Defending champion Graeme McDowell crashed out of the Volvo World Match Play Championship on a dramatic Friday at The London Club.

McDowell lost his final group game to Joost Luiten by two holes but even if he'd managed to halve it, the 2010 US Open champion wouldn't have qualified for the quarter-finals in Kent.

The other match in the Larson Group saw Mikko Ilonen edge past Alexander Levy by one hole, leaving him two points ahead of McDowell.

McDowell said: "I'm very disappointed, of course, by my defence, but (it was) quality golf out there. The golf course is set up to be ripped apart and unless you're shooting 64, 65, you're going home.

"It was a great week though. The golf course is so well set up, exciting for TV, 62s and 63s being shot, that's what this tournament is all about.

"I'm disappointed but I'm extremely positive of the way I played this week."

Luiten won the group with maximum points to set up a last-eight clash with Pablo Larrazabal, while runner-up Ilonen will play Victor Dubuisson - who won the Gabrielsson Group despite losing 2&1 to his Ryder Cup team-mate Stephen Gallacher.

Both Dubuisson and Larrazabal - who beat Ireland's Shane Lowry 2&1 - finished with four points from their three group matches, so Dubuisson topped the section courtesy of his win over the Spaniard on Wednesday.

Larrazabal was thrilled to make it through to the knockout stages.

He said: "To win that match today was the turning point in my match play career. I've been working on match play a lot to be a better match player. I know that my type of game can be a good match play game."

Paul Casey, the only Englishman in the initial field of 16, is out of the tournament after losing his final group match to Sweden's Jonas Blixt on an extra hole.

A high quality contest had finished all-square with both players 10-under-par for the round, but Casey found the water on the 19th hole and that mistake ultimately cost him.

"Paul played great, especially on the back nine," Blixt said.

"He definitely put a lot of pressure on me and snuck away with a couple of holes.

"It was just a great match.

"I talked to my caddie about it and we were like, 'this is how we want to play a golf match."

Blixt finished runner-up in the McCormack Group behind America's Patrick Reed.

Reed, who was in the United States team which lost the Ryder Cup last month, exerted a measure of revenge by winning 3&2 against Jamie Donaldson, one of Europe's heroes at Gleneagles.

He said: "Jamie's a great player and it showed, not only this week but at the Ryder Cup and other weeks. I know it wasn't over until the last putt's made and I knew he has the firepower that if he gets going, he's going to hit a lot of close ones.

"Any time you move on and get to the elimination, that means I'm playing well and doing a lot of things right.

"The first round felt like I didn't make any putts. When you lose the first one, you know your back is up against the wall and you have to win going out. To be able to play very solidly the last two rounds, especially late in the day, I made a lot of putts and today I made a lot of clutch and solid putts, which is key to match play."

A quarter-final against George Coetzee, of South Africa, is next up for Reed.

Coetzee finished second in the Palmer Group despite going down 2&1 to Francesco Molinari.

The group was won by Henrik Stenson, who clinched a 2&1 victory over Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand by holing out at the 17th to spark the biggest roar of the day from the sizeable crowd.

Stenson said: "He didn't hit the best of approaches on 17.

"So I felt like if I could stick my lob-wedge in there a little bit and try to spin it back, and came out with a nice flight and knew it was going to be pretty good - but (it was) a bonus that it went in the hole. It was a spectacular way to finish."

Stenson, the World No.5, will take on his fellow Swede Blixt in the last of Saturday's four quarter-finals.

VOLVO WORLD MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINALS

Patrick Reed v George Coetzee (11.40)

Victor Dubuisson v Mikko Ilonen (11.55)

Joost Luiten v Pablo Larrazabal (12.10)

Henrik Stenson v Jonas Blixt (12.25)