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Marana, Ariz. • Getting to the round of 16 in the Match Play Championship was all that mattered Thursday.
Jordan Spieth made it look like child's play. Graeme McDowell aged another 10 years with another stunning escape. And it proved too difficult for Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy, who lost in extra holes on another wild day at Dove Mountain.
"I thought I was dead and buried both days," McDowell said.
One day after he rallied from 3 down with three holes to play to win in overtime, McDowell was two holes behind on the 15th tee when he made an 8-foot birdie, halved the next hole with a 10-foot par, won the 17th with a birdie and then holed a 6-foot par putt on the 18th for a 1-up win over Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
In two matches, McDowell has stood on the tee with his match all square only four times — and two of those were at the start of the match.
Jason Day already has played 40 holes in two rounds. He won a tough match against Thorbjorn Olesen in the opening round, then rallied from 3 down early in his match against Billy Horschel and beat him 22 holes.
"Doesn't matter how you get it done," Day said. "Find a way to win."
The top seeds lost their way.
Stenson, the No. 1 seed, fell behind early against Louis Oosthuizen and never caught up in a 4-and-3 loss. It was the sixth straight year, dating to Tiger Woods winning the Accenture Match Play Championship in 2008, that the top seed failed to make it out of the second round.
Rose (No. 2) and McIlroy (No. 4) followed him.
In one of the best matches of the day, Ernie Els poured in one clutch putt after another to stay in the match, and then beat Rose. Golf
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Inside scoreboard
• Results from Thursday's round, C5