Match recaps from Wednesday: WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

The World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play is back. Wednesday's opening round is the first of three days of pool play. After Friday, the player with the best record in each of the 16 four-man pools will advance to knockout play. Two rounds apiece will be played Saturday and Sunday to crown a champion. Tee times were moved up two hours in anticipation of inclement weather, which could another layer to one of the year's most intriguing weeks. This is the only event where players go mano-a-mano, and Austin Country Club is a perfect site for this format thanks to its offering of risk-reward holes. Can reigning FedExCup champion Dustin Johnson win again in Austin? Can Justin Thomas go back-to-back after his PLAYERS victory? Will Collin Morikawa win a second straight World Golf Championship? Those are among the storylines we'll be tracking this week. There will be 32 matches in each of the next three days, and this file will be updated live at the conclusion of each match to keep you apprised of the action from the TOUR's only match-play event. Return here often to learn about the latest upsets, comebacks and nail-biting finishes. WEDNESDAY RECAPS GROUP 11 Ian Poulter (60) d. Rory McIlroy (11), 6 and 5 In a match of European Ryder Cup partners, McIlroy struggled mightily, and Poulter, a match-play gladiator, made sure to keep him down. McIlroy gave away the par-3 fourth (three-putt) and par-4 fifth (where his tee shot finished at the bottom of a resident's backyard pool). Poulter was 2 up at the turn and then reeled of wins on the next four holes, highlighted by an eagle-3 conceded from 8 feet at the par-5 12th. McIlroy made only two birdies, and when he chipped across the green into water from hole high at the drivable 13th, the match was over. Said Poulter: "I got 3 up in that match early (through five). Being in that position against Rory, you don't want to let him back in the match. If he gets any kind of flow, he's going to be a really tough opponent to shrug off. ... I had a stretch around the turn where I kind of kept the foot down and made it difficult."

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