Branden Grace of South Africa, Haotong Li of China, Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand, J.B. Holmes, Henrik Stenson of Sweden, Brandt Snedeker, Kevin Kisner and Billy Horschel knocked off players who were top-seeded in their groups on a wild second day of the WGC-Dell Match Play.
No. 40 Grace (pictured) took down No. 1 Dustin Johnson, who won this tournament two years ago, 1 up, to grab control of Group 1 at Austin Country Club www.austincountryclub.com in Austin, Texas.
“It’s always nice to beat the No. 1 player in the world,” said Grace, who earned his reputation as strong match player with a 5-0 record in the 2017 Presidents Cup. “You know you have to play solid golf and make a lot of birdies.
“This is fun. I wish there were more of these (match play) tournaments throughout the season, instead of just one. You can’t always play the golf course and try to make birdies. You have to play your opponent and just do what you have to do.”
No. 36 Li took charge in Group 3 at 2-0 by topping No. 3 Brooks Koepka, while No. 39 Aphibarnrat surprised No. 6 Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis, 2 and 1; No. 43 Holmes upset No. 8 Jon Rahm of Spain, also by 2 and 1, and No. 37 Stenson, the 2007 champion, beat No. 12 Jason Day of Australia, who has won this event twice, 4 and 3.
No. 44 Snedeker took out No 13 Tiger Woods, who was won the WGC-Match Play three times, 2 and 1; No. 48 Kisner downed No. 14 Tony Finau, 2 up, and No. 38 Billy Horschel took out No. 15 Bubba Watson, the defending champion, by 2 and 1.
In other notable matches, No. 52 Jim Furyk downed No. 20 Phil Mickelson in a battle of 48-year-olds, 1 up; No 34 Eddie Pepperell halved with fellow Englishman and No. 2 Justin Rose, and No 35 Terrell Hatton of England halved with No. 9 Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State.
Furyk and Stenson will play the only match with both players at 2-0, with the winner taking Group 12.
No. 42 Charles Howell III halved his match with No. 10 Paul Casey; No. 41 Kyle Stanley halved with No. 11 Tommy Fleetwood of England, and No. 46 Shane Lowry of Ireland halved with No. 16 Patrick Reed.
No. 4 Rory McIlroy, the 2015 champ, took control of his group at 2-0 with a 3-and-2 victory over No. 47 Justin Harding of South Africa.
“I needed to play well today to beat Justin,” said McIlroy, who never trailed and continued his strong play after winning The Players Championship two weeks ago. “He’s a very good player. I can see why he’s done well so far at the start of the year and just happy to get the win.
“It’s a nice position to be in, to control my own fate.”
Other players moving to 2-0 included No. 7 Francesco Molinari of Italy with a 4 and 3 win over Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark; No. 17 Marc Leishman of Australia, who downed No. 59 Russell Knox in Group 6; No. 22 Gary Woodland, who beat Emiliano Grillo of Argentina, 2 and 1, in Group 2; No. 23 Matt Kuchar, the 2013 winner, who routed No. 54 Si Woo Kim of South Korea, 6 and 4, and No. 26 Sergio Garcia of Spain, who trounced No. 51 Andrew Putnam of Pepperdine, 5 and 4;
The winners of all 16 groups will be determined on day three and will move on to sudden-death in the round of 16 on Saturday, and eventually only will player will remain standing on Sunday afternoon.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
