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Rory Mcilroy produced a great comeback to overcome Denny McCarthy on day two of the WGC-Dell Match Play to make it two wins out of two for the Northern Irishman. The win leaves him top of group three and means that a draw on day three with Keegan Bradley will be enough to seal qualification.
McCarthy, who came into the match on the back of a draw with Keegan Bradley on Wednesday, was on fire over the opening six holes and an eagle on the 6th left him three holes clear of the former world number one who hadn’t done much wrong himself. Realising he was in a game, Mcilroy then got to work and by the 10th, he was back level with the American.
The back nine was a cagey affair until Mcilroy got his nose in front for the first time on the 16th thanks to a birdie on the par-5. Victory was effectively sealed after his incredible drive on the 18th which carried all the way to the green and left McCarthy’s hopes dead and buried.
Speaking afterwards, Mcilroy said that holes 12-18 are we he can exert his advantage over anyone he plays due to the length that he has. On his incredible drive on the 18th, he added:
“I certainly didn’t expect to fly it on the green. It’s almost one of those, when there is that much downwind, it’s almost like I could have hit 3-wood to get the down slope to get the skid. Like, I was imagining the driver was going to land into the upslope and sort of stay 10, 20 yards short. But as I said, I didn’t imagine I could fly it on the green.”
One of the greatest drives you will EVER see 🤯@McIlroyRory drives the ball to 3 FEET at the 375-yard par-4 18th with a 349-yard carry to the green! pic.twitter.com/HzhMBtyKkr
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 23, 2023
A bounce-back win for Rahm
Jon Rahm has played himself back into contention in Texas after a commanding victory over Kieth Mitchell on Thursday. The Spaniard suffered a shock defeat to Rickie Fowler, who lost on day two to Billy Horschell, on the opening day which left him knowing that anything other than a win on day two would likely mean elimination.
Rahm took control of the match from the off and won seven of the first 13 holes. If he hadn’t dropped points on three and seven then the match could have been wrapped up even earlier than it eventually was. Rahm secured victory with a par on the 15th which has left him needing a win over Horschell on Friday to guarantee himself a playoff (at minimum) to qualify.
Speaking afterwards, the world number two looked ahead to his huge game with Horschell on Friday:
“Not many pairings are going to have more electricity on the course than me and Billy combined so it should be a good one.”
Three top seeds are already eliminated
Three high-profile names have been eliminated after just two rounds of the event, with Tyrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland and Will Zalatoris all playing for nothing but pride on Friday. All three men are the top seeds in their respective groups meaning they were expected to come out on top.
Hatton has endured back-to-back losses to Ben Griffin and Lucas Herbert, Hovland has lost to Matt Kuchar and Si Woo Kim, and Zalatoris has lost to Andrew Putnam and Harris English.
