WGC Match Play: Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth win to set up battle for group
Ryder Cup team-mates Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed will go head-to-head for a place in the last-16 of the WGC-Match Play after taking their tallies to two-from-two.
Spieth was never behind against China's Haotong Li, but heading to the 13th tee held just a slender one-hole advantage before winning three of the next four to wrap up a 4&2 victory.
Reed meanwhile trailed Charl Schwartzel at the same stage, but won holes 13, 14 and 15 before a birdie at the final hole sealed a 2up success over the former Masters champion.
With both having won their opening games, Group 4 boils down to a shootout between Spieth and Reed with both Li and Schwartzel eliminated ahead of their clash.
Group 13 will also come down to a Friday head-to-head between Alex Noren, who thrashed Thomas Pieters 5&4, and Tony Finau, who saw off Kevin Na 3&2.
Ian Poulter's bid for a place in the Masters received another boost when he beat Daniel Berger 2&1, and Tommy Fleetwood annihilated Kevin Chappell 7&6.
Poulter saw off Fleetwood on day one and will now advance from Group 9 if avoiding defeat to Chappell. Should he lose, at worst he will feature in a play-off for a last-16 spot.
The 41-year-old needs a quarter-final run to make Augusta and is yet to trail in either match.
"There's something about match play... I just love it," said Poulter, who told Sky Sports that videos posted of his Ryder Cup heroics on social media helped him identify a flaw in his putting set-up, which he's been able to correct in Austin.
Fleetwood must beat the already-eliminated Berger and hope that Poulter fails to win.
"I walked off the course [yesterday] really disappointed in myself," he told Sky Sports. "Not to take anything away from Ian because he played solid and did what he needed to do, but I putted really poor and felt like I gifted everything to him all day.
"You just sit there for an hour and think that was awful. I knew I had to work on my putting and did some work on it in the afternoon and tried to come out with a much more positive attitude."
In Group 8, all outcomes remain available after both Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen suffered defeats to follow on from opening-day victories.
Jason Dufner fought back to beat Day 3&1 while James Hahn was victorious by the same scoreline against Oosthuizen, leaving all four players on one win apiece - a four-way play-off for a last-16 place will occur if both Friday's matches are halved.
Dustin Johnson became the first high-profile casualty when he lost 4&3 to Adam Hadwin.
Johnson was poor in a first-round defeat to Bernd Wiesberger and won just one hole here, as debutant Hadwin produced a dominant display.
The Canadian shares top spot in the group with Kevin Kisner, who was a convincing 5&4 winner against Wiesberger, and the only player in Group 1 who can no longer advance is top seed and defending champion, Johnson.
Namesake Zach Johnson also crashed out in a 2up defeat to Ross Fisher, who kept his hopes of topping Group 16 alive.
Johnson was 2up early, but by the turn Fisher had levelled the game before establishing a lead of his own - one he would defend all the way to the clubhouse.
Matt Kuchar remains in pole position after a 1up win against Yuta Ikeda, and he will advance if avoiding defeat to Fisher on Friday.
Should Fisher win, the pair will play-off - and Ikeda would join them if he were to see off the already-eliminated Johnson.
Bubba Watson was the star of the show on Wednesday, and doubled up for the week with a 3&2 victory which saw Marc Leishman bow out.
Watson, so keen to earn a return to the US Ryder Cup side, trailed early but was 2up by the eighth and thereafter never looked in trouble as he took a big step towards the last 16.
With Branden Grace beating Julian Suri 2&1, Watson will progress if avoiding defeat to the latter in the final round of games in Group 11.
Rory McIlroy's bid for back-to-back titles took a turn for the better as he moved into second place in Group 6 with a 2&1 victory over Jhonattan Vegas.
After his win at Bay Hill on Sunday, McIlroy was caught napping in the first round of matches as he fell to defeat at the hands of Peter Uihlein, but he was always in control against Vegas.
With Uihlein losing 3&2 to Brian Harman, McIlroy must beat the left-hander on Friday and if he does so will be guaranteed a play-off, with the possibility of advancing without one.
Should Harman win, he will top the group while a halved match would eliminate McIlroy, but could still result in a play-off with Uihlein.
Phil Mickelson performed the day's great escape, as he won the final three holes to turn what was at one stage a four-hole deficit into a 1up victory over Satoshi Kodaira, one which keeps his hopes alive.
"I just haven't been as sharp, as focused, as upbeat," confessed Mickelson. "It was not a match I should have won."
Mickelson will need to beat Rafa Cabrera Bello on Friday if he's to hold any chance of progressing from Group 14 - and even that may not be enough after the Spaniard lost to Charles Howell III.
