Garcia comes up aces on a frenetic Friday at Match Play
AUSTIN, Texas — Needing to win the final hole to advance, Bob MacIntrye drilled a driver to 3 feet of the cup on the 371yard 18th hole. Moments later, Sergio Garcia ended one of the record eight sudden-death playoffs with a hole-in-one.
Already the most fickle event in golf, the Dell Technologies Match Play on Friday was an endless frenzy.
Kevin Na lectured Dustin Johnson about not waiting for a putt to be conceded — 6 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 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 on the fourth hole of their playoff with a 9-iron from 161 yards to a front pin on the par-3 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.
Equally stunning was the drive of MacIntyre, the 24year-old from Scotland with plenty of spunk and loads of fight. He was 1 down against Adam Long, who was poised to advance with Johnson in the group ahead about to lose to Na.
Johnson backed away from his 6-foot par putt — Na only had 4 feet for birdie — and his caddie, brother Austin, stepped in a few feet from the cup to help read the putt. Out of nowhere, a ball shot up the left side of the bank around the green and rolled in front of the caddie’s feet.
Dustin had to mark MacIntyre’s ball so he could putt. MacIntyre was oblivious to what happened except he knew he hit the shot of his life.
“Probably one of the best and one of the luckiest golf shots I’ve hit in my life,” MacIntyre said. “You’ve just got to keep fighting until the end, and it just shows anything can happen in this game.”
Given how three days of group play has gone, no telling what to expect on the win-orgo-home weekend. It will include Dylan Frittelli of South Africa, who became the first No. 64 seed in Match Play history to make it to the weekend. Frittelli had company. Two other players seeded at No. 60 or lower made it to the knockout stage. Ian Poulter won his third straight match as the No. 60 seed, while Erik van Rooyen (62) advanced by beating Daniel Berger with a par on the second playoff hole.