WGC-Dell Match Play 2016: Friday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

The final day of the group stage of the WGC-Dell Match Play at Austin Country Club in Texas was golf's form of March Madness.

In 16 groups of four golfers, only the top player in each foursome could make it to the round of 16, so many groups were still hotly contested.

Here are the results from Friday's matches, followed by the final group standings:

Group No.	Winner	Result	Loser
1	Jordan Spieth (3-0)	3 & 2	Justin Thomas (0-3)
1	Jamie Donaldson (2-1)	1 Up	Victor Dubuisson (1-2)
2	Jason Day (3-0-0)	WD	Paul Casey (0-2-1)
2	Thongchai Jaidee (1-1-1)	Halved	Graeme McDowell
3	Thorbjorn Olesen (1-2)	2 & 1	Smylie Kaufman (0-3)
3	Rory McIlroy (2-0-1)	Halved	Kevin Na (2-0-1)
4	J.B. Holmes (1-1-1)	1 Up	Bubba Watson (1-1-1)
4	Patton Kizzire (1-0-2)	2 Up	Emiliano Grillo (1-2)
5	Rickie Fowler (0-1-2)	Halved	Byeong-Hun An (1-0-2)
5	Scott Piercy (1-0-2)	1 Up	Jason Dufner (1-2)
6	Bill Haas (3-0)	1 Up	Adam Scott (1-1-1)
6	Thomas Pieters (1-1-1)	3 & 2	Chris Wood (0-3)
7	Matt Kuchar (2-0-1)	3 & 2	Justin Rose (1-1-1)
7	Anirban Lahiri (1-1-1)	4 & 2	Fabian Gomez (0-2-1)
8	Dustin Johnson (2-1)	2 & 1	Jimmy Walker (1-2)
8	Kiradech Aphibarnrat (2-1)	1 Up	Robert Streb (1-2)
9	Matthew Fitzpatrick (1-2)	WD	Daniel Berger (0-3)
9	Patrick Reed (3-0)	5 & 4	Phil Mickelson (2-1)
10	Danny Willett (1-1-1)	4 & 3	Brookes Koepka (2-1)
10	Jaco Van Zyl (1-1-1)	2 & 1	Billy Horschel (1-2)
11	Branden Grace (2-1)	5 & 4	Russell Knox (1-1-1)
11	Chris Kirk (2-1)	3 & 2	Davi Lingmerth (0-2-1)
12	Hideki Matsuyama (2-1)	3 & 2	Kevin Kisner (1-2)
12	Rafa Cabrera Bello (2-0-1)	Halved	Soren Kjeldsen (0-2-1)
13	Sergio Garcia (2-1)	5 & 4	Marc Leishman (0-2-1)
13	Ryan Moore (2-0-1)	3 & 1	Lee Westwood (1-2)
14	Zach Johnson (3-0)	4 & 3	Shane Lowry (0-2-1)
14	Martin Kaymer (2-1)	4 & 3	Marcus Fraser (0-2-1)
15	Brandt Snedeker (2-0-1)	5 & 3	Charl Schwartzl (2-1)
15	Charley Hoffman (1-2)	4 & 2	Danny Lee (0-2-1)
16	Louis Oosthuizen (3-0)	4 & 2	Andy Sullivan (2-1)
16	Bernd Wiesberger (0-2-1)	Halved	Matt Jones (0-2-1)

