It hurt to lose but John Senden and Marc Leishman left TPC Harding Park in San Francisco on the road to bigger things after career best World Golf Championships Match Play performances.
Senden progressed through to the quarter-finals before running into a red-hot Gary Woodland who was the Australian heart breaker after earlier knocking Leishman out in the round of 16.
Senden fell 5&3 to the big-hitting American who had dismissed Leishman 2&1 earlier in the day.
But the tied-9th finish for Leishman represented his third consecutive top 10 in the elite level WGC events and the tied-5th finish for Senden was a career-high in WGC tournaments for the 44-year-old.
For Senden it was also a huge step towards his goal of making the International team for the Presidents Cup as he jumped into the automatic selection zone but also showed captain Nick Price what he's capable of in the match play format.
"I lost a little bit of energy this afternoon with the long day but happy with the result as I ran into a guy who was red hot early and I couldn't get the putts to drop to match him," Senden said.
"I have to keep playing well in the big events, the majors and these to stay in a strong position for the Presidents Cup team.
"It's obviously a big goal of mine to make the team but I know I have to keep working hard to make it a reality."
With his new and improved perspective on golf following his recent near loss of wife Audrey to toxic shock syndrome, Leishman is pushing hard for a US Open berth.
Having missed the Masters to be with Audrey as she battled the illness, Leishman has targeted to be inside the world top 60 by May 25 to get an invitation to the season's second major at Chambers Bay in June.
His match play result projects to push him just inside the mark with three weeks to go.
"Obviously disappointed I didn't get through but it is still a good week and life goes on," Leishman said.
"I played pretty well and didn't let anything worry me, it certainly makes it a lot easier to think like that.
"I have played well in the bigger tournaments and now it has me excited to really step it up in the regular tour events as well. I feel like I am good enough to win more than I do."
The silver lining to the loss was Leishman is headed back home a day earlier before Audrey makes her first public appearance with him at The Players Championship next week.
"It will be great to have her and the boys there. She just had a chest x-ray and it is all clear," he said.
World No.1 Rory McIlroy and England's Paul Casey were deadlocked after 21 holes before darkness halted their quarter-final.
They will return at dawn to play sudden death for the right to play world No.5 Jim Furyk in the semi-finals while Woodland will play Englishman Danny Willett for a place in the final.
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