Day: March 26, 2022

Match recaps from Saturday: WGC-Dell Technologies Match PlayMatch recaps from Saturday: WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

Day 4 competition at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play commenced with the Round of 16, bright and early Saturday morning at Austin Country Club. The eight players to advance will complete in Saturday afternoon’s quarterfinal round, with the winners moving on to Sunday morning’s semifinal matches. Keep it here to learn how the action unfolds throughout the day at Austin CC. MATCH RECAPS (LIVE SCORES, BRACKET) ROUND OF 16 SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER (5) def. BILLY HORSCHEL (12), 1-up In a rematch of the 2021 WGC-Dell Match Play championship match, Scheffler exacted a bit of revenge with a narrow victory in a match that wasn’t determined until the final green, thrilling the fans in his college town of Austin in the process. Since his runner-up at last year’s Match Play, Scheffler has gone on a tear, winning twice on the PGA TOUR this spring in addition to Ryder Cup stardom last fall, where he defeated Jon Rahm in Sunday singles. The University of Texas product added another notch to his match-play belt on Saturday morning against the spirited Horschel. In a closely contested battle, neither player led by more than 1 up at any point. Horschel won holes 1, 4, 9 and 13; Scheffler won holes 3, 6, 10 and 12. With the match tied at the par-5 16th, Scheffler drained an 8-footer for birdie to take the 1-up lead, after Horschel had narrowly missed his birdie try from just outside. Scheffler had a chance to close the match with a 10-foot birdie try at the par-3 17th, which gave the majority of the field fits all morning, but he could not convert. With Scheffler in for par at the finishing hole, Horschel had a 12-foot birdie try to force a playoff, but it did not fall. Scheffler advances to face upstart Seamus Power in the quarterfinal round, while Horschel falls short of a successful title defense despite a 2-0-1 mark in group play and a worthy battle against one of the game’s hottest pros. SEAMUS POWER (42) def. TYRRELL HATTON (13), 4 and 3 One of the feel-good stories of this year’s WGC-Dell Match Play, Power kept the good times rolling with a decisive victory over his fellow European, closing out the match with a routine par at No. 15 after Hatton’s 27-foot birdie try to apply pressure would not drop. Power, who hails from West Waterford, Ireland, developed a reputation for his elite play on the eGolf Tour in the early 2010s before earning his TOUR card via the Korn Ferry Tour. Up-and-down form persisted as recently as 2021; a year ago this week, he stood No. 463 on the Official World Golf Ranking. Propelled by a victory at the 2021 Barbasol Championship, he steadily ascended the ranks en route to earning his first Match Play start, and he has taken full advantage. After advancing to knockout competition with a 2-1 mark in group play, Power won the first hole with a par and then caught fire with three consecutive holes won on Nos. 3-5, including two birdies, staking a 4-up lead that proved to be insurmountable. Power’s 14-foot birdie at No. 8, his fourth birdie in a five-hole stretch, pushed his lead to 5 up. Power’s lead alternated between 4 up and 5 up for the remainder of the match, but Hatton could not move within striking distance after Power’s early surge. The Englishman’s 2022 Match Play run comes to an end despite a sparkling 3-0 mark in group play, where he knocked off Si Woo Kim, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Daniel Berger.

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