Monday qualifiers: RBC Canadian Open

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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ATLANTA – Paul Casey rarely looks at leaderboards while playing the front nine on a Thursday. After all, what’s the point with so little movement that early in the tournament? But five holes into the first round of the TOUR Championship, Casey took a peek. This week’s new Starting Strokes format had him intrigued. “For once, first time ever,â€� Casey said, “[it was] anticipation to see scores.â€� Casey was one of five players who started the day at 2 under, eight strokes off the lead held by FedExCup points leader Justin Thomas. After shooting a 4-under 66, he’s now at 6 under – four shots behind co-leaders Thomas, Xander Schauffele and Brooks Koepka – and has a realistic shot at winning the FedExCup at East Lake. RELATED: Big names tied atop leaderboard | Koepka to appear in ESPN’s Body Issue | How new format works for TOUR Championship In the previous format, Casey would have started the week needing a handful of scenarios to play out in his favor. In fact, a year ago, Casey arrived at East Lake ranked 26th in points. Not only did he need to win the tournament, he also needed seven different players to fall in line before he could claim the FedExCup. He entered this week ranked 16th in points. Sure, he started eight shots behind, but if he can make up the ground and beat everybody else at East Lake, the FedExCup will be his. No other scenarios need to play out. If he wins the tournament, he wins golf’s biggest prize. Pretty simple. “I guess it was a little bit strange,â€� said Casey when asked about teeing off eight shots behind. “It was nice once everybody was on the golf course.â€� Unlike previous TOUR Championships in the FedExCup era, there’s only one leaderboard needed this week. Once the leaderboard started to fill up Thursday, and players knew exactly where they stood, it seemed, well, a bit normal. “It didn’t feel that much different, to be honest with you,â€� said 2016 FedExCup champ Rory McIlroy, who started five shots behind Thomas but shot a 66 and is now just a stroke off the lead. “… I sort of had the mindset this week that I’m starting on even par, and I’m going to try to shoot a good four-round total and see where that leaves me at the end of the week.â€� Said Koepka: “You could say I played it like a five-day event. I knew I was three down and … by the time the turn comes, try to get back to all square.â€� Unlike previous TOUR Championships — in which each of the top five players in points controlled his own destiny by claiming the FedExCup title with a win – the only player wearing a target this week was Thomas. Entering with a staggered lead over the other 29 players in the field, Thomas – who won the FedExCup in 2017 by finishing solo second to Schauffele in the TOUR Championship – was the focal point. A hot start could have deflated the field. “If he came out with five straight birdies, it would be like, OK, we’re done,â€� Casey said. Instead, with Thomas shooting even par, the field is now bunched. Five players started the tournament within five shots of the lead; after the first round, there are now 12 players in that position. “If I were Justin Thomas, I would be more upset than me in my position,â€� said Charles Howell III, who opened at even par (10 shots off the lead) but shot a 68 to cut his deficit to eight. “Justin’s played phenomenal golf and has done what he’s done, and he could theoretically fall quite a bit, and I could move up, and he’s played better than I have.â€� Thomas said he didn’t think it felt weird with the lead, one he’s been sitting on since winning the BMW Championship on Sunday. “I felt I did a really good job in terms of getting myself where I need to be mentally,â€� he said. “I just didn’t quite hit enough fairways.â€� Without the need for scenarios, there is now clarity. Meanwhile, the volatility of the leaderboard certainly has made things intriguing. Top-five guys from the previous format rarely suffered a significant drop. Play poorly this week, though, and it may prove more costly. “There’s no insurance policy this week for anybody,â€� Casey said. For those in the middle and back half of the pack, aggressive play is the gameplan. Casey said he had four birdies inside 2 feet, and another inside 4 feet. “I aimed at a bunch of stuff, which I don’t always do on a Thursday,â€� he said. “I think it benefits the kind of middle of the pack in a way,â€� said Rickie Fowler, who started at 2 under but shot a 71 and is now nine shots off the lead. “Not that whoever starts in front doesn’t have a good chance of winning. They still do. You start with a little bit of a lead. But I think kind of the guys maybe in the 8 to 15 area for sure. “Before, you know, you look at Tiger winning the tournament last year, and you need a lot of things to kind of go your way in the old system to come out on top. Now you go play well, especially the first couple days, and you’re right in the thick of it, and you know exactly what you need to do. It’s not based on what someone else does.â€� For someone like Howell, there’s still a long climb before he gets into contention. But he’s got a chance. He’s also happy the Starting Strokes format gave those at the bottom of the field an acceptable score. “I’m just glad they didn’t started the leader off at even, and us at plus 10,â€� Howell said, offering a smile. “I think that would have been even more humiliating.â€�

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OLD WESTBURY, N.Y. — Jordan Spieth put together another back nine filled with birdies and built a three-shot lead going into the final round of THE NORTHERN TRUST. Spieth seized control with three straight birdies starting on the 14th hole at Glen Oaks Club. He shot 31 on the back nine for a 6-under 64 to match the low round of the tournament. Spieth has never lost on the PGA TOUR when leading by two shots or more going into the final round. Dustin Johnson holed a 4-foot birdie on the 18th hole for a 3-under 67 to cut into the deficit Saturday and get into the final pairing. Spieth shot a 30 on the back nine on Friday. The 24-year-old Texan will be going for his fourth victory this year.

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