RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Tony Finau won the Puerto Rico Open on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, beating Steve Marino with a birdie on the third hole of a playoff at windy Coco Beach.

The 26-year-old Finau won with his third straight birdie in the playoff on the par-5 18th, blasting out of the back bunker to 3 feet.

“I think I’m still a little bit overwhelmed,” Finau said. “It probably hasn’t all sunk in.”

Marino was just off the back edge of the green in two, but left his putt from the fringe 4 1/2 short and missed his birdie try to the right.

“I finally played the hole like you’re supposed to,” Marino said. “I hit the fairway and then hit it on the back fringe. I didn’t think that putt was going to be that slow and then I just hit a poor putt on the second putt. Pretty disappointing, played really well.”

Finau and Marino each shot 2-under 70 to finish at 12-under 276. Marino birdied the 18th to tie Finau, and got into the playoff when Finau missed a 6-foot birdie putt.

“In regulation, it was a putt that I kind of dreamed of making my whole life,” Finau said. “It’s a putt that you practice for your first PGA Tour victory or just for any PGA Tour victory, so I was a little bit bummed that that sneaked by the hole because I hit a really good putt. But I was happy I had another chance at it and was able to make the second one.”

Finau and Marino each birdied the 18th on the first two playoff holes.

On the first extra hole, Marino got up-and-down from the left bunker, blasting to 8 feet. Finau pitched to a foot from left of the green. On the second, Marino hit a flop shot over the right-side bunker to 10 feet, and Finau pitched to 6 feet from in front of the green.

Marino is winless on the PGA Tour. He also lost in a playoff in the 2009 Colonial.

Finau birdied four of the first 10 holes to reach 14 under, then dropped back with bogeys on the par-3 11th and par-5 15th.

The long-hitting Finau, a 6-foot-4 former Utah high school basketball star, is in his second full season on the PGA Tour. He’s the cousin of Milwaukee Bucks player Jabari Parker.

“I tried to just stay in the moment really,” Finau said. “That’s what I learned from last year. You can never look too far ahead and you can’t look back, either. You’ve got to focus on the here and now. I did a really good job of that today even though that putt slipped by in regulation for the win, I knew I still didn’t lose the tournament. I needed to refocus and get ready to play 18 again. That’s what it takes out here I feel like to win. And now that I have that feeling, it’s pretty special.”

Ian Poulter and Mexico’s Rodolfo Cazaubon finished a stroke out of the playoff.

Pouler closed with a 72, missing an 18-foot birdie putt on 18. Playing the event for the first time after failing to get into the Match Play tournament in Texas as the first alternate, the Englishman took a one-stroke lead into the final round.

“It’s a shame. Just slightly disappointing,” Poulter said. “I’m continuing to work on the game to try and improve, and I know if I rectify a couple of poor shots, then my game will improve. Obviously, hitting shots slightly too far right at certain times is costly.”

Cazaubon shot a 68. The Web.com Tour player was making his third PGA Tour start.

“I’m really happy,” Cazaubon said. “I guess I feel really comfortable since the beginning. I didn’t have anything to lose because I play on the Web. I just came here to have some fun here.”

Abbotsford, B.C., product Nick Taylor closed with a 70 to finish T5 at 10-under alongside Andres Romero (67) and Scott Brown (71). Puerto Rico’s Rafael Campos, the leader after each of the first two rounds, was another stroke back after a 72.

Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., carded a 71 to reach 8-under and a share of 11th place. Surrey, B.C., native Adam Svensson shot 73 and finished in a tie for 47th.

AUSTIN, Texas – Jason Day made his return to No. 1 in the world feel even sweeter Sunday by winning the Dell Match Play.

Day outlasted Rory McIlroy in an epic battle in the morning semifinals by making a 12-foot par putt on the 18th hole. The championship match against Louis Oosthuizen turned into a victory lap at Austin Country Club.

And to think Day thought about pulling out Thursday morning when his back seized up on him. Three days later, he looked better than ever.

“It’s been a memorable week, not only to win the Dell Match Play but to get back to No. 1 in the world,” Day said.

Day pulled ahead with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fourth hole, stretched his lead to 3 up at the turn and was relentless with his power and short game the rest of the way. He closed out Oosthuizen with a wedge to 3 feet for a conceded birdie on the 14th hole and a 5-and-4 victory.

It was the largest margin in the championship match since Tiger Woods beat Stewart Cink, 8 and 7, in 2008 at Dove Mountain in a 36-hole match.

