Here is how things played out on Day 3 of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, as 64 players take on Austin Country Club with hopes of advancing out of pool play. Click here for Day 2 match results:
Group 1: Kevin Kisner (32) def. Dustin Johnson (1), 4 and 3: Already eliminated, the defending champion went 0-3 this week after yet another an uninspiring performance, this time against Kisner. DJ did turn heads, however, with a 489-yard drive on the 12th hole that would have been a Tour record (by 13 yards!) if statistics counted at the Match Play.
Group 1: Adam Hadwin (38) vs. Bernd Wiesberger (52), halved: After Hadwin buried a 20-footer on 17, he was stunned on the final hole. Wiesberger drew a nasty lie off the 18th fairway, but he pitched to 15 feet and then sank the putt. Hadwin’s chance to force a playoff against Kisner never had a chance, resulting in a halve and leaving him a half-point short of Kisner.
Group winner: Kevin Kisner
Group 2: Justin Thomas (2) def. Francesco Molinari (21), 7 and 5: Looking like the man to beat, Thomas put Molinari in an early 3-down hole and kept applying pressure, putting him away with seven birdies in one of the most lopsided results of the week – and in a battle of two unbeatens. Thomas can become world No. 1 by reaching the final this week.
Group 2: Patton Kizzire (48) def. Luke List (60), 4 and 2: One down through seven holes, Kizzire won four consecutive holes around the turn and coasted to his first win of the week.
Group winner: Justin Thomas
Group 3: Kiradech Aphibarnrat (28) def. Jon Rahm, 4 and 3: Unbeaten through two days, Aphibarnrat put the hammer down on Rahm, last year’s finalist. Barnrat needed only three birdies to secure the group win, while Rahm dropped to 0-2-1 for the week.
Group 3: Chez Reavie (43) vs. Keegan Bradley (63), halved: With the group already decided as they played the closing stretch, Bradley coughed up a late lead for the third consecutive round, halving the match on 18 and finishing the week with a 0-1-2 record that could (and should) have been so much better.
Group winner: Kiradech Aphibarnrat
Group 4: Patrick Reed (19) def. Jordan Spieth (4), 2 and 1: In a match that failed to live up to the pre-tournament hype, Reed built an early lead, survived a Spieth rally and then won four holes on the back nine, including a 40-footer for birdie on 17, to advance. Spieth was all out of sorts, pumping his first tee shot out of bounds, but managed four birdies to push the match late.
Group 4: Charl Schwartzel (49) def. Haotong Li (34), 3 and 2: In a match pitting two players at 0-2, Schwartzel rode an eagle-birdie-birdie stretch on the back nine to put away Li and earn his first point.
Group winner: Patrick Reed
Group 5: Patrick Cantlay (30) def. Hideki Matsuyama (5), 4 and 3: Cantlay jumped out of the gates, making birdie on four of his first six holes and burying the top seed in the group. With two points, he could have forced a playoff with Smith, but the Aussie rallied late to advance.
Group 5: Cameron Smith (46) vs. Yusaku Miyazato (53), halved: Trying to claw into the deficit, Smith missed short looks at 15 and 17 before coming to the last. Needing only a halve to win the group, Smith sank a 6-footer to earn the half-point he needed to advance.
Group winner: Cameron Smith
Group 6: Brian Harman (18) def. Rory McIlroy (6), 5 and 3: Harman took advantage of McIlroy’s missed putts and uncharacteristic mistakes to build a 3-up advantage on the front nine, then cruised to a lopsided victory. At 2-0-1, Harman wins the group, while McIlroy can begin his prep for Augusta.
Group 6: Jhonattan Vegas (44) vs. Peter Uihlein (57) def. Jhonattan Vegas (44), 4 and 3: Even though Uihlein won the first two holes on his way to routing Vegas, it wasn’t enough for the former U.S. Amateur champion to advance. He finished the week 2-1.
Group winner: Brian Harman
Group 7: Sergio Garcia (7) def. Xander Schauffele (20), 3 and 1: Two down with seven to play in this battle of unbeatens, Garcia birdied the 12th and 13th holes to square the match, then pulled ahead with a pair of birdies on 15 and 16 and a conceded birdie on 17, after Schauffele tugged his tee shot into the hazard.
Group 7: Dylan Frittelli (41) def. Shubhankar Sharma (62), 1 up: In a match with nothing at stake but a little extra cash and some world-ranking points, Frittelli shot 4 under and held off Sharma throughout to earn his first point of the week.
Group winner: Sergio Garcia
Group 8: Louis Oosthuizen (25) def. Jason Day (8), 2 up: In a tight match that didn’t feature a 2-up advantage until the end, Oosthuizen’s tee shot on 17, to 10 feet, proved to be the different. He faced Dufner in a playoff to advance, then made par on the first playoff hole to reach the Round of 16.
