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

Two weeks away from the Masters, the WGC-Dell Match Play features 64 of the best golfers in the world split into 16 groups. The golfer who posts the best record after playing each participant in his respective group advances to the round of 16, where a traditional tournament bracket takes over. 

Here are the results from Thursday's second day of play. Note that the golfers' overall records in the tournament are listed in parentheses:

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

This is what the group stage looks like heading into the final day of pool play:

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

Don't let the sun and short-sleeved polo shirts fool you; there were some blustery conditions Thursday at Austin Country Club in Texas.

On average, players were dealing with seven to 15 mph winds, which urged players to keep their shots low to prevent them from getting caught up in the conditions.

Jordan Spieth, ranked first in the world, needed just 14 holes to dispose of Victor Dubuisson on Thursday. Dubuisson didn't have a bad day, as he parred 11 of the 14 holes, but Spieth was more aggressive and managed to string together some lower scores.

Spieth dealt with the wind well, too. The PGA Tour showed his approach on No. 10:

He felt confident once he was ahead, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com): "When you're 3 up and you're striking the ball well on a windy day with a difficult golf course, it's difficult to come from behind."

Spieth wasn't alone in grabbing the lead early and staying there.

World No. 2 Jason Day put to bed any doubts about his lower back—which he injured during his win against Graeme McDowell on Wednesday, per Steve DiMeglio of USA Today—with this monster 372-yard drive that was helped out by the wind, via the PGA Tour:

Against Thongchai Jaidee, Day controlled play for most of the round, defeating his opponent 5 and 3 in 15 holes.

Day told the PGA Tour what he did to ensure that his back stayed loose:

No. 3 Rory McIlroy earned an early win over Smylie Kaufman despite the underdog not having been eliminated on the 17th hole. With a tough chip ahead, Kaufman decided to concede the hole, and the match, to McIlroy.

The decision surprised McIlroy, but he took it, per the Golf Channel's Ryan Lavner:

Among other notable golfers, Phil Mickelson also moved to 2-0 with a win over Daniel Berger in 18 holes. Mickelson was up by as many as two before Berger tied things up at No. 7, which created a tough day for Lefty.

The PGA Tour showed Mickelson's birdie on No. 5, which lifted him to his largest lead of the day:

After the score fluctuated, things were square heading to the 18th hole, but Mickelson earned the win when Berger conceded the match after this shot attempt that led to an injury, via the PGA Tour:

Mickelson spoke shortly after the round:

Rafa Cabrera Bello, ranked 52nd in the world, is one of the most unlikely players in the tournament to be 2-0 after the second day. But when he made shots like this match-winner on No. 15, it was easy to see why he's doing well, via the PGA Tour:

With one day remaining, not many golfers are safely in the round of 16 yet, which means Friday is going to make for an exciting day of golf with many spots in the next phase of the tournament on the line.

It will be even more difficult if Austin Country Club provides the same kind of blustery conditions Friday as it did Thursday. 

If that's the case, golfers might have to limit their aggression on the course despite their desire to make it to the next round. On such a difficult course and under difficult conditions, it might be wiser to let their opponents make the mistakes and hand them opportunities to take the lead.

Stats courtesy of WorldGolfChampionships.com.