Jason Day said his game plan was to use his stellar short game to frustrate Rory McIlroy in their semi-final at the WGC-Dell Match Play on Sunday.
Mar 27, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Jason Day of Australia tees off against
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland during round six of the World Golf
Championship-Dell Match Play at the Austin Country Club. PHOTO: Reuters/
Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports
REUTERS: Jason Day said his game plan was to use his stellar
short game to frustrate Rory McIlroy in their semi-final at the
WGC-Dell Match Play on Sunday.
Day, who was already assured of regaining the world number
one ranking from American Jordan Spieth, beat South African Louis
Oosthuizen 5&4 in the final on Sunday afternoon after seeing off
McIlroy one-up at Austin Country Club.
While Day is one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour, he
also possesses a sublime short game and used it to great effect against
the Northern Irishman.
"Against Rory, all I wanted to do, if I didn’t hit it as good as him, (was) not to worry about it," the Australian said.
"I was just going to frustrate him with my short game. If I
missed the green, get up-and-down, if I hit to 20 feet or 30 feet, hole
the putt. That was my main goal."
Day accomplished his mission at the final hole, where he got
up-and-down by sinking a 12-foot putt to eliminate McIlroy, who went on
to lose 3&2 to Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello in the playoff for third
place.
"I feel like I played pretty well, good enough to win,"
McIlroy said. "Today I just didn’t hole the putts I needed to and Jason
wasn’t giving me anything either ... I think that just shows how well
Jason is playing at the minute."
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
- Reuters
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