Day was assured of the No. 1 ranking when Jordan Spieth lost Saturday morning in the fourth round and Day won his quarterfinal match that afternoon. But he said it would have felt hollow without leaving town with the trophy.

Oosthuizen, who knocked out Spieth, won the opening hole with a par and that was it. His only birdie was an 8-foot putt on No. 5 after Day had stuffed his wedge from the rough into 2 feet.

“I couldn’t buy a birdie,” Oosthuizen said. “I played OK, but nothing spectacular. Up against a guy like Jason, you need to play 3 or 4 under to have a chance.”

Day joined Woods and Geoff Ogilvy as the only multiple winners of the Match Play. Along with replacing Spieth at No. 1 in the world, the 28-year-old Australian figures to be the favorite when he goes to Augusta National next week to start preparing for the Masters on April 7-10.

Day, coming off a victory last week in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, has won six of his last 13 tournaments dating to the PGA Championship.

None of this looked possible when he winced and grabbed his back on the final hole he played in his 3-and-2 victory over Graeme McDowell on Wednesday. Day said he thought about going back to Ohio for tests, especially with the Masters around the corner. He went through therapy every day, and stuck it out. And while his back got progressively better, so did his game.

Day played only 101 holes over seven matches – one match was six holes when Paul Casey withdrew with a stomach ailment – and only had one match go the distance.

Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain, who lost to Oosthuizen in the other semifinal, won the last three holes to beat McIlroy in the consolation match. The real consolation for the Spaniard was moving into the top 50 in the world ranking to earn a trip to the Masters for the first time.

Day might have won this tournament in the morning.

His semifinal match with McIlroy – only the second semifinal in the 18-year history of this event that the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds met – lived up to the expectation. The lead changed seven times. They combined for 11 birdies in chilly, blustery conditions.

The match turned on the 11th hole when Day got up-and-down for par with a 12-foot putt, while McIlroy missed a 6-foot birdie. Day got up-and-down eight times in his match against McIlroy. On the par-5 12th, McIlroy was first to hit and played well right of the green, away from the water. Day took on the hazard, and his shot cleared the water by about a foot to set up a two-putter birdie that gave him the lead for good.

Day had never seen the 18th hole in his life until he had to get up-and-down from a tough spot short and left of the pin. He played the slope too hard and the ball rolled 12 feet on the other side of the hole. McIlroy was 6 feet away for par when Day made the putt to win.

Oosthuizen was no match for him in the warmth of the afternoon. The South African hit out of a bunker into the hazard to lose the third hole, missed a 7-foot par putt on the seventh hole to fall 2 down, and Day took control with a 6-foot birdie on the ninth.

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Ian Poulter shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday at windy Coco Beach to take the third-round lead in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open.

Playing the event for the first time after failing to get into the Match Play tournament in Texas as the first alternate, the Englishman got up-and-down for par from a greenside bunker on the par-5 18th, holing a 15-foot putt.

“It was a big save,” Poulter said. “Obviously it’s a par 5, it’s pretty much reachable in two off of a decent drive and I kind of left myself in an awkward spot. It wasn’t lying very well on the right-hand side just short of the green. I guess I got a little bit too cute, hit it in the front trap, splashed it out to 15 feet, but I rolled that par putt in the middle. Each putt like that obviously makes a difference at the end of the week.”

Poulter bogeyed the par-4 13th and rebounded with birdies on the par-5 15th and par-3 16th. He’s trying to win for the first time since the 2012 World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in China.

“We got here very late, early hours of Wednesday morning, but I felt comfortable,” Poulter said. “I like the windy conditions. It kind of takes me back to hitting some old-school shots and I feel comfortable on the course. The ball was kind of boring through that strong wind, so you’re still able to get good distance out there. But I’m happy. I’m happy how I’ve hung in there nicely.”

He had an 11-under 205 total.

Tony Finau, Jonathan Byrd and Steve Marino were a stroke back. Finau shot 67, Byrd 68, and Marino 69.

“It’s windy out there,” Byrd said. “You had to be kind of real purposeful with your shots and I did that for the most part of the day and I made some nice putts and just played really solid. I’ve played the par 5s beautifully for the most part this week.”

Puerto Rico’s Rafael Campos, the leader after each of the first two rounds, had a 72 to drop into a tie for fifth at 9 under with Scott Brown (67) and Aaron Baddeley (69).