Group 8: Jason Dufner (42) def. James Hahn (56), 3 and 2: In a match he needed to stay alive in his group, Dufner won his first four holes and never looked back, crushing Hahn and setting up a sudden-death playoff to advance.
Group winner: Louis Oosthuizen
Group 9: Tommy Fleetwood (9) def. Daniel Berger (26), 2 and 1: Fleetwood made easy work of Berger (who went 0-3) by making six birdies on the day. Despite a 2-1 record, Fleetwood couldn’t overcome his loss to Poulter.
Group 9: Ian Poulter (58) def. Kevin Chappell, conceded: Poulter waltzed into the Round of 16 after Chappell conceded on the ninth hole because of back issues. Poulter was 3-0 in pool play.
Group winner: Ian Poulter
Group 10: Matthew Fitzpatrick (31) def. Paul Casey (10), 3 and 2: After looking unstoppable over the first two days of pool play, Casey never led against his fellow Englishman, going 3 down after five holes. It was Fitzpatrick’s first point of the week, and Casey lost on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff.
Group 10: Kyle Stanley (45) def. Russell Henley (51), 1 up: Stanley flipped an early 2-down deficit and rolled in a 10-footer birdie putt on the final hole to beat Henley and earn a full point to force the sudden-death playoff with Casey. On the second playoff hole, Stanley poured in a 5-footer for birdie to advance.
Group winner: Kyle Stanley
Group 11: Marc Leishman (11) vs. Branden Grace (23), halved: Already eliminated, Leishman kept Grace from reaching the pool-play playoff by never trailing in the match. Though the South African holed a 25-footer on 17 to extend it, both players halved the 18th hole with birdies, including a 6-footer from Leishman, to earn a half-point.
Group 11: Bubba Watson (35) vs. Julian Suri (64), halved: Needing just a half-point to advance, but two down with two to go, Bubba stuffed his tee shot on 17, then hit his driver pin-high on the home hole. After Suri couldn’t get up-and-down for birdie, Watson sank his 8-footer for the halve. It’s the second consecutive year in which Watson has won his group.
Group winner: Bubba Watson
Group 12: Charley Hoffman (22) def. Tyrrell Hatton (12), 3 and 2: After playing poorly for the first two days, Hoffman finally found his form against the previously unbeaten Hatton, making five birdies en route to a stress-free victory. Hatton won on the first playoff hole over Steele, however, after stiffing his approach to 3 feet.
Group 12: Brendan Steele (36) def. Alexander Levy (55), 3 and 1: Steele did what he needed to give himself a chance, leading the whole way and making birdie on the last three holes to force the playoff with Hatton.
Group winner: Tyrrell Hatton
Group 13: Alex Noren (13) def. Tony Finau (29), 1 up: In a battle of undefeated players, Noren broke out of a tie with a 10-foot birdie on 17, then overcame a pulled tee shot left on 18 by holing a 15-footer for par to advance.
Group 13: Thomas Pieters (39) vs. Kevin Na (61), halved: Pieters managed to birdie the last and secure a half-point among two 0-2 players.
Group winner: Alex Noren
Group 14: Phil Mickelson (14) def. Rafa Cabrera Bello (17), 1 up: Mickelson needed help to advance, but he took care of Cabrera Bello, making birdie on the last two holes to edge the Spaniard. The group was already decided, however, with Howell closing out his match while the other group played the 18th hole.
Group 14: Charles Howell III (59) def. Satoshi Kodaira (40), 2 and 1: Needing just a halve to advance, Howell won the 14th and 16th holes with par to gain a 2-up advantage and complete a perfect week in pool play. It’s the second year in a row that Howell has won his group.
Group winner: Charles Howell III
Group 15: Gary Woodland (24) def. Pat Perez, 1 up: Though the group was already decided, Woodland surrendered a 2-up lead but made a birdie when it mattered most, on the final green, to secure his first full point of the week.
Group 15: Si Woo Kim (50) def. Webb Simpson (37), 2 up: Kim led 4 up after seven holes, but he played only 2 under the rest of the way and, fortunately for him, ran out of holes. He won the group with 2 ½ points.
Group winner: Si Woo Kim
Group 16: Matt Kuchar (16) def. Ross Fisher (27), 6 and 4: Just like Wednesday, Kuchar was one of the best players on the course, playing his round in 6 under, including the usual match-play concessions. That includes an ace on the seventh hole, as Kuchar wins his group.
Group 16: Yuta Ikeda (47) vs. Zach Johnson (54), halved: In a meaningless match, Ikeda made back-to-back bogeys on 16 and 17, then halved the 18th with a birdie to earn a half-point.
Group winner: Matt Kuchar
Source: Internet
