Woods, McIlroy head into Match Play showdown
Tiger Woods sent AUSTIN, TEXAS fans into a frenzy on Friday with a sublime stretch of golf that left them wanting more at the Dell Technologies Match Play. And that’s what they’ll get. Woods won four straight holes with three birdies and an 83-yard lob wedge that spun back into the hole for an eagle, carrying him into the weekend with a 4-and-2 victory over Patrick Cantlay. “Just got hot right when I needed it,” Woods said. It gets even better: Next up for Woods is Rory McIlroy, the hottest player in golf. McIlroy won his group by beating Matt Fitzpatrick, 4-and-2. Not only was it McIlroy’s third victory in as many matches this week at Austin Country Club, he has never trailed and has led in 37 of the 42 holes he has played. Woods and McIlroy have never faced each other in match play. The last time they squared off was in the final round last year at the Tour Championship, where Woods capped off his comeback season with a victory. “I just hope I put up a better fight than I did in Atlanta last year,” McIlroy said. “I didn’t have much of a game that day. But yeah, look, it’s exciting. It’s exciting for the tournament. I’m sure it’s going to be exciting for us. I feel good about my game. I played well all year. I’ve continued to do that this week. So it will be exciting.” Henrik Stenson emerged from the group of major champions by beating Jim Furyk, while Matt Kuchar birdied the last hole to tie Jon Rahm and win his group. The 16 group winners advance to single elimination on Saturday morning. One match dwarfed them all. Woods hasn’t competed in Texas since 2005, and he hasn’t been in the Match Play since 2013. He had to beat Cantlay and have Aaron Wise knock off Brandt Snedeker to have any chance of advancing. Woods gave away holes with a poor flop shot behind the sixth green and a mediocre chip on No. 8 to fall 2-down. Cantlay, whose tee shot on No. 9 took a hard hop and wound up in the ravine, still had a 1-up lead when it all turned on the par-three 11th. Woods holed a 20-foot birdie putt to square the match. Then, he made a seven-foot birdie putt to take the lead. Then it was time for a decision. The 13th hole played only 276 yards, over water, a stiff breeze into them. Woods could tell Cantlay was leaning toward driver, and he opted to hit iron off the tee. Cantlay’s drive was settled in a knob above the green, 40 feet from the hole for a chance at eagle. “I knew I needed to put it up there to at least have a chance at three, to force him to have a good pitch,” Woods said. It worked out to perfection. The ball stopped about five feet behind the hole on its second bounce and gently spun back toward the hole as fans in the double-decker hospitality tent behind the green rose to their feet and let out the loudest cheer of the day when it dropped. Woods then holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the 14th to go 3-up with four holes to play. Woods says he didn’t bother looking at scoreboards. Wise never trailed, was 2-up at the turn and won four of the next five holes to close out Snedeker. McIlroy, meanwhile, has a chance to return to No. 1 in the world. He still has to win four matches, though, starting with a big one on Saturday morning.