2016 runner-up Louis Oosthuizen will face Kevin Kisner in the quarter-finals on Saturday after his win over Marc Leishman at the WGC-Dell Tech Match Play.
Both Oosthuizen and Kisner have bucked the trend by losing their first match and then going on to progress to the knockout phase.
The South African prevailed 2&1 after a tight battle in which both players played well and combined for 13 birdies. Oosthuizen was bogey-free 7-under for his 17 holes while Australia’s Leishman was -5.
He went 1-up after Leishman’s missed par putt from just over seven feet at the seventh hole. The 2010 Open champion then extended his lead with birdies at 9 and 10 to put some daylight between himself and his Presidents Cup teammate.
SA’s No 1, now a staggering -15 through his last 27 holes in the event, closed it out by equalling Leishman’s birdies at the 16th and 17th.
Kisner will be no pushover after he thrashed Haotong Li 6&5.
Branden Grace failed to join Oosthuizen in the last 8, despite leading 2-up through 7 holes against Spain’s Sergio Garcia.
The Spaniard rallied after a slow start and the lead changed a number of times before the Ryder Cup star took a slight lead into the stretch. Grace failed to level the match after missing a 7-foot birdie putt on the last as Garcia prevailed 1-up.
Photo: Darren Carroll/Getty Images
