Literally and metaphorically, Ernie Els is very much at home on the Wentworth estate.

Although he has houses in South Africa and Florida, his home - where he lives for much of the year and from where his daughter Samantha goes to school - is adjacent to the 16th fairway while his obvious liking for the West Course is unmatched in the modern era. He has reigned supreme in recent years.

The play of Els here, where he has won five World Matchplay titles, last year equalling the record held by Gary Player and Seve Ballesteros, speaks for itself. Yet, yesterday, having nervously finished his first-round match with Scott Drummond - which included hitting two drives out of bounds on the 17th, which he later referred to as "a fiasco", before going on to win 2 and 1 - Els was to experience a testing time in his quarter-final joust with Angel Cabrera before edging home on the 36th green, winning 2 and 1.

On a day when players were made to earn their money - although, to be sure, there is loads of that commodity on offer in a tournament that has the biggest first prize (£1 million) in the world of golf - by completing unfinished business from the first day before embarking on the next phase of combat, the attempt to play catch-up after the weather-affected first day didn't quite come off.

Of the four quarter-finals, three were completed, with Els and Padraig Harrington earning their berths in the top semi-final, but Lee Westwood was required to await the outcome of the match between Miguel Angel Jimenez - three up after 28 holes - and Bernhard Langer, who were due to resurface shortly after first light to resume their attrition.

Still, for Els, his ability to scrape out a result without firing on all cylinders was evident on two occasions yesterday, firstly as he overcame Drummond and, then, as he finally managed to beat Cabrera.

"I was just all over the place," conceded Els, who rode a roller-coaster that at different times saw him establish an early, three-hole lead over Cabrera only to be one down at the break and, finally, finish with two birdies to secure the win.

Els complained that he had been struggling with his swing over the past two days, apportioning blame to the cold weather at the Dunhill Links in Scotland last week.

"I've just been snatching the club away and I've just been trying to hit it too far," he said.

"I've been trying to get into a different rhythm and it is starting to get there, especially on the take-away."

In his only previous matchplay encounter with Harrington, the Irishman emerged as a winner at the 38th hole in a second-round meeting in 1999.

For Harrington, though, the thumb injury incurred on his way to beating Thomas Levet in yesterday's quarter-final was preying on his mind as much as the upcoming contest.

"You know, Ernie is the top guy to play any time. He's especially tough to play around Wentworth, his home track. And he is especially tough to play if you are not on your game or fit and ready to go."

If anyone needed to take note of the fickleness of golf, and particularly the matchplay version of the sport, then the case of Retief Goosen served as a salutary lesson.

On Thursday, Goosen defeated Jeff Maggert by a record 12 and 11 margin. Yesterday, he lost his quarter-final match to Westwood by 2 and 1. For good measure, Westwood was overcoming the effects of a head cold and sore throat in eking out his win.

Yet, the match between the pair was one of real quality with just one bogey - incurred by Westwood on the 34th hole - recorded between them.

"It was a good-quality match," said Westwood. "Retief would probably say he didn't hole as many putts as he would have liked. But it's about taking opportunities and grabbing momentum, which I did this morning by winning the last and coming out in the afternoon and winning two of the first five."

So, in his first two matches, Westwood has beaten the British Open champion, Todd Hamilton, and the US Open champion, Goosen.

If the bottom part of the draw had gone as planned, then he could have envisaged taking on the US PGA champion - and world number one - Vijay Singh in the semi-final. However, that particular scenario was upset by Bernhard Langer's win over Singh at the first extra hole when they eventually got to complete their first round yesterday.

But, in the only uncompleted quarter-final, Langer had his work cut out to overcome one of his Ryder Cup team members, with Miguel Angel Jimenez holding a three-hole lead over the German after 28 holes of their match.

Whoever manages to claim that spot against Westwood will come up against a player in confident mode.

"Yeah, it's quite difficult to beat me," he said.

"I don't give too many holes away and I'm good at holing out from inside eight feet for halves and wins. I've had a lot of good-quality matches around this course."

Quality golf obviously breeds confidence.