Defending champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland remained undefeated in his last 10 matches in the WGC-Dell Match Play when his par on the 20th hole turned back Kevin Na to win Group 3 at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas.
Technically, McIlroy (2-0-1) earned a half because they were tied after 18 holes, but Na held a 2-up lead after five holes before the No. 3 player in the World Golf Rankings pulled even by winning the seventh and ninth holes.
They battled on even terms until Na (2-0-1) drove into trouble on the second extra hole and could not recover.
“I had a couple of opportunities to maybe finish him in regulation and had another opportunity on the first extra hole,” said McIlroy, who won seven consecutive matches on his way top the title last year at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.
“It took a mistake from him to get me over the line. Obviously that’s got me into the weekend.”
Fourth-ranked Bubba Watson was the highest-seeded player who failed to advance to the Round of 16, when he finished with a 1-1-1 record after J.B. Holmes (1-1-1) beat him, 1 up. Patton Kizzire (1-0-2) advanced from Group 4 by beating Emiliano Grillo (1-2) of Argentina, 2 up.
No. 5 Rickie Fowler (0-1-2) also went home early after halving his match with Byeong-Hun An of South Korea (1-0-2) in Group 5, in which Scott Piercy (1-0-2) earned a 1-up victory over Jason Dufner (1-2). An advanced by beating Piercy with a birdie on the first playoff hole.
Bill Haas went to 3-0 and claimed Group 6 with a 1-up victory over Adam Scott (1-1-1) of Australia, the hottest player in the world the last month, making birdie putts of about 12 feet to win the last two holes.
Top-ranked Jordan Spieth finished off Group 1 with a 3-0 record by beating his good pal, Justin Thomas, 3 and 2.
“It doesn’t hurt to have this kind of support,” said Spieth, a native Texan who played at the University of Texas in Austin. “It was nice to get off to a good start (4 up after nine holes) to get everyone going.
“When we got to the back nine along the water the crowds were huge and it was awesome.”
Jason Day of Australia, battling through a bad back, took Group 2 with a 3-0 record when Paul Casey of England conceded their match after six holes because of illness.
Also advancing outright were Matt Kuchar (2-0-1), who beat top-seeded Justin Rose (1-1-1) with a 3-and-2 victory in Group 7; Patrick Reed (3-0), who coasted to a 5-and-4 victory over Phil Mickelson (2-1) in Group 9; Brooks Koepka (2-1), who moved on despite losing to top-seeded Danny Willett of England (1-1-1) in Group 10; Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain (2-0-1), who halved his match with Hideki Matsuyama (2-1) of Japan in Group 12, and Ryan Moore (2-0-1), who defeated Lee Westwood (1-2) of England in Group 13.
Others moving on include Zach Johnson (3-0), who downed Shane Lowry (0-2-1) of Ireland, 4 and 3) in Group 14; Brandt Snedeker (2-0-1), who trounced Charl Schwartzel (2-1) of South Africa, 5 and 3 in Group 15, and Louis Oosthuizen (3-0) of South Africa, who won Group 16 with a 4-and-2.victory over Andy Sullivan (2-1) of England.
Dustin Johnson (2-1) claimed Group 8 by sinking a five-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to beat Kiradech Aphibarnrat (2-1) of Thailand after beating Jimmy Walker (1-2) in his third-round match, while Chris Kirk (2-1) got past David Lingmerth (0-2-1) of Sweden and then took down Branden Grace (2-1) of South Africa, top-seeded in Group 11, with a par on the first playoff hole.
