McIlroy rallies to survive, Spieth eliminated at WGC
Tempers flare as Bradley, Jimenez face off
when, with Hurricanes centre Ma’a Nonu in the sin bin, a show-and-go saw him break the line again and spin over the line in the tackle.
Barrett kicked his first penalty on the stroke of halftime to level up the scores at 17-17 but Slade put the visitors back in front with his second six minutes after the break.
The Hurricanes stormed back with wave after wave of attacks, however, and the Crusaders defence cracked in SAN FRANCISCO, May 2, (AP): The new Match Play Championship felt a lot like the old one Friday when one top seed after another began making plans to go home. Rory McIlroy kept some star power at TPC Harding Park with a comeback that shows why he is No. 1 in the world. After making only one birdie, McIlroy finished with three in a row. Facing elimination, he holed a 20-foot putt on the 17th to stay in the game. Another birdie followed to send it to overtime. And after another poor chip by Billy Horschel, McIlroy was on his way to the round of 16.
“I dug deep when I needed to,” McIlroy said. the 55th minute when prop Reggie Goodes forced his way over.
Slade narrowed the deficit from the kicking tee but another Barrett count- er-attack from his own half set up the try of the game, the ball passing through five pairs of hands for lock Blade Thomson to finish in the corner.
Masters champion Jordan Spieth wasn’t so fortunate. Neither was Bubba Watson, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia. Only two of the top 10 seeds - McIlroy and Jim Furyk at No. 5 - reached the round of 16 that starts Saturday with single-elimination.
Spieth was all square in a back-and-forth match with Lee Westwood that featured chip-ins for halves on consecutive holes. Westwood delivered the clutch shot with a 6iron to 12 feet for birdie on the 17th, and Spieth failed to birdie the 18th.
“Lee played well and pulled off the shots when he needed to at the end,” Spieth said. “And I didn’t.”
Furyk had to go 20 holes to beat Martin Kaymer, and then he went one extra hole as a spectator with plenty at stake. Furyk was only assured of winning his four-man group if George Coetzee beat Thongchai Jaidee. The South African won in 21 holes, and Furyk advanced because he beat Coetzee on Wednesday.
“Kind of an awkward feeling,” Furyk said.
Friday was all about elimination, and it came in all shapes and sizes - a battle of undefeated players, a three-way playoff and some head-to-head tiebreakers.
McIlroy only had to beat Horschel, whom he hadn’t faced in this format since their contentious battles in the Walker Cup in 2007 when both were young and prone to irritate each other with their celebrations. McIlroy had only one birdie until making three straight at the end (one for a halve at the 16th), but none was bigger than his 20-foot putt on the 17th.