Campos didn’t make a par until the eighth hole, opening with three bogeys, a double bogey and three birdies. He played the final 11 holes in 2 under, birdieing Nos. 12 and 16.

“I came off to a really bad start,” Campos said. “I was having some difficulty kind of getting my tempo going and coming over the top on most of the shots at the beginning. But I was fortunate to kind of get a good rhythm afterward, a good tempo especially coming into the back nine. … I really didn’t strike the ball well, as good as I wanted, but was able to at least recover myself a little bit at the end.”

A 5-under 67 performance propelled Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., to T8 at 8-under – three-shots back of the leader. Weyburn, Sask., native Graham DeLaet carded a 70 to move to T12 at 7-under, while Adam Svensson, a product of Surrey, B.C., was 2-under on the day and sits T36.

AUSTIN, Texas – The Dell Match Play has produced a semifinal that is almost bigger than Texas.

Even without Jordan Spieth.

Jason Day powered his way to two victories Saturday to assure that he will return to No. 1 in the world.

But this is no time to celebrate. His reward is a semifinal showdown against defending champion Rory McIlroy, who ran his unbeaten streak to 12 matches and needs two more to join Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back winners. This is only the second time the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds have met in the semifinals since the Match Play began in 1999. They are the last two winners of this event.

Play away, please.

“I expect it to be very, very tough and very stressful out there,” Day said. “And that’s the stuff I enjoy.”

Day and McIlroy have never met in match play.

“I’ve love to play Jason,” McIlroy said. “I’d really relish it. He’s playing really well at the minute, coming off a win last week. I’d be really up for it. It’s a big match.”

Spieth, who led the Texas Longhorns to an NCAA title in 2012 and had the gallery on his side all week, won’t be around for all the excitement.

He lost his fourth-round match to Louis Oosthuizen, and then he lost the No. 1 ranking when Day advanced to the semifinal. Spieth was more concerned about how his swing got out of sorts than losing the No. 1 ranking.

“To be honest, it could be a good thing for me going into the Masters,” he said.

Day and McIlroy were all square going to the back in their matches. Day won two of the first three holes to pull away from Brooks Koepka, closing him out on the 16th hole. McIlroy ran off four birdies in six holes for a 4-and-3 victory over Chris Kirk.

“It’s been a bit of an up and down week, especially emotionally,” said Day, who considered withdrawing when his back seized up on him after his first match of the week. “It’s been quite amazing to be able to start the week, not really thinking I’m going to be able to play with what happened Wednesday, and then turn around and I’m No. 1 in the world. It’s a strange feeling. I’m glad I stuck it out.”

Oosthuizen, who eliminated Spieth with a 4-and-2 victory in the morning, took advantage of Dustin Johnson’s blunders in the quarterfinals to win, 2 and 1. Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain also advanced to the semifinals by beating Ryan Moore, 2 and 1.

Oosthuizen and Day are the only semifinalists who have yet to play the 18th hole in competition at Austin Country Club.

“I didn’t make it very hard on Louis today, which is unfortunate,” said Spieth, who lost holes with three bogeys and a double bogey. “I was off from when I hit my first 10 shots on the range. I’ve had incredible control of the ball this week and of my wedges. I’m not exactly sure what happened.”

Spieth led a trail of Americans to the airport. There were 11 Americans in the round of 16 at the start of the day, none at the end of it. This is the first time since 2010 that no Americans advanced to the semifinals.

Day has played the fewest holes this week – 69 holes over five rounds – helped by an ill Paul Casey pulling out after six holes on Thursday.

Day squared the match against Koepka on the eighth hole, pulled ahead with a birdie on No. 10 and then hit out of the bunker to about 20 feet for an eagle that was conceded to go 2 up. Koepka never won another hole.

McIlroy’s toughest work came in the morning against Zach Johnson, who battled McIlroy to the very end. McIlroy was leading 1 up when he hit wedge to 3 feet on the 18th that seemingly wrapped up the match, except that Johnson made a 20-foot birdie putt and McIlroy had to roll in his birdie to win.

Oosthuizen reached the semifinals for the first time, and Johnson helped him get there.

Johnson three-putted for bogey on No. 11 to fall behind for the first time in the match. Oosthuizen went into the water on the par-5 12th, only for Johnson to follow with a shot into the water. Oosthuizen was 1 up playing the par-3 17th when he made a 20-foot birdie putt, and Johnson missed his birdie from 6 feet that would have extended the match.