Place	Golfer	Record	Points
Group 1
1	Jordan Spieth*	3-0-0	3
2	Jamie Donaldson	2-1-0	2
3	Victor Dubuisson	1-2-0	1
4	Justin Thomas	0-3-0	0
Group 2
1	Jason Day*	3-0-0	3
2	Thongchai Jaidee	1-1-1	1.5
3	Graeme McDowell	0-1-2	1
4	Paul Casey	0-2-1	0.5
Group 3
1	Rory McIlroy*	2-0-1	2.5
2	Kevin Na	2-0-1	2.5
3	Thorbjorn Olesen	1-2-0	1
4	Smylie Kaufman	0-3-0	0
Group 4
1	Patton Kizzire*	1-0-2	2
2	Bubba Watson	1-1-1	1.5
3	J.B. Holmes	1-1-1	1.5
4	Emiliano Grillo	1-2-0	1
Group 5
1	Byeong-Hun An*	1-0-2	2
2	Scott Piercy	1-0-2	2
3	Rickie Fowler	0-1-2	1
4	Jason Dufner	1-2-0	1
Group 6
1	Bill Haas*	3-0-0	3
2	Adam Scott	1-1-1	1.5
3	Thomas Pieters	1-1-1	1.5
4	Chris Wood	0-3-0	0
Group 7
1	Matt Kuchar*	2-0-1	2.5
2	Justin Rose	1-1-1	1.5
3	Anirban Lahiri	1-1-1	1.5
4	Fabian Gomez	0-2-1	0.5
Group 8
1	Dustin Johnson*	2-1-0	2
2	Kiradech Aphibarnrat	2-1-0	2
3	Jimmy Walker	1-2-0	1
4	Robert Streb	1-2-0	1
Group 9
1	Patrick Reed*	3-0-0	3
2	Phil Mickelson	2-1-0	2
3	Matthew Fitzpatrick	1-2-0	1
4	Daniel Berger	0-3-0	0
Group 10
1	Brooks Koepka*	2-1-0	2
2	Danny Willett	1-1-1	1.5
3	Jaco Van Zyl	1-1-1	1.5
4	Billy Horschel	1-2-0	1
Group 11
1	Chris Kirk*	2-1-0	2
2	Branden Grace	2-1-0	2
3	Russell Knox	1-1-1	1.5
4	David Lingmerth	0-2-1	0.5
Group 12
1	Rafa Cabrera Bello*	2-0-1	2.5
2	Hideki Matsuyama	2-1-0	2
3	Kevin Kisner	1-2-0	1
4	Soren Kjeldsen	0-2-1	0.5
Group 13
1	Ryan Moore*	2-0-1	2.5
2	Sergio Garcia	2-1-0	2
3	Lee Westwood	1-2-0	1
4	Marc Leishman	0-2-1	0.5
Group 14
1	Zach Johnson*	3-0-0	3
2	Martin Kaymer	2-1-0	2
3	Shane Lowry	0-2-1	0.5
4	Marcus Fraser	0-2-1	0.5
Group 15
1	Brandt Snedeker*	2-0-1	2.5
2	Charl Schwartzel	2-1-0	2
3	Charley Hoffman	1-2-0	1
4	Danny Lee	0-2-1	0.5
Group 16
1	Louis Oosthuizen*	3-0-0	3
2	Andy Sullivan	2-1-0	2
3	Bernd Wiesberger	0-2-1	0.5
4	Matt Jones	0-2-1	0.5

In Group 3, defending champion Rory McIlroy defeated Kevin Na in sudden death after the two split the first 18 holes.

It was a tightly contested match that saw Na lead for eight holes, but McIlroy wasn't going anywhere thanks to some huge putts.

His first came on No. 9, while 2 down, which traveled 68 feet to cut his deficit, much to the disbelief of the PGA Tour:

The second was a 32-footer, which tied things up at No. 11, via the PGA Tour:

McIlroy took his first lead of the day on No. 15 with a birdie but lost it when Na recorded a birdie on No. 16. After halving the final two holes, two sudden-death holes were needed before McIlroy's par bettered Na's bogey.

McIlroy spoke with the PGA Tour after his round:

He will face Zach Johnson on Saturday. Here's a look at the complete bracket for the WGC-Dell Match Play's round of 16:

Rd. of 16	QF	SF	F
Jordan Spieth (1)
Louis Oosthuizen (16)
Patrick Reed (9)
Dustin Johnson (8)
Byeong-Hun An (27)
Rafa Cabrera Bello (52)
Ryan Moore (45)
Patton Kizzire (63)
Rory McIlroy (3)
Zach Johnson (14)
Chris Kirk (54)
Bill Haas (30)
Matt Kuchar (28)
Brooks Koepka (18)
Brandt Snedeker (15)
Jason Day (2)

Phil Mickelson, who was 2-0 entering Friday, picked a bad day to have his worst round of the tournament against 2-0 Patrick Reed. The famous lefty's day was done by the 14th hole, as Reed defeated him 5 and 4.

Mickelson's opening hole was indicative of the kind of day he was about to have, via the PGA Tour:

Reed, on the other hand, was flying, as the PGA Tour showed:

He went 7 up after his second eagle of the day on No. 10, via the PGA Tour:

Mickelson pulled one back with a birdie, but that's as close as he would get, as the match was over after the 14th hole.

Reed made a statement with two eagles and three birdies on the day. With that kind of form, he is going to be a difficult draw for Dustin Johnson, who squeaked by Kiradech Aphibarnrat in sudden death to win Group 8.

Rounding out the day, world No. 1 Jordan Spieth took care of his good friend Justin Thomas in easy fashion. The match was tied for just one hole, the first one.

The PGA Tour highlighted his first five holes:

Spieth was up by as many as four by the ninth hole before Thomas cut the deficit to two at the 15th hole. But an eagle by Spieth on No. 16 clinched the win as he moved to 3-0 for the tournament.

Now the winners of each group will move on to the round of 16, where a single-elimination format will whittle the field down to its champion.

It won't be easy, as Austin Country Club is proving to be a challenge for the field, which will have to play 36 holes each on Saturday and Sunday in order to secure the championship. Given the elimination of over half of the field, the PGA Tour will likely tinker with the course and make the holes even more difficult, too. 

If that's the case, it is going to set up a fun finish.

Stats courtesy of WorldGolfChampionships.com.