WGC-Dell Match Play 2017: Friday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Friday was a big day at the 2017 WGC-Dell Match Play Championships, as the field of 64 got cut down to 16 for the weekend.

Because of the round-robin format in group play, stakes were elevated with players fighting for wins to secure a berth in the single-elimination round of 16 or climb back into contention and force a sudden-death playoff. 

Here are the results from Friday's matches from Austin Country Club:

Group	Matchup	Winner
1	No. 1 Dustin Johnson vs. No. 18 Jimmy Walker	Johnson 5 & 3
1	No. 41 Martin Kaymer vs. No. 58 Webb Simpson	Kaymer 3 & 2
2	No. 2 Rory McIlroy vs. No. 26 Emiliano Grillo	Halved
2	No. 33 Gary Woodland vs. No. 62 Soren Kjeldsen	Kjeldsen (Woodland withdrew)
3	No. 3 Jason Day vs. No. 28 Marc Leishman	Leishman (Day withdrew)
3	No. 43 Lee Westwood vs. No. 56 Pat Perez	Westwood 2 & 1
4	No. 4 Hideki Matsuyama vs. No. 23 Louis Oosthuizen	Oosthuizen 6 & 4
4	No. 47 Ross Fisher vs. No. 51 Jim Furyk	Fisher 4 & 2
5	No. 5 Jordan Spieth vs. No. 32 Ryan Moore	Halved
5	No. 37 Yuta Ikeda vs. No. 54 Hideto Tanihara	Tanihara 3 & 1
6	No. 6 Justin Thomas vs. No. 27 Matthew Fitzpatrick	Fitzpatrick 2 & 1
6	No. 46 Kevin Na vs. No. 49 Chris Wood	Wood 2 & 1
7	No. 7 Sergio Garcia vs. No. 21 Jon Rahm	Rahm 6 & 4
7	No. 38 Kevin Chappell vs. No. 53 Shane Lowry	Chappell 1 Up
8	No. 8 Alex Noren vs. No. 25 Francesco Molinari	Noren (Molinari withdrew)
8	No. 36 Bernd Wiesberger vs. No. 57 Thongchai Jaidee	Wiesberger 1 Up
9	No. 9 Patrick Reed vs. No. 20 Brooks Koepka	Koepka 1 Up
9	No. 34 Kevin Kisner vs. No. 59 Jason Dufner	Kisner 2 & 1
10	No. 10 Tyrell Hatton vs. No. 22 Rafa Cabrera Bello	Bello 2 & 1
10	No. 40 Jeunghun Wang vs. No. 61 Charles Howell III	Howell III 2 & 1
11	No. 11 Danny Willett vs. No. 17 Russell Knox	Willett 4 & 2
11	No. 42 Bill Haas vs. No. 64 K.T. Kim	Haas 4 & 2
12	No. 12 Paul Casey vs. No. 24 Charl Schwartzel	Casey 4 & 3
12	No. 45 Byeong Hun An vs. No. 60 Joost Luiten	Luiten 1 Up
13	No. 13 Bubba Watson vs. No. 30 Thomas Pieters	Halved
13	No. 39 Scott Piercy vs. No. 55 Jhonattan Vegas	Vegas 3 & 1
14	No. 14 Phil Mickelson vs. No. 31 J.B. Holmes	Mickelson 6 & 5
14	No. 35 Daniel Berger vs. No. 63 Si Woo Kim	Kim 1 Up
15	No. 15 Branden Grace vs. No. 19 Brandt Snedeker	Snedeker 5 & 4
15	No. 48 William McGirt vs. No. 52 Andy Sullivan	McGirt 1 Up
16	No. 16 Matt Kuchar vs. No. 29 Tommy Fleetwood	Kuchar 4 & 2
16	No. 44 Zach Johnson vs. No. 50 Brendan Steele	Johnson 1 Up

Following the final results, here are the 16 players who advanced:

Group	Winner	Record	Points
1	Dustin Johnson	3-0-0	3
2	Soren Kjeldsen	3-0-0	3
3	Marc Leishman	2-1-0	2
4	Ross Fisher	2-1-0	2
5	Hideto Tanihara	2-0-1	2.5
6	Kevin Na	2-1-0	2
7	Jon Rahm	3-0-0	3
8	Alex Noren	3-0-0	3
9	Brooks Koepka	3-0-0	3
10	Charles Howell III	2-1-0	2
11	Bill Haas	2-1-0	2
12	Paul Casey	3-0-0	3
13	Bubba Watson	2-0-1	2.5
14	Phil Mickelson	3-0-0	3
15	William McGirt	3-0-0	3
16	Zach Johnson	2-1-0	2

Phil Mickelson has been the most consistent and dominant player through the round-robin matches. He hasn't had to play more than 15 holes in any of his three matches and saved his best for last with a decisive 6 and 5 triumph over J.B. Holmes. 

Lefty pulled off his easy win by hitting two birdies and no bogeys, via the PGA Tour:

One advantage for Mickelson ending each of his three round-robin matches early is stamina. He hasn't had to exert as much energy as other players, making him well rested heading into the round of 16. 

Mickelson will be taking on Marc Leishman in the round of 16. The Australian rebounded from his loss to Pat Perez on Thursday with a sudden-death playoff win over Perez and Lee Westwood to take the top spot in Group 3.

Perez knocked himself out of contention on the second playoff hole with a six on a par four. Westwood settled for par, leaving Leishman in the clear for the win thanks to a birdie. 

One player who was having a Mickelson-like run through the first two days of play was Charl Schwartzel. The 2011 Masters winner played a total of 28 holes in wins over Joost Luiten and Byeong Hun An. 

Friday was a different story, as Paul Casey dominated Schwartzel, with Justin Ray of the Golf Channel providing the biggest difference for Schwartzel from those earlier matches:

The closest challenger on the Mickelson scale so far is Dustin Johnson, who owns this unique distinction, per Ray:

Johnson was matched up against Jimmy Walker on Friday. Johnson got up by as many as six holes before Walker was able to put a dent in things with a birdie on No. 11 and eagle on No. 12. 

Yet even with that short run, the PGA Tour highlight video showed Walker was unable to make any significant headway against Johnson:

At the rate Johnson is going this season, with four top-10 finishes and two wins, it's fair to assume he could be ready to go on a run like Jordan Spieth had in 2015 with five victories, including the Masters and U.S. Open.

Based on seeding entering the championships, Soren Kjeldsen is the Cinderella of the week so far. At No. 62, he is the lowest-ranked player to advance to the round of 16. He dominated Group 2, which included Rory McIlroy, with a perfect 3-0-0 record. 

Since the WGC Match Play Championships were established in 1999, Kevin Sutherland is the lowest seed to win the event. He defeated Scott McCarron as the No. 62 seed for his only career victory in a PGA Tour event. 

Just as McIlroy's weekend was cut short, Jordan Spieth needed a win over Ryan Moore and to have Yuta Ikeda defeat Hideto Tanihara. Neither scenario played out, as Spieth had to settle for halving his match with Moore, while Tanihara defeated Ikeda 3 and 1 to advance. 

The matches will likely intensify starting on Saturday. Players will have to endure the single-elimination round of 16 and quarterfinals before the semifinals and finals on Sunday to determine a champion.