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AUSTIN, Texas — The golf was nearly as good because it will get. Rory McIlroy made 17 birdies within the 36 holes he performed Saturday. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler rallied with six birdies in his final 9 holes to succeed in the semifinals for the third straight 12 months.
Just a little luck by no means hurts within the WGC-Dell Applied sciences Match Play. And as nice as McIlroy performed, he wanted a few of that, too.
McIlroy by no means led in his quarterfinals match in opposition to Xander Schauffele. They got here to the 18th gap all sq., and McIlroy slumped barely when he noticed his drive headed left towards the bushes. Schauffele hit his shot and rapidly picked up his tee.
Think about their shock. McIlroy stumbled on a golf ball behind a tree and figured it was his. Schauffele was strolling behind him and was surprised when McIlroy saved going.
“He hit a worse drive than I did and he ended up high-quality,” Schauffele mentioned.
He acquired no argument from McIlroy.
“I anticipated my ball to be Xander’s ball on 18 behind that tree, and I acquired lucky that mine trundled down the hill and clearly made the chip shot so much simpler,” McIlroy mentioned. “Look, you want just a little little bit of fortune in this stuff, and that was a little bit of luck for me at the moment.”
McIlroy gained with a 12-foot birdie putt, the correct ending to a match that each mentioned was a testomony to the standard of golf required. Schauffele applauded all of the pivotal putts McIlroy made to remain within the struggle.
It was like that throughout Austin Nation Membership. The ultimate model of Match Play lived as much as its edge-of-the-seat repute, with wild turns of momentum till 4 gamers remained.
Sam Burns superior by beating Patrick Cantlay in 17 holes after which overcoming an early deficit to beat Mackenzie Hughes of Canada, 3 and a couple of, to succeed in the semifinals.
Burns advances to satisfy Scheffler, his finest good friend on tour with whom he typically shares a home after they’re on the highway. Their final encounter was at Colonial final 12 months, when Burns made a 45-foot birdie putt to beat Scheffler in a playoff.
Cameron Young appeared as if he had a straightforward time, till it wasn’t. He was 3 up on the flip, missed an opportunity to go 4 up on the twelfth after which needed to go to the 18th gap earlier than he may dispatch of Bay Hill winner Kurt Kitayama.
Scheffler, who misplaced within the last in his Match Play debut in 2021, now has gained 10 straight matches. He was 2 down in opposition to J.T. Poston within the morning with 5 holes left when he birdied the seventeenth to sq. the match and gained the 18th with a par.
He was 3 down in opposition to former Match Play champion Jason Day via seven holes within the quarterfinals when he battled again, taking his first lead with a birdie on the thirteenth after which pulling away. He closed it out with a wedge to 2 inches on the seventeenth.
Scheffler mentioned he and caddie Ted Scott had a chat when Day went birdie-birdie-eagle on the entrance 9 to go 3 up. The eagle got here on a 5-wood from 282 yards to five ft on the par-5 sixth gap at Austin Nation Membership.
“Simply experience out the heater,” Scheffler mentioned. “I needed to keep affected person.”
Day started to battle with allergy symptoms on the eighth gap, after which Scheffler had a heater of his personal by making six birdies over their last 9 holes.
McIlroy reached the quarterfinals by making 9 birdies in opposition to Lucas Herbert, and it nonetheless wasn’t determined till the 18th gap.
“I acquired to overwhelmed by the very best participant on this planet in all probability enjoying the very best golf of anybody on this planet would at the moment,” Herbert mentioned. “Pushed him all the way in which to the tip. I simply did not really feel like there was a hell of much more I may have achieved.”
Schauffele made seven birdies in opposition to McIlroy, and it wasn’t sufficient.
“I wanted to dig deep,” McIlroy mentioned. “He is probably the greatest gamers on this planet. I knew I used to be going to wish to provide one thing much like this morning. I used to be 16 underneath for 2 rounds of golf. That exhibits the caliber you have to play on the market.”
Subsequent up for McIlroy is Younger, who completed forward of him at St. Andrews final 12 months with a 31 on the again 9. Younger has made 31 birdies and two eagles in his 5 matches this week. He gained his group on Friday with a 5-and-3 win. He made it via Saturday morning with a 5-and-4 rout of Billy Horschel. He was on his solution to one other romp in opposition to Kitayama.
However he missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the twelfth that might have put him 4 up. Kitayama gained the following two holes with birdies. Younger missed from 10 ft for birdie, 15 ft for eagle and 10 ft for birdie on the following three, all three putts burning the sting.
Finally, he wanted solely two putts from 15 ft on the 18th for the win. That was about the one straightforward a part of his again 9.
“I do not suppose I made a bogey at the moment and I used to be biting my nails making an attempt to win my match,” Younger mentioned. “I feel it simply exhibits you the standard of golf that is performed out right here and the way arduous it’s to get via even simply at some point like at the moment, by no means thoughts that at the moment was our fifth match.”
Day earlier on Saturday beat Matt Kuchar, leaving the 44-year-old American one match wanting the event file. Kuchar leaves sharing the mark of 36 wins with Tiger Woods.
Now it is Scheffler’s flip. Woods is the one participant to win Match Play again to again. In the future stays, and it appears like an extended solution to go.
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