MARANA, Ariz. (AP) - A brief look at the second round of the Match Play Championship on Wednesday at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain:
Match of the day: Rickie Fowler beat Jimmy Walker 1 up with an 8-foot par putt on No. 18. Neither player led by more than one hole.
Shot of the day: Ernie Els set up a match-winning birdie on the 20th hole against Justin Rose with a 75-foot shot from the collar of a bunker that hit into the bank and rolled to 4 feet.
Quote of the day: “It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime shots, really. I caught it a smidgen thin, and it just came out perfectly. It hit the bank and just trickled over to about 4 feet. It was an impossible shot, but it was obviously the right one at the time.” - Ernie Els.
Stat of the day: Nine U.S. players advanced to the third round, the most Americans to survive the first two rounds since nine also made it in 2004.
Sent packing: Top-seeded Henrik Stenson, No. 2 Justin Rose and No. 4 Rory McIlroy were eliminated in the second round. No. 3 Zach Johnson dropped out Wednesday.
Friday’s matches: Graeme McDowell vs. Hunter Mahan, Matt Kuchar vs. Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia vs. Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk vs. Harris English, Bubba Watson vs. Victor Dubuisson, Jason Dufner vs. Ernie Els, Webb Simpson vs. Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Day vs. George Coetzee.
Forecast: Friday, mostly sunny, high of 77 with wind gusting to 12 mph.
Television: Friday (EST), Golf Channel, 2-6 p.m., replay 6:30-10:30 p.m., 11 p.m.-3 a.m.
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