Padraig Harrington lined himself up for a clash with world number two Vijay Singh at the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship, following a hard fought victory over Angel Cabrera over 19 holes on Thursday.
Harrington came from two down with three holes to play before beating Argentina Angel Cabrera in extra time.
Second-seeded Singh also had his work cut out, outlasting plucky Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez 2 and 1, while Goosen beat Ben Crane 2 and 1.
Tiger Woods earned a hard-fought victory over Australian Robert Allenby on Thursday to advance to the final 16. On a day when all of the remaining big guns survived, top-seeded Woods sank a seven-foot birdie at the final hole to beat Allenby 1-up, advancing along with Fiji's Vijay Singh, South African Retief Goosen and fellow American Phil Mickelson.
Crane made an unlikely hole-in-one at the 16th, but it was too little, too late, and he promptly bogeyed the next to lose the match.
Mickelson won a battle of the heavyweights when he beat John Daly. Mickelson never trailed before closing out Daly 2 and 1 in delightful conditions at La Costa.
In other matches, Chris DiMarco, defending champion David Toms, Tom Lehman and Britain's David Howell also advanced to the final 16. Toms recovered from an early deficit to beat Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal 2 and 1, while DiMarco hammered Arron Oberholser 6 and 5.
Lehman continued his recent sizzling form to outlast Australian Adam Scott 1-up, while Howell beat Scott Verplank 3 and 2.