“I just wanted to go through to tomorrow and see if I can get into this final,” Oosthuizen said.

That might be what it takes for anyone to pay attention to him or Cabrera Bello, who picked up one important victory this week. His victory Saturday morning assured him of moving into the top 50 at the end of the week and getting into the Masters for the first time.

AUSTIN, Texas – Rory McIlroy had to go 20 holes. Jason Day only played six. Both advanced Friday to the round of 16 in the Dell Match Play that is loaded with Americans and a Texan who feels right at home.

Jordan Spieth got off to another quick start and sailed into the round of 16 with a 3-and-2 victory over Justin Thomas. The No. 1 player in the world also is the top crowd pleaser at Austin Country Club, where he used to qualify for matches during his brief time wearing the burnt orange of the Texas Longhorns.

The rest of the so-called “Big Three” joined him, even if Day and McIlroy reached the knockout stage in a different manner.

Day was all square in his match when Paul Casey withdrew because of a stomach illness that has been bothering him the last two days. Day was likely to advance, anyway, but the short day at least allowed him extra rest for his back and for the weekend ahead.

Day has played only 31 holes in three days.

“If I can make it all the way through Sunday, that means I’m playing 72 holes on the weekend, which is a lot of golf,” Day said.

McIlroy was in one of the four winner-take-all matches between undefeated players in their groups, and it was struggle from the start against Kevin Na. McIlroy, the defending champion, didn’t take the lead until the 15th hole, gave it right back and both missed birdie putt on 18 to halve their match.

It ended on No. 2, the second extra hole, when Na hooked his tee shot into a hazard and McIlroy holed a 6-foot putt for the win. He now has 10 straight matches dating to his victory last year at Harding Park in San Francisco.

“I was dying after 10 holes, but I knew I’d played the back nine well,” McIlroy said. “It is a sign of relief. It’s nice to get to the weekend.”

What felt like a marathon over three days now turns into a two-day race to the finish, with two sessions on Saturday and Sunday of single elimination. The round of 16 features 11 Americans, the most since there were 12 out of 16 in 2002.

Phil Mickelson also had a short day and was headed home. Patrick Reed holed out for an eagle on No. 10 to go 7 up, and Mickelson did well to get to the 14th hole before Reed closed him out, 5 and 4. Reed has never trailed in any match all week.

McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Chris Kirk and Byeong-Hun An all had to go extra holes.

Kirk and Branden Grace had an easy time winning their matches to finish 2-1 in their group. In a peculiar decision this year, players had to wait until everyone was on the course before the playoff. They were the first match and had to wait nearly three hours to start the playoff. It didn’t last long, as Grace went from a fairway bunker, over the green, and made bogey.

An, who won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last year, lost a chance to win his group when Rickie Fowler birdied the last hole to halve the match. That sent An into a playoff with Scott Piercy, who won the 18th hole to beat Jason Dufner. An hit his approach to 4 feet on the first playoff hole to advance.

Johnson beat Jimmy Walker for the second straight year, then had to birdie the opening hole to win a playoff over Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand.

Motoring right along was Zach Johnson, who has been the most dominant player this week in Austin. Johnson finally played the last three holes – but only for practice. He had an easy time against Shane Lowry, who was eliminated regardless of the outcome, and beat him, 4 and 3.

Johnson has played only 42 holes in three matches, all ending at the 15th or earlier.

“My scorecard, or whatever you want to call it, speaks for itself,” Johnson said. “With the exception of the first hole yesterday, I’ve never been down in a match. I’m not going to take this for granted. It’s not going to be easy no matter who my opponent is tomorrow and the rest of the weekend, hopefully. But I’m seeing my shots, my execution is there. I think I’m picking out good targets and I’ve obviously putting pretty well.”

So is Louis Oosthuizen, who has not lost this week and joined McIlroy as the only players to reach the round of 16 two straight years in the round-robin format. Next up for Oosthuizen is Spieth, and he knows what awaits.

“I think it’s going to be against 10-15,000 people,” Oosthuizen said.

In other groups:

• Bill Haas and Adam Scott didn’t halve a hole after No. 7. Haas won the last two holes with birdie to advance with a 1-up victory.
• Brandt Snedeker rallied from an early deficit to beat Charl Schwartzel and win his group.
• Brooks Koepka lost his match, but won his group when Billy Horschel failed to beat Jaco Van Zyl.
• Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain halved his match to advance.
• Ryan Moore beat Lee Westwood to win his group.