The latter, bidding to earn a ticket to the Masters which is played on his doorstep in Georgia, beat Mickelson on Wednesday and Cabrera Bello (3&1) on Thursday, meaning any kind of result against the eliminated Japanese would see him advance. At worst, he will face either Mickelson or Cabrera Bello in a play-off.
Jon Rahm looked set to emulate Mickelson, but a poor second shot at the final hole saw last year's beaten finalist come up short in a 1up defeat to Chez Reavie.
Having halved his first match on Thursday, Rahm sits bottom of Group 3 and can no longer qualify for the knockout stages.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat is in command after he downed Keegan Bradley 1up, which means he'll progress if avoiding defeat to Rahm, but could otherwise require a play-off with the winner of the clash between Reavie and Bradley.
Paul Casey's good form continued as he beat Kyle Stanley 4&2 to take control of Group 10.
Casey will progress if avoiding defeat to Matthew Fitzpatrick on Friday, his compatriot having lost 2&1 to Russell Henley to crash out after two days.
Group 7 comes down to a battle between top seeds Sergio Garcia and Xander Schauffele.
Garcia beat Dylan Frittelli 2up, the match sealed with a fabulous drive onto the 18th green, while Schauffele eased past Shubhankar Sharma 3&1.
It's all to play for at the top of Group 15, where all four matches were halved on day one.
Webb Simpson beat Pat Perez 2&1 while Si-Woo Kim beat Gary Woodland 5&3, and Thursday's winners will go head-to-head on Friday for a place in the last-16.
With one of them guaranteed a result of some description, that means Woodland and Perez are out.
Justin Thomas and Francesco Molinari will battle for a knockout place after winning both their opening games in Group 2.
Thomas got the better of former college team-mate Patton Kizzire 3&1 while Molinari was a 3&2 victor against Luke List.
Cameron Smith is in control of Group 5 having claimed the scalp of Hideki Matsuyama 1up, and will advance if securing a result against Yusaku Miyazoto, who lost by the same margin to Patrick Cantlay.
And in Group 12, Tyrrell Hatton is another who need only avoid defeat on Friday after a 3&2 victory over Brendan Steele, while Alex Levy beat Charley Hoffman 1up to eliminate the American.
Results
GROUP 1
Adam Hadwin def. Dustin Johnson, 4 and 3
Kevin Kisner def. Bernd Wiesberger, 5 and 4
GROUP 2
Justin Thomas def. Patton Kizzire, 3 and 1
Francesco Molinari def. Luke List, 3 and 2
GROUP 3
Chez Reavie def. Jon Rahm, 1 up
Kiradech Aphibarnrat def. Keegan Bradley, 1 up
GROUP 4
Jordan Spieth def. Haotong Li, 4 and 2
Patrick Reed def. Charl Schwartzel, 1 up
GROUP 5
Cameron Smith def. Hideki Matsuyama, 1 up
Patrick Cantlay def. Yusaka Miyazoto, 1 up
GROUP 6
Rory McIlroy def. Jhonattan Vegas, 2 and 1
Brian Harman def. Peter Uihlein, 3 and 2
GROUP 7
Sergio Garcia def. Dylan Frittelli, 2 up
Xander Schauffele def. Shubhankar Sharma, 3 and 1
GROUP 8
Jason Dufner def. Jason Day, 3 and 1
James Hahn def. Louis Oosthuizen, 3 and 1
GROUP 9
Ian Poulter def. Daniel Berger, 2 and 1
Tommy Fleetwood def. Kevin Chappell, 7 and 6
GROUP 10
Paul Casey def. Kyle Stanley, 4 and 2
Russell Henley def. Matthew Fitzpatrick, 2 and 1
GROUP 11
Bubba Watson def. Marc Leishman, 3 and 2
Branden Grace def. Julian Suri, 2 and 1
GROUP 12
Tyrrell Hatton def. Brendan Steele, 3 and 2
Alex Levy def. Charley Hoffman, 1 up
GROUP 13
Alex Noren def. Thomas Pieters, 5 and 4
Tony Finau def. Kevin Na, 3 and 2
GROUP 14
Phil Mickelson def. Satoshi Kodaira, 1 up
Charles Howell III def. Rafa Cabrera Bello, 3 and 1
GROUP 15
Webb Simpson def. Pat Perez, 2 and 1
Si-Woo Kim def. Gary Woodland, 5 and 3
GROUP 16
Matt Kuchar def. Yuta Ikeda, 1up
Ross Fisher def. Zach Johnson, 2up
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