The second day of the WGC-Dell Match play on Thursday did not correspond to the ups and downs of the first day on Wednesday, but there was a lot to do, starting with an incredible ending for world No. 1 player Dustin Johnson.
Soon we will arrive at the DJs’ match against the best in Scotland, but first we will see who will definitely go home after Friday’s final round of snooker. Justin Thomas is the biggest star in the group who was eliminated mathematically after losing to Kevin Kisner (see below) after his loss on day 1 to Matt Kuchar. It was a difficult scene for JT, who made just 37 feet of putts on 17 holes today (which is almost impossible). He was not the only one, however. No. 13, Vitkor Hovland – who won just three of the 32 holes, is also out. Like Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau and club pitcher Tyrrell Hatton.
Although these players are out, several are still alive, but some will need some help on Day 3. Let’s take a look at some of Thursday’s top games and the results of all 16 groups after Day 2 of the WGC- Dell Match Play and look to see what some of the best players need to do to advance to the round of 16.
Dustin Johnson ties with Robert MacIntyre: DJ actually followed MacIntyre for two holes in the 16th box of the tee, but made an Eagle and birdie in the last three to save the game and split a point. Incredibly, DJ led the way on Thursday, and he needed how a 17-foot birdie kept him alive at hole 17 before splitting the last one with a pair to split the match in half. Johnson now mainly controls his own destiny against Kevin Na on Friday, as a victory will guarantee him at least one sudden death playoff with MacIntyre, who will face Adam Long in the other Group 1 match.
Patrick Cantlay 1UP about Carlos Ortiz: Cantlay has been the best player in the tournament so far, even if you can’t distinguish him for his 1UP winning pair. He made six birdies and an eagle on Wednesday in his win over Brian Harman and seven more birdies on Thursday in his narrow win over Ortiz. It absolutely brightens things up for player number 10 in the world now, as he is player number 1 in this field from tee to green so far. He still has to win his game on Friday against Hideki Matsuyama to secure a trip to the round of 16, but there are far worse choices to win the whole thing now than Cantlay 9-1.
Jordan Spieth ties Matthew Wolff: This was not a great result for Spieth, who has yet to miss a hole in this event. He was 2UP with two holes to play and made an absolute horror show of both when the pair in either would probably have won the match. Now he may need to win on Friday just to enter a sudden death playoff with Wolff and quit the game of pool. Both are 1-0-1 now, and Wolff will face Matt Fitzpatrick while Spieth will go against Corey Conners. The good news for Spieth is that this was the 21st time in his last 23 measured rounds that he had won strokes in approaching shots. He has continued to blush with Augusta for two weeks.
Kevin Kisner 2UP about Justin Thomas: Kisner, who nobody chose, will play against Matt Kuchar, who even less chose, as Justin Thomas and Louis Oosthuizen were eliminated from this list on Thursday. Kisner won JT a day after having Oosthuizen, but he didn’t play very well in the process. Losing a stroke to the field that day, he received a bad round in a timely manner from JT to push him into a winning and advancing match against Kuchar. Still, it is undeniable that he is doing something right at this event.
Here’s a look at all the results of Thursday’s Day 2 games.
Final results of day 2
Group 1
Dustin Johnson drew with Robert MacIntyre
Adam Long 2 and 1 on Kevin Na
Group 2
Matt Kuchar 1UP on Louis Oosthuizen
Kevin Kisner 2 and 1 on Justin Thomas
Group 3
Jon Rahm 2UP on Shane Lowry
Ryan Palmer 2 and 1 on Sebastian Munoz
Group 4
Max Homa 2 and 1 on Collin Morikawa
JT Poston 4 and 2 on Billy Horschel
Group 5
Bryson DeChambeau 2 and 1 on Si Woo Kim
Tommy Fleetwood 4 and 3 on Antoine Rozner
Group 6
Xander Schauffele 2 and 1 during Jason Day
Scottie Scheffler drew with Andy Sullivan
Group 7
Patrick Reed 2 and 1 on Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Joaquin Niemann drew with Bubba Watson
Group 8
Sergio Garcia 3 and 2 on Tyrrell Hatton
Lee Westwood 5 and 3 on Matt Wallace
Group 9
Mackenzie Hughes 4 and 3 on Webb Simpson
Paul Casey 3 and 2 on Talor Gooch
Group 10
Patrick Cantlay 1UP about Carlos Ortiz
Brian Harman 1UP on Hideki Matsuyama
Group 11
Rory McIlroy 4 and 3 on Lanto Griffin
Ian Poulter 1 Up on Cameron Smith
Group 12
Dylan Frittelli 3 and 2 on Jason Kokrak
Tony Finau drew with Will Zalatoris
Group 13
Abraham Ancer 2 and 1 on Kevin Streelman
Bernd Wiesberger 4 and 2 on Viktor Hovland
Group 14
Brendon Todd 2 and 1 on Daniel Berger
Erik van Rooyen 2 and 1 on Harris English
Group 15
Matt Fitzpatrick 5 and 4 on Corey Conners
Matthew Wolff drew with Jordan Spieth
Group 16
Marc Leishman 2 and 1 on Sungjae Im
Russell Henley 4 and 3 on Victor Perez