WGC-Dell Match Play 2016: Saturday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights
The WGC-Dell Match Play progressed to the knockout phase of the tournament on Saturday after three days of pool play that whittled the field down from 64 golfers to just 16.
The last men standing had a busy Saturday ahead of them if they won. The round of 16 began on Saturday morning, with 18-hole, head-to-head matches, and for the players who won their respective rounds, they had to play the quarterfinals later in the day.
Here are the round-of-16 and quarterfinal results from Saturday's play:
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| Chris Kirk | 2 and 1 | Bill Haas |
| Rory McIlroy | 1 Up | Zach Johnson |
| Rafa Cabrera Bello | WD | Byeong-hun An |
| Brooks Koepka | 1 Up | Matt Kuchar |
| Jason Day | 3 and 2 | Brandt Snedeker |
| Ryan Moore | 4 and 3 | Patton Kizzire |
| Dustin Johnson | 3 and 2 | Patrick Reed |
| Louis Oosthuizen | 4 and 2 | Jordan Spieth |
| Rory McIlroy | 4 and 3 | Chris Kirk |
| Jason Day | 3 and 2 | Brooks Koepka |
| Rafa Cabrera Bello | 2 and 1 | Ryan Moore |
| Louis Oosthuizen | 2 and 1 | Dustin Johnson |
The tournament will conclude on Sunday with the semifinal and championship rounds as just four golfers remain:
| Rory McIlroy | vs. | Jason Day |
| Rafa Cabrera Bello | vs. | Louis Oosthuizen |
Rory McIlroy is through to Sunday's semifinal round after taking down Zach Johnson in the round of 16 and Chris Kirk in the quarterfinals.
Against Johnson, he never led by more than two as Johnson pushed him to all 18 holes in the round. Johnson tied the match on No. 10 with a par, while McIlroy bogeyed, but the favorite took back the lead on No. 13.
He was up one heading into the 18th and needed a birdie to clinch the match, and he did just that, via the PGA Tour:
The momentum built from the round of 16 carried right over to the quarterfinals for McIlroy, who experienced a more comfortable victory over Kirk at four and three.
McIlroy didn't waste much time getting ahead of Kirk, via the PGA Tour:
He padded his lead thanks to some aggressive play, which for some golfers could have derailed a round. Instead, it helped McIlroy stay ahead as the PGA Tour showed his drive on No. 13:
Jordan Spieth crashed out of the tournament early on Saturday and lost his No. 1 ranking after he was thoroughly dominated by Louis Oosthuizen at four and two.
Oosthuizen recorded three birdies on the day and was able to piece together a more consistent effort than Spieth, who had three bogeys and a double bogey on No. 11.
The South African had one of the shots of the day with this approach on No. 2, which set the tone for his win:
He followed up the upset win with a victory over Dustin Johnson, two and one, to punch his ticket to the semifinals on Sunday.
Jason Day fared better than Spieth, as he joined McIlroy and Oosthuizen in the semifinals after wins over Brandt Snedeker and Brooks Koepka.
A spot in Sunday's final rounds wasn't the only thing he gained, per ESPN's Jason Sobel:
Day never trailed in the round of 16 against Snedeker. In fact, the match was never even tied, as the new world No. 1 took the lead after Snedeker bogeyed the first hole.
Day navigated the course well with four birdies and an eagle on No. 16, which wrapped up the match.
It was much of the same against Koepka. After a small hiccup that saw him trail by one on holes six and seven, Day took the lead on No. 10 with a birdie and stayed there for the remainder of the match, which ended on No. 16.
Rafa Cabrera Bello is the last semifinalist who will be playing on Sunday. After going 3-0 in the group stage, Bello defeated Byeong-hun An and Ryan Moore on Saturday. He might have gotten an easier path to the semis, as An was his highest-ranked opponent of the day at 27th, but his ability to play Austin Country Club over the past four days makes him a dangerous opponent.
The two semifinal matches on Sunday hold varying amounts of star power. With McIlroy facing Day, it's safe to say that the winner of that match will go on to win the title. However, Oosthuizen and Bello's outings at this tournament could put just a little bit of doubt in the back of the minds of these elite golfers.
If that's the case, then anything goes heading into Sunday.
Stats courtesy of WorldGolfChampionships.com
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