MARANA, Ariz. -- Graeme McDowell figured his luck had run out Friday at the Match Play Championship. After two remarkable rallies to even reach the third round, McDowell missed a pair of 8-ft putts to fall 2 down with two holes to play against Hunter Mahan, who had lost only four times in 18 matches at the Golf Club of Dove Mountain. "My head went down as I walked off the 16th green. I really thought I blew it," McDowell said after yet another improbable comeback. "I genuinely thought I was done this time. I really didnt think there was any way back from that." Even he couldnt believe what followed. McDowell won the next two holes to extend the match. He made a 20-ft par putt on the 20th hole to stay alive, and then won the next hole with a 15-ft birdie putt. "Nine lives have been used up -- and then some," McDowell said. Ernie Els is 5-over par in 57 holes over three matches and he reached the quarterfinals. Jim Furyk has been at least 2 down in every match and he advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in 14 appearances. Rickie Fowler won a match that featured an 18-ft par putt conceded to him by Sergio Garcia, who felt bad because of a ruling that had taken t much time on the previous hole. The Accenture Match Play Championship always has its share of wild tales. McDowell tops them all. How else to explain how a guy can play 58 holes over three matches without ever hitting a tee shot with the lead? Most players are relieved with every match they win. McDowell felt a tinge of guilt. "Embarrassed is the wrong word. Im not embarrassed," he said. "But I just feel like Im robbing these guys." Perhaps its only fitting that his quarterfinal match is against Victor Dubuisson of France, who tk out Bubba Watson. Dubuisson has never trailed at any point this week. He plays the guy who has never led a single hole while the match was going on. In other matches: -- Furyk, getting plenty of support from his college days at Arizona, rallied from an early deficit to beat Harris English on the 18th hole. He next plays Fowler, who made birdie on the 18th for a 1-up win over Garcia. -- Jason Day, who played 40 holes over the opening two rounds, had a relatively easy time in beating George Coetzee, 3 and 1. Day will play the quarterfinals against Louis sthuizen, who was stellar in a 5-and-4 win over Webb Simpson. -- Els beat a reigning major champion for the second straight day -- U.S. Open champion Justin Rose on Thursday, PGA champion Jason Dufner on Friday. Even though he was scrappy again, the Big Easy birdied the 18th for a 1-up victory over Dufner. Now its time to play 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, who had 10 birdies on his card to take out defending champion Matt Kuchar. Els has made only nine birdies all week. The only player who had a more unlikely run to the quarterfinals in the 16-year history of this Accenture Match Play Championship was Geoff Ogilvy at La Costa in 2006. In his opening four matches, he watched 10 times as his opponent had a putt to win the match. Ogilvy went extra holes in every match until the semifinals, and he went on to win the tournament. McDowell can only hope he gets the same outcomes. "Im playing with house money," he said. McDowell was 3 down to Gary Wdland with three holes to play when he won the next three holes, and then beat him with a birdie on the 19th hole in the opening round. He was 2 down with four holes to play against Hideki Matsuyama when he won two holes, made a 10-ft par to halve another, and won the 18th with a par. It bordered on ridiculous against Mahan, who had a 16-4 record on this golf course. Unlike the opening two days, McDowell actually had a chance to take the lead with birdie chances on the eighth, ninth and 10th holes. Mahan went ahead with a birdie on the 11th, prompting McDowell to say, "Im allergic to 1 up." Hes used to being down, especially late in the match. Mahan pitched to 3 feet for birdie on the 15th, and he won the 16th when McDowell three-putted for bogey. Both players drove into the rough on the 17th, both came up short in the bunker. McDowell had 10 feet for par, Mahan was inside of that by a few feet. McDowells par putt just curled into the left side of the cup, and he slammed his putter into the bag. "Where has that been all day?" he said. His cap was removed when Mahans putt slid by, and off they went to the 18th. McDowells approach caught the ridge, and he made the 6-ft birdie for overtime. Surely, his luck figured to run out on the 20th hole, the par-4 ninth, when his 3-wd caught a deep bunker and left him no shot at the green. McDowell hit 9-iron to get over the lip and barely cleared the desert, and his third shot settled 20 feet away. He made that for par and kept going until the next hole. It was the second time McDowell has beaten Mahan in match play. The other was far more important -- the decisive match at the Ryder Cup in Wales. "I didnt really know what to say to him," McDowell said. "I said everything but sorry, you know? I didnt say, Sorry. But I felt sorry for him. I didnt feel sorry for him, I felt sorry for what had happened." Tom Rathman 49ers Jersey . -- Mike Shanahan gave Robert Griffin III a rest, and may have turned up the pressure on himself, t. Solomon Thomas 49ers Jersey . - Dominika Cibulkova erased three match points in the second set Wednesday and beat Agnieszka Radwanska 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the Sony Open. http://www.thesf49ersshoponline.com/Yout...y-49ers-Jersey/. As the only competitor to try two quads, much less complete them, Kovtun ended the day nearly nine points ahead of Japans Tatsuki Machida, who opened with a clean quad but then stepped out of the triple toe lp that was the second jump in his combination. Terrell Owens 49ers Jersey . Today, well lk at five frontcourt players today, here from the Bay Area. 1. AMIR JOHNSON (Raptors): I cant figure out what the issue or problem is, but based upon what Im seeing, hes not right. Tom Rathman Jersey .com) - The Minnesota Twins made it official on Wednesday, announcing the signing of outfielder Torii Hunter to a one-year contract. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Cam Newton wasnt flawless on Sunday. He didnt need to be. Newton threw for one touchdown and ran for another to overcome a shaky start, the defence intercepted Matt Ryan three times and the Carolina Panthers beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-10 for their fourth straight victory. Offensive tackle Jordan Gross was more impressed with Newton on Sunday than in the previous three games in which the third-year quarterback played near-perfect ball. "There were times today where he could have gotten rattled," Gross said. "He tk some shots and had some turnovers, but he didnt (get rattled). He kept on swinging." Newton entered on quite a streak, completing 77 per cent of his passes with eight touchdowns -- six passing and two rushing -- and no turnovers in his previous three games. But he had two first half interceptions and wasnt sharp on his deep balls, regularly overthrowing his receivers. "He got a little carried away early on and tried to make things happen," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said. "The ball sailed a little bit on him today and when hes doing that its because hes anxious. Hes excited. He wants to do well. Its unfortunate that he didnt bring the ball down a little bit because there were some big plays left out there." Still, Newton bounced back to throw for 249 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Greg Olsen, and also scored on an 8-yard run. Newton called his play "unacceptable." "I didnt put my best ft forward in the first half," he said. But his teammates were quick to back him up. "Everybody gets wrapped up in stats and quarterback ratings and yards per catch or whatever," Olsen said. "At the end of the day, when you go out and you win 34-10 and you are the quarterback -- you did your job." The Panthers (5-3) pulled within a game of the New Orleans Saints, who lost to the New York Jets. Fullback Mike Tolbert scored his fifth touchdown in the last four games on a 4-yard burst and cornerback Drayton Florence intercepted Ryan and returned it 38 yards for a score to seal the win. At 2-6, the Falcons post-season hopes are fading fast. The Falcons continued to struggle without Julio Jones and Roddy White. Tony Gonzalez had six catches for 81 yards and a touchdown but the running game continues to struggle as Steven Jackson and company were held to a combined 78 yards on the ground. The Panthers defence liimited Ryan to 219 yards and forced four turnovers -- three interceptions.dddddddddddd "I know Matt. Hes going to lk at this film. Hes going to obsess over it," Gonzalez said. "I have no doubt hes going to bounce back." The Panthers got a huge break early in the fourth quarter. Leading 17-10, Carolinas Brandon LaFell broke free in Atlanta territory for a big gain but had the ball punched out from behind by cornerback Asante Samuel. The Falcons had a chance to recover, but the ball bounced right back into LaFells arms while he was on the ground. Newton scored on an 8-yard run on the next play to give Carolina a 24-10 lead with nine minutes remaining. "When youre winning, things happen in your favour," LaFell said. "With all of the bad luck around here last year, that thing would have been lost. We got the luck of the bounce." The Panthers put the game away on the next possession when Florence stepped in front of Ryans pass in the flat and returned it for the score -- the first "pick 6" allowed by the Falcons since 2010, a span of 47 games. "If you play sports long enough, there will be ups and downs, and waves throughout that," Ryan said. "Ive played prly before, but its about trying to stop that at one, and moving on. I wasnt able to do that." Carolina led 14-10 at halftime despite the two interceptions by Newton. Newtons 13-quarter streak of turnover-free ftball ended when he went long for Ted Ginn Jr. and was intercepted by Desmond Trufant in the second quarter. Newton turned it over again in the final seconds of the first half on an interception by rkie Robert Alford in the back of the end zone, ending a golden scoring opportunity. Atlantas only touchdown of the game came when Ryan hked up on a 17-yard strike with Gonzalez in the back of the end zone. The Falcons might have had more, but Steven Jacksons 2-yard touchdown run was nullified on a holding penalty on lineman Garrett Reynolds forcing the Falcons to settle for a Matt Bryant field goal. NOTES: The Panthers lost starting right guard Chris Scott and backup Jeff Byers to injuries on Sunday, forcing them to use former defensive tackle Nate Chandler at that spot. ... The Panthers have led at halftime in all eight games this season. ... Jonathan Stewart had 43 yards rushing on nine carries and 22 yards receiving on three catches in his first game this season for the Panthers. ' ' '