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Match Play: Day beats McIlroy, 1 up, faces Oosthuizen

March 27, 2016

Australian Jason Day holed a 13-foot par putt on 18 to defeat Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, 1 up, in a WGC-Dell Match Play semifinal match befitting two of best players in the world on Sunday morning.

Day, who will ascend to No. 1 in the World Ranking this week, will play South African Louis Oosthuizen in the final Sunday afternoon at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. Oosthuizen defeated Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello, 4 and 3, in the other semifinal.

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US PGA TOUR

Aside from a single hole, when Day went 2 up at 13, Day and McIlroy, the third-ranked player in the world, were never separated by more than a hole. Day took a 1 up lead into the 18th hole, where both missed the green with their second shots and faced difficult third shots that left them with fairly lengthy par putts. Day, putting first for par, holed his to end the match.

“I’m very pleased to get past Rory,” Day said. “It was a very, very tough match with Rory today.”

Oosthuizen, meanwhile, won the first hole to take a lead over Cabrera Bello that he never relinquished. “I could see he was not playing well and just wanted to hit greens and put pressure on him,” Oosthuizen said.