Patrick Cantlay holes out from edge of DRAIN on day one at WGC Match Play
Patrick Cantlay holes incredible chip shot by a drain en route to defeating Brian Harman.
Patrick Cantlay produced some golf magic of his own on day one of the WGC Match Play when holing out his chip shot for eagle from the edge of a drain on the par-4 12th hole.
Cantlay's unbelievable chip-in from 85 feet would see him move into the lead for the first time during his round-one match against US compatriot Brian Harman, and he would go on to win the match 1up.
WATCH CANTLAY'S INCREDIBLE SHOT BELOW
Drain-o. @Patrick_Cantlay with incredible touch.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/jKVZEsgEY4
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 24, 2021
Cantlay produced some of the best golf of the day at Austin Country Club by going round in 8-under par, testament to how well Harman also played to stay in the match until the final hole.
The win moves Cantlay joint top of Group 10 alongside Carlos Ortiz, who beat Hideki Matsuyama 4&3.
In the very first match of the day, Rory McIlroy was thrashed 6&5 by match play specialist Ian Poulter.
The match did not quite live up to expectations with McIlroy struggling for much of the round, but Poulter took full advantage to move straight to the top of Group 11.
It took Poulter just 13 holes to beat the four-time major champion, who was all over the place from start to finish and at the 5th hole, the Northern Irishman's pulled drive bounced off a cart path and landed in a swimming pool.
WATCH: RORY MCILROY DRIVES HIS BALL INTO A SWIMMING POOL!
An impressive way to make his PGA TOUR debut.
Antoine Rozner wins 2UP over Bryson DeChambeau.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/ULFEhYFXiX— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 24, 2021
Arguably the shock result of the day came with recent European Tour winner Antoine Rozner defeating recent PGA Tour winner Bryson DeChambeau 2up.
Incredibly, DeChambeau never nosed ahead in the match as the Frenchman performed admirably in his WGC Match Play debut.
RELATED: BRYSON SUFFERS SHOCK DEFEAT TO ROZNER
Rozner birdied the 2nd hole to move 1 up, before DeChambeau squared the match with a birdie at the 3rd. But then it was all about Rozner from there with birdies at the 4th and 9th moving him into a 2up lead at the turn.
He briefly went 3up with another birdie at the 12th, before being pegged back to 1up by the 16th, but Rozner held his nerve to birdie the final hole and see out his first ever win in the tournament.
DeChambeau will now need to win both of his next two matches against Tommy Fleetwood and Si Woo Kim in order to progress into the knockout stages over the weekend.
Cameron Smith clawed his way back from 2 down with three holes to play to beat Lanto Griffin and move joint top with Poulter in Group 11.
In other notable matches, Jon Rahm defeated Sebastian Munoz 1up to join Ryan Palmer at the top of Group 3 following his 4&2 win over Shane Lowry, while Jordan Spieth took care of Matt Fitzpatrick in the Under Armour athlete match by a 3&1 scoreline.
Dylan Frittelli produced another shock on day one when defeating Tony Finau 6&5 in Group 12, while Patrick Reed clawed his way back for a tie against Bubba Watson by winning the last two holes.
Another big shock saw pre-tournament favourite Justin Thomas defeated by US compatriot Matt Kuchar 3&2.
WGC MATCH PLAY - DAY ONE RESULTS
Group 11
Rory McIlroy lost to Ian Poulter 6&5
Cameron Smith defeated Lanto Griffin 1up
Group 6
Xander Schauffele tied with Andy Sullivan
Scottie Scheffler defeated Jason Day 2up
Group 14
Daniel Berger defeated Erik Van Rooyen 6&4
Harris English defeated Brendon Todd 1up
Group 3
Jon Rahm defeated Sebastian Munoz 1up
Ryan Palmer defeated Shane Lowry 4&2
Group 10
Patrick Cantlay defeated Brian Harman 1up
Hideki Matsuyama lost to Carlos Ortiz 4&3
Group 7
Patrick Reed tied with Bubba Watson
Joaquin Niemann tied with Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Group 15
Matt Fitzpatrick lost to Jordan Spieth 3&1
Matt Wolff defeated Corey Conners 3&1
Group 2
Justin Thomas lost to Matt Kuchar 3&2
Louis Oosthuizen lost to Kevin Kisner 2&1
Group 12
Tony Finau lost to Dylan Frittelli 6&5
Jason Kokrak defeated Will Zalatoris 1up
Group 5
Bryson DeChambeau lost to Antoine Rozner 2up
Tommy Fleetwood tied with Si Woo Kim
Group 13
Viktor Hovland lost to Kevin Streelman
Abraham Ancer defeated Bernd Wiesberger 3&2
Group 4
Collin Morikawa tied with JT Poston
Billy Horschel defeated Max Homa 1up
Group 9
Webb Simpson defeated Talor Gooch 6&5
Paul Casey lost to Mackenzie Hughes 3&2
Group 8
Tyrrell Hatton tied with Matt Wallace
Lee Westwood lost to Sergio Garcia 4&3
Group 16
Sungjae Im defeated Russell Henley 1up
Victor Perez defeated Marc Leishman 2&1
Group 1
Dustin Johnson defeated Adam Long 2up
Kevin Na lost to Robert MacIntyre 2&1
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