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Rafael Campos held onto the lead in front of his home fans in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open, shooting a 1-under 71 in windy conditions Friday.

The 27-year-old Campos had a 9-under 135 total at Coco Beach for a one-stroke lead. One of two players to play in all nine editions of the event, he opened with a 64 on Thursday.

“It’s great just having so much support, so many people coming out here and following us,” Campos said. “I love seeing the little kids, I love seeing the parents and all that. They’re the future of golf.”

He’s the first Puerto Rican to lead a PGA Tour event since the 1979 Tallahassee Open, when Chi Chi Rodriguez was tied for the 54-hole lead and went on to win his eighth and final title.

“It really does feel great to be in this position,” Campos said. “I’m really relaxed. Ironically enough, I really feel very relaxed out there. Not really thinking of my swing, I’m not really thinking of the problems out there, I’m actually enjoying it. I like being in this position, I really do.”

George McNeill, the 2012 winner, was second after a 71.

“The wind’s blowing, it’s tricky,” McNeill said. “The greens aren’t very fast and this afternoon they didn’t putt as good as they did yesterday morning, obviously, with a lot of traffic on them.”

Ian Poulter, playing the event for the first time after failing to qualify for the Match Play tournament in Texas, was tied for third at 7 under after a 66 _ the best round of the day.

“The yardage books nowadays are good enough, you don’t need to be here for days and days and days trying to figure out the golf course,” Poulter said. “It’s right in front of you. It’s windy, you can see the bunkers, you can see the hazards.”

The Englishman birdied the first three holes and the last three in his bogey-free round.

“I had to stay patient,” Poulter said. “Opening up with three birdies first thing this morning was nice. It was easy to get a little bit frustrated yesterday not making putts I would have expected to hole. … To close with three birdies there was good and it kind of moves me up the board quite nicely.”

Defending champion Alex Cejka (71) also was 7 under along with Steve Marino (67), Bronson Burgoon (68), Kyle Reifers (70), Mark Hubbard (70) and Will MacKenzie (71).

Graham DeLaet (69) of Weyburn, Sask., was the top Canadian, four shots back of Compos and tied for 15th place.

“It was a little bit trickier today,” Cejka said. “It was a little bit more wind, it was tough to play. I really hit some good shots. … I’m hanging in there, just want to play the next couple days like I did the first two days.”

AUSTIN, Texas – Jordan Spieth had another stress-free day in the Dell Match Play, avoiding some of the drama the 18th hole provided Thursday.

So did Jason Day, whose back felt strong enough to drive the first green at 381 yards with a helping wind.

Fifteen matches went the distance at Austin Country Club, and there was no shortage of surprises. Daniel Berger never finished against Phil Mickelson when his club hit a rock structure on the way down. Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler escaped with half-points.

It all set the stage for Friday when all but 16 players from the 64-man field leave town. Already, 22 players have been mathematically eliminated.

Spieth again built a big lead and lost only one hole in a 5-and-4 victory over Victor Dubuisson of France. He has played 30 holes in his two victories, and needs only to halve his match Friday against Justin Thomas to reach the round of 16.

“When you’re 3 up and you’re striking the ball well on a windy day with a difficult golf course, it’s difficult to come from behind,” Spieth said.

Day ended any suspense about his back injury – first by showing up, then by hitting his opening drive to 12 feet on the 381-yard first hole. He was headed to a 5-and-3 victory over Thongchai Jaidee, which put him in the same position as Spieth.

“If I didn’t play today, I was going to pull out of the tournament totally,” Day said. “I wasn’t going to come back on Friday. I may as well get the rest and recovery and try to get ready for Augusta. I was playing against Thongchai. I felt like if I went there and played some golf, I could get him.

“Fortunately for me, I played some good golf,” he said. “There wasn’t one shot where I felt it today, which was good.”

Rory McIlroy also got through in a wild match with Smylie Kaufman in which they didn’t halve a hole until No. 7. McIlroy won on the 17th hole.

For others, the 18th hole was pivotal.

Mickelson was all square on the last hole when Berger drove left next to a rock structure that forms the 10th tee box. Berger struck the rocks before his club reached the ball. He dropped the club, grabbed his left wrist and looked over to Mickelson to concede the match.

