Australians Jason Day and Lucas Herbert reach round of 16 of World Golf Matchplay Championships

Jason Day (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)

The round of 16 is set at the 2023 World Golf Matchplay Championships in Austin, Texas. Of the 16 group winners who have advanced to Saturday action are two Australians–2015 PGA Championship winner Jason Day of Beaudesert, and Lucas Herbert of Bendigo, who has one PGA Tour title to his name, and that came at the 2021 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

Day, who is ranked 32nd out of 64 golfers in the event, won Group nine, while Herbert, who is ranked 46th, won Group 14. Day and Herbert were both undefeated with perfect records of three wins and zero losses. Day defeated Canadian Adam Svensson 4&2, France’s Victor Perez 2&1, and two-time major champion Collin Morikawa of the United States 4&3. Morikawa won the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 British Open. 

Herbert, who is ranked 46th, won Group 14. He beat American Russell Henley 1 up, England’s Tyrrell Hatton 2 & 1, and then another American in Ben Grffin, 3&1. There is no doubt that Herbert will be in tough in the round of 16 on Saturday. That is because his opponent will be world number three and four-time major champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland. McIlroy won the 2011 United States Open, the 2012 and 2014 PGA Championship, and the 2014 British Open.

Day meanwhile will face American Matt Kuchar on Saturday. The other six round of 16 matches have Canadian Mackenzie Hughes against American Max Homa, and five all-American matches. They are Scottie Scheffler versus J.T. Poston, Sam Burns versus Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel versus Cameron Young, Kurt Kitayama versus Andrew Putnam, and Xander Schauffele versus J.J. Spaun. Scheffler is the defending champion.

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