McIlroy in contention at European Masters

The 64-player field is set, and the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play is ready to return to the TOUR schedule after being cancelled last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 16 groups will be filled out Monday and the draw can be watched live on the PGA TOUR's digital platforms beginning at 11 a.m. ET. Kevin Kisner returns to defend his title from 2019 after defeating Matt Kuchar 3 & 2 in the final. FIELD NOTES: Reigning FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson headlines the field. Johnson won the Match Play in 2017... Players who qualified but are not competing include Tiger Woods, Gary Woodland, Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose, and Adam Scott... Seventeen different countries are represented... Justin Thomas makes his first start since winning THE PLAYERS Championship... Jason Day hasn't won on the PGA TOUR since 2018, however, he is a two-time Match Play winner... Twenty-two golfers will be making their Match Play debuts including TOUR winners Sungjae Im, Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff alongside major champion Collin Morikawa and Korn Ferry Tour Points leader Will Zalatoris... All of the top-10 golfers in the Official World Golf Ranking are teeing it up in Austin. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 550 FedExCup points. COURSE: Austin Country Club, par 71, 7,108 yards (yardage subject to change). This marks the fifth Match Play event for the Pete Dye design. Believed to be the oldest club in Texas, the course has roots dating back to 1899 but was relocated twice before coming to its current location. The front nine is on higher ground while the back nine is on lowland alongside Lake Austin. STORYLINES: Can Kisner continue his match-play prowess? The last two times the Match Play has been contested Kisner has finished 1-2... Former Texas Longhorn Jordan Spieth is looking for some Lonestar Love this week as he looks to continue his fine play this season. Spieth struggled Sunday at THE PLAYERS but came into that week finishing T4-T3-T15-T4... Morikawa is looking to become the first golfer since Johnson in 2017 to win the first two World Golf Championships of the calendar year. Johnson won the WGC-Mexico/Match Play double that season, while Morikawa is looking to back up his WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession win... Tiger Woods is the leader in all-time matches played at the Match Play with 48. However, that record will be eclipsed by Sergio Garcia this year after the round robin play. Garcia sits at 46 matches played. Ian Poulter is at 45 matches played and could pass Garcia depending on who goes further. LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY: 9 & 8, Tiger Woods def. Stephen Ames (1st round, 2006 at La Costa Resort & Spa). LONGEST MATCH: 26 holes, Mike Weir def. Loren Roberts (1st round, 2003 at La Costa), Scott Verplank def. Lee Westwood (1st round, 2006 at La Costa) LAST TIME: Kevin Kisner birdied the first hole in the final match and never looked back, defeating Matt Kuchar 3 & 2. Kisner was 2-up through eight holes but lost the ninth to a Kuchar birdie. Kuchar made a double bogey on the par-3 11th and that sparked the beginning of the end, as Kisner won the par-4 15th. When Kuchar could only match Kisner's birdie on the par-5 16th, the victory was secured. Francesco Molinari defeated Lucas Bjerregaard (who had knocked off Tiger Woods 1-up in the semifinals) in the third-place match by a score of 4 & 2. The biggest upset came in the Round of 16 when the highest-ranked golfer left - No. 2 Justin Rose - was defeated 2-up by the lowest-ranked golfer left - No. 57 Kevin Na. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Wednesday-Friday, 2-8 p.m. (Golf Channel). Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-7 p.m. (NBC). PGA TOUR LIVE: Wednesday-Friday, 10:15 a.m.-8 p.m. ET (featured groups). Saturday, 9:45 a.m.-2 p.m. (featured groups). Sunday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (Featured Groups) Radio: Wednesday-Friday, 2-8 p.m. ET. Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tiger Woods holed a 13-foot birdie putt on his final hole Friday to guarantee that he’ll stick around for the weekend at the Wells Fargo Championship. Woods shot 73 to finish at 2-over 144. That was his only birdie as he struggled with the putter for a second consecutive day. He lost 2.9 stokes on the green Friday and has lost more than four strokes with his putter over the first two rounds. “I have to go work on it, fix it, and try to get a little more hit in my stroke,â€� said Woods, who’s 55th in the FedExCup. He missed three putts from 3-7 feet Friday, and his birdie putt at the last hole was the only putt he made from outside 10 feet. He was 1 for 5 from 10-15 feet in the second round. Woods started the week ranked eighth in Strokes Gained: Putting (+1.08). He had missed his previous two cuts at Quail Hollow, in 2010 and 2012. He also is scheduled to play next week’s THE PLAYERS Championship, which he won in both 2001 and 2013. FRIENDS HELPING FRIENDS Justin Thomas was so upset with his putting that he switched putters after Thursday’s first round. How rare is such a move? He can’t remember the last time he switched to a new putter model in the middle of a tournament. The putter is one of Rickie Fowler’s backup Scotty Cameron 2s. When asked if he’d let Thomas keep the club, Fowler said, “He only lives a few hundred yards down the street, so it won’t be too far away. But if he keeps making putts, I might have to take it back.â€� The only deterrent for Thomas may be the fact that Fowler’s name is stamped on the back. His 69 was four shots lower than Thursday’s round, and kept alive his hopes of reaching No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He needs to finish solo 12th or better to assume the top spot. He already leads the FedExCup standings after winning last year’s Cup. Thomas admitted at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play that he put pressure on himself to assume the top position in the Official World Golf Ranking. He said that he has a better outlook on the honor now. “Someone told me, and it was a great way to put it, I’m not trying to have it for a week, I’m trying to have it for a long time,â€� Thomas said. “I can’t put too much pressure on having it because it’s not like it’s just going to be once and it will be done.â€� Thomas also extended his streak of cuts made in individual tournaments to 17. He missed the cut in last week’s Zurich Classic, but that was his first MC since last year’s Open Championship. He has nine top-10s in those 17 events, including four wins. He’s finished outside the top 25 just twice. Thomas could take over the No. 1 ranking the day after his home state’s largest sporting event, the Kentucky Derby, and take it into one of his favorite events. He shot a 65 in each of his first two PLAYERS Championships and finished third in 2016. NOTABLES Sam Burns went eagle-birdie-birdie on Nos. 7-9 to shoot 31 and take the lead at 7 under. He bogeyed three of his final four holes to shoot 70, though. He’ll still enter the weekend in the top 10. He’ll earn special temporary membership if he can stay there by Sunday evening. Burns needs 80 points to earn that status, which will allow him to accept unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the season. If he doesn’t his time on TOUR will be limited, at least for the time being. He’ll use the last of his seven allotted sponsor exemptions at the Fort Worth Invitational, then will play the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. He’s in that event as the winner of last year’s Nicklaus Award, which is given to the college player of the year. Burns has a TOUR card for next season all but locked up. He’s fifth on the Web.com Tour money list after winning the Savannah Golf Championship. Quail Hollow member Johnson Wagner shot even par on Friday after shooting a first-round 67 that included back-to-back eagles. “Playing late Saturday in my home tournament, I couldn’t be happier,â€� he said.

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