“That’s happened to me before, not the injury, but swinging over the top of it or misjudging where the obstacle is,” Mickelson said. “It happens. So I was just watching if the ball was struck and it wasn’t. He hit the rock on the downswing. And hopefully his wrist is OK.”

Mickelson moves on to a winner-take-all match against Patrick Reed. Berger was among those eliminated and contemplated whether to play Friday, especially with his first Masters appearance only two weeks away.

Sergio Garcia was poised to win his second straight match until Ryan Moore knocked in a 25-foot putt from behind the 17th green to square the match, and then hit wedge to a foot on the final hole for a 1-up victory.

“Match play is just crazy,” Moore said. “You just never know what’s going to happen.”

Patton Kizzire, one of three PGA Tour rookies in the 64-man field, was 1 down to Bubba Watson playing the 18th hole when he hit his approach to 5 feet and made it to halve the match. If he missed, he would have been eliminated. Now he can win the group if he beats Emiliano Grillo on Friday and J.B. Holmes beats Watson.

Scott Piercy stayed in the match with Fowler with a remarkable up-and-down from birdie by bouncing a putt across the cart path and rough and onto the green, and winning the 17th when Fowler hit into a hazard. Piercy missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole that would have eliminated Fowler.

Now, there’s a mathematical chance for a four-way playoff on Friday to determine who wins the group.

Spieth knows the course better than anyone from his three semesters at Texas _ the Longhorns used to stage qualifying on the course. He also faces more attention as the local favourite, not to mention the No. 1 player in the world.

So far, he has played some of his best golf since he won at Kapalua to start the year.

“My swing has been coming around,” he said. “I’ve been working hard on it for the last month or so. Really started showing signs of that work this week.”

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Rafael Compos shot an 8-under 64 in front of his home fans Thursday to take the first-round lead in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open.

The 27-year-old Compos had eight birdies in a bogey-free round at Coco Beach. He made four straight birdies on Nos. 9-12, added another on the par-5 15th and parred the final three holes.

George McNeill, the 2012 winner, was a stroke back. He had six birdies in a seven-hole stretch and closed with a bogey on the par-4 ninth.

Defending champion Alex Cejka was at 66 along with Aaron Baddeley, Frank Lickliter and Will MacKenzie. Baddeley eagled the 15th and closed with two birdies.

Former Team Canada member Adam Svensson had a 67. The 5-under par round featured six birdies and a bogey.

Svensson, the medalist at Web.com Tour Q-School last December, will be making the fifth PGA TOUR start of his career at the Puerto Rico Open at Coco Beach. The Surrey, B.C., competed in the RBC Canadian Open in 2013 and 2014 as an amateur, posted a T34 at the event as a professional in 2015, and missed the cut at The RSM Classic last fall.

English stars Luke Donald and Ian Poulter are in playing after failing to qualify for the Match Play event in Texas. Donald opened with a 69, and Poulter shot 71.

In other Canadian action, Weyburn. Sask., native Graham DeLaet and Abbotsford, B.C.’s Nick Taylor had matching 2-under 70s. Wil Bateman of Edmonton had a 2-over 74.

AUSTIN, Texas – Jason Day overcame an early deficit to win his opening match Wednesday in the Dell Match Play.

Now he has to overcome a bad back.

In the latest in a series of injuries for Day, he was reaching for his back on the 15th hole and then winced and grabbed it after a tee shot on the 16th hole. He took a knee on the green, where he closed out Graeme McDowell, 3 and 2.

Day headed straight for the fitness trailer for treatment.

The severity of the injury was unclear. Day left without speaking to reporters, and his agent later sent a statement that he tweaked his back, had some work done on it, was pleased with winning and is getting prepared to play Thursday.”

Day told the Australian Associated Press before getting treatment, “It’s really hard to play with searing pain in both sides of your lower back. Just my back has seized up and I need to get inside right away for treatment and see what’s wrong.”

Top-seeded Jordan Spieth, the crowd favorite at Austin Country Club who helped Texas to a national title in 2012, had the largest crowd and delivered a solid performance. Spieth was 4 up through seven holes, and outlasted Jamie Donaldson, 3 and 2.

“I felt like everybody was on our side today,” Spieth said. “I almost felt like a home Ryder Cup match. And Jamie, I’m not sure what he would say about it. … Everyone was very respectful, but every single step I took, somebody was yelling at you, ‘Hook ‘Em Horns’ or ‘Go Jordan, we’re rooting for you.’ Which is really, really cool.”

