Rickie Fowler stuns Jon Rahm at the WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay
Rickie Fowler shocked world No. 2 Jon Rahm by beating him 2 and 1 in the first match of the week at the WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay on Wednesday.
Fowler started patchily and lost two holes to Rahm earlier in the day but fortunes changed on the 8th hole when the current World No. 59 holed a par, narrowing down the difference between the two golfers to just 1. Rahm, who is returning to the tour after sickness, kept struggling from that point on and Fowler went on to hole three birdies on the back nine. By the par-3 17th hole, Fowler was 2 up over the Spaniard, resulting in his first victory.
A win at Austin Country Club would mean more to Fowler as he is eying an entry to the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings to secure a slot in the upcoming Masters at Augusta National next month. He needs at least a top 8 finish at WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay to qualify for Augusta National.
Fowler has struggled with his swing and form in the recent past, enough to see him drop out of the top 100 in 2021. However, he has been consistent this season with four top-20 finishes this year and looks to continue his good form at WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay.
After the match, Fowler said it was quite an uncharacteristic performance by Rahm.
"I know he didn't play very well today and struggled on the greens a bit,” Fowler told PGA Tour after the match,“… It wasn't exactly easy out there today, but yeah, just got fortunate to kind of turn it around, get in control of the match there on the back nine, and just kind of kept the throttle down.”
Other results from the WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay Day 1
Here are all the results from the WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay on Wednesday:
Group 1
Scottie Scheffler beat Davis Riley, 1-up
Tom Kim beat Alex Noren, 2 and 1
Group 2
Rickie Fowler beat Jon Rahm, 2 and 1
Billy Horschel tied Keith Mitchell
Group 3
Rory McIlroy beat Scott Stallings, 3 and 1
Denny McCarthy tied Keegan Bradley,
Group 4
Brian Harman beat K.H. Lee, 3 and 1
Patrick Cantlay beat Nick Taylor, 1-up
Group 5
Max Homa beat Justin Suh, 3 and 2
Hideki Matsuyama beat Kevin Kisner, 1-up
Group 6
Xander Schauffele beat Cam Davis, 4 and 3
Aaron Wise beat Tom Hoge, 1-up
Group 7
Andrew Putnam beat Will Zalatoris, 3 and 2
Ryan Fox beat Harris English, 2 and 1
Group 8
Si Woo Kim beat Chris Kirk, 4 and 3
Matt Kuchar beat Viktor Hovland, 3 and 1
Group 9
Jason Day beat Adam Svensson, 4 and 2
Collin Morikawa beat Victor Perez, 2 and 1
Group 10
Tony Finau beat Christiaan Bezuidenhout, 2 and 1
Adrian Meronk beat Kurt Kitayama, 2 and 1
Group 11
J.J. Spaun beat Matt Fitzpatrick, 5 and 3
Min Woo Lee beat Sahith Theegala, 1-up
Group 12
Jordan Spieth beat Mackenzie Hughes, 4 and 3
Taylor Montgomery beat Shane Lowry, 2 and 1
Group 13
Sam Burns beat Adam Hadwin, 3 and 2
Adam Scott beat Seamus Power, 1-up
Group 14
Ben Griffin beat Tyrrell Hatton, 3 and 1
Lucas Herbert beat Russell Henley, 1-up
Group 15
Corey Conners beat Sepp Straka, 6 and 5
Cameron Young beat Davis Thompson, 3 and 2
Group 16
Sungjae Im beat Maverick McNealy, 8 and 6
J.T. Poston beat Tommy Fleetwood, 3 and 2