Startling results are stars of Match Play
Needing to win the final hole to advance, Bob MacIntyre drilled a driver to three feet of the cup on the 371-yard 18th hole. Moments later, Sergio Garcia ended one of the record eight suddendeath playoffs with a hole in one.
Already the most fickle event in golf, the Dell Technologies Match Play on Friday at Austin, Texas, was an endless frenzy.
Kevin Na lectured Dustin Johnson about not waiting for a putt to be conceded — six inches — and then birdied the last two holes to oust the No. 1 player in the world. Patrick Cantlay, practically flawless with 14 birdies and an eagle over two days, managed only two birdies and lost a playoff to Brian Harman with a three-putt.
When it finally ended, Jon Rahm at No. 3 was the only player from the top 20 seeds who made it to the knockout stage of the weekend at Austin Country Club.
“You just never know what can happen out there,” Billy Horschel said after beating Max Homa on the third playoff hole.
Just about everything did.
Garcia beat Lee Westwood in the longest of the eight playoffs with a nineiron from 161 yards on the fourth hole that landed just beyond the pin and trickled back into the cup.
“Well, 28 years on tour and I thought I had seen everything. I hadn’t!” Westwood posted on Twitter.
Given how three days of group play has gone, no telling what to expect on the win-or-go-home weekend. It will include a trio of Texas Longhorns, including Jordan Spieth for the first time since 2016. He won three straight holes around the turn and, unlike Thursday when he let Matthew Wolff off the hook, Spieth managed to close out Corey Conners.
Park leads by one at Carlsbad
Inbee Park headed into the weekend still holding a one-stroke lead in the Kia Classic at Carlsbad.
Michelle Wie West shot a two-over 74 at Aviara, an improvement of seven strokes from her opening 81, missing the cut by eight shots.
Park carded a threeunder 69 for a two-round total of nine-under 155 and a one-stroke lead over Sophia Popov, who shot 68 for the second straight day. Mel Reid had a 70 and was three strokes off the lead.