Boyd Morgan with wife Sherry and daughter Sharon
On Saturday the fans were treated to a day of hard fought matches at the Austin County Club as the Dell Match Play Championship entered the elimination matches.
Friends and family made the trip to the course and enjoyed the sights. Boyd Morgan, a member of Austin Country Club followed Jason Day in the early part of the match and marveled at the power and deft touch of the players.
Click here to see more photos of spectators.
Click here to see photos of players, the course and more.
Beginning the day 16 players remained of the 64 that started the championship. The morning round eliminated eight of those players and the afternoon matches resulted in four more players exiting the stage.
Only Rory Mcllroy, the defending champion from Northern Ireland, Louis Oosthuizen from South Africa, Rafa Cabrera-Bello from Spain and Jason Day from Australia were triumphant. Each faced significant challenges along the way. Click here to see how they worked their way through the field.
Jordan Spieth shakes hands with Louis Oosthuizen after their match
Fans were disappointed when Jordan Spieth, ranked number one in the world golf rankings, lost 4&2 to Louis Oosthuizen in their morning match.
Spieth, a native Texan that a few short years ago was playing golf for the University of Texas, was naturally a favorite among the majority of the fans. After all, the tournament was in Austin, Texas. Spieth was not at his best and Oosthuizen was steady.
Johnson’s birdie putt just missed.
Oosthuizen also defeated Dustin Johnson 2&1 Saturday afternoon. Johnson had birdied the 16th hole to get to only one down. Johnson placed his tee shot six feet from the hole on the short par three 17th while Oosthuizen was about 25 feet away.
Oosthuizen made it tough for Johnson when he made the long birdie putt, forcing Johnson to make his six foot putt to advance to the 18th hole. Johnson’s putt burned the right side of the hole and missed.
Oosthuizen and Dustin Johnson shake hands after their match
Mcllroy will face Jason Day at 9:00 a.m. and Oosthuizen will play Cabrera-Bello at 9:12 a.m Sunday morning. The winners of those matches will play in the finals Sunday afternoon. The champion wins $1,600.000.
The two players who lose in the morning will play a consolation match to decide 3rd and 4th. There is quite a bit of money at stake as well as Fed Ex and World Golf Ranking points so all the players will be motivated.
Of the four players remaining, Cabrera-Bello is the least known to golf fans in the United States. But, after watching him play several matches, everyone can see his tremendous potential. He is a powerful player with a deft touch around the greens. Click here to see a swing sequence of Cabrera Bello.
Jason Day stretches on the 9th green while waiting for Brooks Koepka to putt for birdie
Jason Day has played well in spite of a troublesome back. He continued to display awesome power and towering shots in defeating Brent Snedeker in the morning and Brooks Koekpa in the afternoon. He is shown here on the 9th hole in the afternoon match stretching as he waited on Koepka’s attempt at birdie.
