Mcilroy goes the distance in win
AUSTIN, Texas — Rory Mcilroy had every reason to love the long ball Thursday.
Taken to the 18th hole in the WGC-DELL Technologies Match Play, Mcilroy unleashed the shot of the tournament. He smashed a drive on the 375-yard closing hole so magnificently that it pitched on the green and rolled out to just inside 4 feet.
That all but clinched his 2-up victory over Denny Mccarthy as Mcilroy led a parade of top seeds into the final round of group play at Austin Country Club.
“It was good,” Mcilroy said with a smile, which was like saying Michelangelo did a good job on the Sistine Chapel.
He capped a rally from 3 down through six holes. Mcilroy didn’t take his first lead in the match until another power show — a big drive into the wind on the par-5 16th to set up a two-putt birdie from 18 feet.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who had to make a 12footer on the last hole to win his first match, had seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch in the middle of his match against Alex Noren for a 5-and-4 victory.
Patrick Cantlay (4), Max Homa (5) and Xander Schauffele (6) also won their matches as four of the top six seeds took a 2-0 record into Friday in a bid to win their group and advance to the knockout stage on the weekend.
The exception was Jon Rahm, who recovered from his opening round loss by driving the green on the par-4 fifth on his way to a 4and-3 victory over Keith Mitchell. That means Rahm winning his group is in his hands, as Rickie Fowler lost his match.
It capped another blustery day of momentum shifts and uncertain outcomes, typical of this format that is being played for the last time.
Matt Kuchar was on the cusp of tying Tiger Woods’ tournament record of 36 wins, but then he missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the last hole and had to settle for a halve with Chris Kirk.
PGA: Brice Garnett returned to the course of his lone PGA Tour victory and played a clean round in a steady wind for a 6-under 66 and a share of the lead with Ben Martin in the Corales Puntacana Championship. Garnett won in 2018 and has returned to the tournament every year. He prefers a steady wind and feels comfortable on the greens, and it showed. Martin matched Garnett with a bogey-free round, joining him in the lead with a birdie on the par-3 eighth and finishing with a tee shot off the rocks on the par-3 ninth that took a favorable bounce onto the green. They had a one-shot lead over Matt Wallace of England.
DP World: South Africans Darren Fichardt and Martin Vorster shared the lead at the Jonsson Workwear Open after opening with 8-under 64s. Fichardt raced out of the blocks at The Club at Steyn City, making birdies on his first two holes. Vorster came alive on the back nine, going eagle, birdie, birdie from No. 10.