Dell Technologies Match Play Group Stage Round 1
Victory Reports: Scheffler, McIlroy, Kim Siwoo, Kim Juhyung
‘Newlywed’ Im Sung-jae succeeded in gaining the upper hand.
World No. 16 Im Sung-jae defeated World No. 58 Maverick McNealy (USA) by 8 holes in the first group stage match of the World Golf Championships (WGC) Series Dell Technologies Match Play (total prize money $20 million), which kicked off on the 23rd (Korean time) at Austin Country Club (par 71, 7,108 yards) in Austin, Texas, USA. In this tournament, 64 players are divided into 16 groups and compete in a preliminary round like the World Cup soccer, after which the top player from each group advances to the round of 16 for a ‘one-on-one match’ knockout format.
Im Sung-jae is teeing off on the 8th hole in the first match of the Dell Technologies Match Play group stage. [Austin, USA=AP·Yonhap News]
Im Sung-jae created momentum by winning six consecutive holes from the 2nd hole (par 4) to the 7th hole (par 3). After conceding the 8th hole (par 4), he won the 10th to 12th holes to secure an early victory. In the same group, J.T. Poston (USA) defeated Tommy Fleetwood (England) by 3 holes.
South Korea’s Si-woo Kim, the Sony Open winner, beat Chris Kirk (USA) by 4 holes, and World No. 17 Ju-hyung Kim defeated Alex Noren (Sweden) by 2 holes. On the other hand, World No. 35 Kyung-hoon Lee lost to Brian Harman (USA) by 3 holes.
World No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler narrowly defeated Davis Riley (USA) by 1 hole after a tough battle. Other winners included World No. 3 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Jordan Spieth, Xander Schauffele, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Cameron Young, and Max Homa (all USA). However, World No. 2 Jon Rahm (Spain) was defeated by Rickie Fowler (USA) by 2 holes. Viktor Hovland (Norway) and Matt Fitzpatrick (England) also suffered defeats.
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