the scrappy nature of the golf was that the fifth hole in the morning was halved in double-bogey.

Mahan was three-up after the opening 18 holes and played solidly after lunch to finally finish the match on the 14th, where he rolled in a 15-footer for birdie.