Streaking Woods advances, gets McIlroy in Match Play
Tiger Woods sent fans into a frenzy Friday with a sublime stretch of golf that left them wanting more at the Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas.
And that’s what they’ll get.
Woods won four consecutive 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.”
Woods (No. 13) and McIlroy (No. 4) were among only five top seeds to advance from their groups, joining Justin Rose (No. 2), Francesco Molinari (No. 7) and Paul Casey (10).
The World Golf Championships event now heads into single elimination, and it has a distinctive European flavor deep in the heart of Texas. A record eight Europeans have advanced to the Round of 16, breaking by one the most last done in 2013.
That includes Henrik Stenson, who emerged from the group of major champions by beating Jim Furyk. It does not include Jon Rahm, who was trying to force a playoff with Matt Kuchar until the American drove the 18th green and won with a birdie.
And for the third straight year, the weekend near the University of Texas will not include ex-Longhorn Jordan Spieth.
Spieth opened with four consecutive bogeys and was 4 down to Bubba Watson and nearly clawed his way back. He needed to win the last hole for a draw, but his drive tumbled along the edge of the bunker and dropped in the sand. Watson’s ball was headed for trouble when it clipped a tree and ricocheted back to the fairway, setting up a great pitch for birdie.
It wouldn’t have mattered. Kevin Na, on the verge of withdrawing Thursday with his sore neck, beat Billy Horschel to win the group.
Two groups had to go to playoffs, where Kevin Kisner beat Ian Poulter on the third extra hole. Poulter had beaten Kisner on Wednesday, but headto-head results do not matter in deciding ties in group play.
In the other playoff, Li Haotong hit wedge to a foot to beat Alex Noren.
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.
Cheers of “Go Tiger!” often were followed with “Go Aaron Wise.”
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-3 11th.
Woods holed a 20-foot birdie putt to square the match. Then, he made a 7-foot birdie putt to take the lead.
PGA TOUR
Likely needing to win to get a Masters spot through the world ranking, Sungjae Im rebounded from an early double bogey to take the second-round lead in the PGA Tour’s Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
A day before his 21st birthday, the South Korean player finished with his second straight 5-under 67 for a one-stroke lead at 10-under over Jonathan Byrd (67), Aaron Baddeley (67), Paul Dunne (69) and George McNeill (65).
At 59th this week, Im needs to get into the top 50 in the next ranking to play at Augusta National. The winner doesn’t earn an automatic Masters spot because the event is being played opposite the World Golf Championships event in Texas.
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo shot 79-80 to finish 127th out of the 128 players who completed two rounds.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
Kevin Sutherland and Marco Dawson each shot 7-under 65 at Fallen Oak to share the first-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ Rapiscan Systems Classic in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Sutherland eagled the par-5 sixth hole.
“I hit a good drive there and it was playing straight downwind so I only had a 6-iron to the green,” Sutherland said. “I hit exactly where I wanted to, just kind of took the slope down to the hole about four feet and made that putt.
“Made a bunch of other putts today. It was nice to roll the ball well and hit good shots.”
He dropped into a tie for the lead with a bogey on the par-3 17th. Sutherland won the 2017 Charles Schwab Cup Championship for his lone senior title.