Horschel reaches Match Play last 16 after ‘hanging in there’
Defending champion Billy Horschel produced a grandstand finish to become the first player into the last 16 of the WGC-DELL Technologies Match Play.
Thomas Pieters was two up with two holes to play against Horschel and seemingly on course to secure the win which would set up a play-off between the pair to decide the winner of group 12.
However, Horschel made a birdie on the 17th and was conceded another on the last after Pieters missed from close range for his own birdie.
Horschel said: "Thomas came to play today and he played a beautiful round of golf. I'm going to guess he probably shot four, five under maybe, didn't make a bogey at all. So when your opponent's not gifting you anything, then you've got to be on your game.
"I played really solid except for two holes where I hit a pitching wedge in the water on three, which is just a bad, bad swing, and then another bad swing at 13 with a three iron off the tee just trying to put it in the fairway.
"But other than that, I hung in there. I hit some really quality shots. Being two down with two to go and knowing all I needed was a half to move on to the round of 16, that's a real confidence boost to birdie the last two to get through."
Horschel will face either Matt Fitzpatrick or Scottie Scheffler in the knockout stages after Scheffler's 5 and 4 victory over Fitzpatrick left the pair tied on two points at the top of group five.
Tommy Fleetwood could have made it a three-man play-off with a victory over Ian Poulter, but lost 4 and 3 to his Ryder Cup team-mate.
Tyrrell Hatton made it three wins from three matches with victory over Daniel Berger and will face Ireland's Seamus Power in the last 16.
Power was facing his first defeat of the week against Keith Mitchell, but Patrick Cantlay's victory over Sungjae Im ensured Power would still top group four.
Results this week also mean Power will remain inside the world's top 50 ahead of Monday's deadline and receive a first invite to the Masters.
Richard Bland is also on the verge of securing a Masters debut at the age of 49 after beating Lee Westwood 2 and 1 to win group nine.