Final four set at Match Play
AUSTIN, Texas — Dustin Johnson had reason to be rattled.
As he walked off the 12th green Saturday afternoon at Austin Country Club, the match referee said five words Johnson had not heard all week at the Dell Technologies Match Play: “The match is all square.”
Until then, Johnson had led after each of the 71 holes he had played in this World Golf Championship.
He wasted little time responding to a rare challenge. Johnson birdied three of the next four holes for a 3-and-2 victory over Alex Noren to advance to today’s semifinals and stay on track for a potential showdown between No. 1 in the world and Jon Rahm, golf’s brightest young star.
“I wasn’t frustrated that I was all square. I was frustrated that I kind of gave 10 and 11 away,” Johnson said. “Came back strong after losing three holes in a row.”
Rahm was so dominant he played only 27 holes in two matches Saturday. He hasn’t had a match go longer than 14 holes since Thursday. And the 22-year-old rookie from Spain still hasn’t played the 18th hole since a practice round Tuesday.
“The golf I’ve played the last three matches really has been very impressive, even to myself,” Rahm said. “And it seemed to get better as I played, which is something that doesn’t happen often.”
Rahm lost only one of the 27 holes he played in his 6-and-4 victory over Charles Howell III and his 7-and-5 victory over Soren Kjeldsen in the quarterfinals.
Rahm’s semifinal is against Bill Haas, who ended Phil Mickelson’s hopes with a 2-and-1 victory.
Mickelson had advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in 13 years with a victory against Marc Leishman. He never trailed in any match until he fell behind on the first hole to Haas, and he had never led when the match ended on the
17th hole.
“I struggled making the putts that I have been making all week,” Mickelson said. “That seemed to me to be the difference.”
Johnson, going after a third straight PGA Tour title, faces one of this tournament’s biggest surprises in Hideko Tanihara of Japan.
“He looks unbeatable,” Tanihara said. “I hope he doesn’t feel good tomorrow, so maybe I have
a chance.”
Tanihara began the week by beating Jordan Spieth. On Saturday, he took down Paul Casey with two late birdies in the morning fourth round, and then he beat Ross Fisher, 4 and 2, to reach the semifinals.
Fisher left with a consolation prize. By beating Bubba Watson in the fourth round, he will move into the top 50 in the world and qualify for the Masters. Tanihara also was assured of being in
the top 50 to get into Augusta National for the first time in 10 years.
Johnson, who went to No. 1 in the world with a five-shot victory at the Genesis Open in mid-February and won the Mexico Championship — another WGC event — has looked unstoppable for a while. In Austin, none of Johnson’s five matches has gone beyond the 16th hole.
Haas is amazed to still be playing. On Friday, he was on the verge of being eliminated when he hit into a hazard in a sudden-death playoff against K.T. Kim to decide their group. Haas took a penalty drop, chipped in from 120 feet for par to halve the hole and won on the sixth extra hole. Then he had to go 18 holes to beat Kevin Na in the fourth round before taking on Mickelson.
Haas made seven birdies in that match. He figured he will need something close to that number in his semifinal against Rahm.
“He’s hungry. He wants more. You can just see it in him,” Haas said. “He’s got that thing about him that’s going to make him a big-time winner out here, and hopefully I can hang with him.”