AUSTIN, Texas – Jason Day’s plan Sunday was to frustrate Rory McIlroy with his short game, getting up and down from anywhere and everywhere.
It worked to perfection, all the way until the very end, when Day holed a 13-foot par putt to hold off McIlroy, 1 up, in a showdown that lived up to its massive hype.
“It was a very, very tough match today,” Day exhaled afterward.
And there was no time to celebrate.
Day had a little more than an hour to prepare for his final opponent, Louis Oosthuizen, who dusted Rafael Cabrera Bello, 4 and 3, in the other semifinal at the WGC-Dell Match Play.