(Austin) Defending champion Scottie Scheffler came from behind twice to win both matches and reach the semifinals of the Match Play Championship for the third year in a row on Saturday.
Rory McIlroy also hit the semis, birding 17 in two games that took 18 holes.
Sam Burns moved on to the next round with a 17-hole win over Patrick Cantlay, then erased an early deficit to beat Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes 3-2.
Burns will face Scheffler, his best friend on the circuit, with whom he often shares a roof during tournaments. Their last confrontation dates back to last year, at the Charles Schwab tournament.
Cameron Young seemed to have fun, but it wasn’t as easy as it looked. Young led by three, but had to go 18th before beating Bay Hill winner Kurt Kitayama.
Scheffler, who lost in the final of his first Championship by holeshot in 2021, is now 10 straight. The latter was two shots behind J.T. Poston in the morning, with five holes remaining. Scheffler then birdied on the 17th to even the duel, before winning on the 18th hole on par.
Scheffler was trailing by three strokes against former competition champion Jason Day after seven holes. He recovered afterwards, taking the lead for the first time with the help of a birdie in the 13th. Scheffler then never looked back.
Day began to struggle with allergies on the eighth hole, while Scheffler birdied six on the final nine holes.
Day had the chance to tie Tiger Woods by winning a third Hole Championship.
McIlroy, who beat Australian Lucas Herbert in the fourth round, never led against Xander Schauffele in the quarter-finals until the last hole. Both players were tied on the 18th hole and McIlroy went there with a 12-foot birdie.
McIlroy had nine birdies against Herbert. He made eight against Schauffele, who made seven.
McIlroy will face Young, who finished ahead of him at St. Andrews last year. Young has 31 birdies and two eagles in five games this week.
Scheffler, who is ranked No. 1 in the world, is also due to defend his Masters title in two weeks.
