Big wind and wild outcomes at Match Play

AUSTIN, TEXAS >> Soren Kjeldsen and Alex Noren won their groups in the Dell Technologies Match Play, one round before group play is even finished.

Rory McIlroy took the day off, and he’s already guaranteed the weekend off.

Thursday was as wild as it gets in this tournament, even without wind ripping so hard through the edge of Hill Country that Phil Mickelson chipped into the water and still halved the hole.

Brandt Snedeker, showing class in the midst of such exasperating conditions, conceded a 7-foot putt when Andy Sullivan’s ball rolled up toward the hole and the wind blew it back.

“I’m sure everybody saw some funny-looking shots out there,” Charles Howell III said, who kept his hopes alive with a clutch pitch and a 1-up victory.

The wind had nothing to do with a domino-effect of withdrawals that allowed Kjeldsen and Noren to get a day of rest Friday.

One after Jason Day withdrew because his mother faces surgery for lung cancer, Gary Woodland pulled out because of a personal family matter. He was scheduled to play McIlroy in the second round, and while McIlroy was conceded a victory, he was eliminated four hours later when Kjeldsen won his second straight match. Kjeldsen was to play Woodland in the third round, so he was assured of winning the group at 3-0.

And so ended McIlroy’s week — 17 holes on Wednesday when Kjeldsen beat him with four straight birdies, no golf on Thursday, and a meaningless match Friday. All that’s left is for McIlroy to decide whether to play the Houston Open next week. He has played just 13 competitive rounds this year.

Noren, meanwhile, had an easy time over Bernd Wiesberger for his second straight victory. He only had to beat Francesco Molinari on Friday, but then Molinari withdrew with a wrist injury, assuring Noren a 3-0 record and a spot in the knockout stage this weekend.

Molinari pulling out also eliminated Wiesberger and Thongchai Jaidee, who get to face each other Friday with nothing at stake.

Along with two players already advancing, 23 players from the 64-man field already are mathematically eliminated.