Rory McIlroy had three close calls on his way to victory last year at Harding Park. He started out with one in Texas. McIlroy never led until he won the 18th hole with a par. Thorbjorn Olesen missed a 3-foot putt on the 16th, and with the match all square on the 18th, the Dane shanked a chip to hand McIlroy the match.

“Match play is all about just getting through,” McIlroy said.

Rickie Fowler, the No. 5 seed, failed to do that. He rallied from 3 down on the back nine to square his match on the 15th hole, only for Jason Dufner to win the next two holes with birdies to beat him on the 17th hole.

Dustin Johnson (No. 8) lost to Robert Streb, and Hideki Matsuyama (No. 12) lost to Rafa Cabrera-Bello. Adam Scott (No. 6), who has lost seven straight matches in this event, had to settle for a halve with Thomas Pieters of Belgium. Players and caddies wore black ribbons in their caps to honor the victim of Tuesday’s bombings in Brussels.

In the round-robin format, all of the players still have a chance to advance from their groups and reach the knockout stage. A year ago, only three players who lost in the first round managed to reach the round of 16. It might be easier this year because there are halves during group play.

Bubba Watson (No. 4) halved his match with PGA Tour rookie Patton Kizzire.

Phil Mickelson, playing this World Golf Championship for the first time in five years, ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the front nine to build a big lead and Matthew Fitzpatrick couldn’t catch up. The match ended on the 14th hole. Matt Kuchar had the shortest match, a 6-and-5 victory over Anirban Lahiri, who flew to Texas from a runner-up finish in India.

Most of the drama on a windy day involved Day, who was coming off a victory Sunday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Day’s career has been filled with injuries. He withdrew after one round in the 2012 Masters with an ankle injury. A wrist and thumb injury kept him out for much of the spring in 2014 after he won the Match Play. He suffered vertigo symptoms at the U.S. Open last year. He took three months off at the end of last year to be with his wife when she gave birth to their second child and to concentrate on his health.

The back pain grabbed when the match was in hand.

Day lost two straight holes early in the match, including the par-3 third when he came up well short of the green and into a hazard. But he kept smashing tee shots and converting them into birdies, ending the back nine with two birdies for a 1-up lead. McDowell found the water on the 11th, and Day went 3 up through 13.

Lacking on a warm, blustery day were the number of great shots typically seen in match play. Part of that was Austin Country Club, unknown to just about everyone except for Spieth and Dufner, whose coach lives in Austin.

“I think everybody is kind of feeling out how it’s going to be this week,” Dufner said.

AUSTIN, Texas – Defending champion Rory McIlroy will face a player he knows very little about in the Dell Match Play.

Jordan Spieth knows one of his opponents all too well.

Spieth, the former Texas Longhorn and crowd favorite at Austin Country Club, wound up in the same group as longtime friend Justin Thomas.

Both are 22 and they have been friends since 2007, when they were selected to represent the United States in the Evian Junior Masters. Spieth beat him in a high-profile match in the NCAA Championship at Riviera in 2012, which the Longhorns won, and has gone on to two majors and reach the No. 1 world ranking.

The 64 players were broken into four groups based on this week’s ranking, and one player was chosen by lottery to fill out the 16 four-man groups. The draw was held at the Paramount Theater, and Ben Crenshaw picked the names out of the bowl for Spieth’s group.

“Jordan probably won’t talk to me the rest of the week,” Crenshaw said. “They’ve played a lot of golf together. Obviously, they know each other very well. They’re admirers of each other.”

Spieth and Thomas already have played together three times this year – the opening two rounds at Riviera, and the third round at Doral. They won’t play each other at the Match Play until Friday. Also in their group are Victor Dubuisson of France and Jamie Donaldson of Wales.

McIlroy won last year at Harding Park with three close calls before beating Gary Woodland in the championship match. He is the only player among the top six in the world who has yet to win this year, and hopes this week will spark him in his final tournament before the Masters.

In his group is Smylie Kaufman, who won his first PGA Tour event in Las Vegas in just his second start as a member. McIlroy also has Kevin Na and Thorbjorn Olesen.

“Thorbjorn is a good friend of mine. The first time I played with Thorbjorn was in Egypt in 2010. We’ve got a little bit of history,” McIlroy said.

“Smylie, I really don’t know that much about. I know that he got off to a great start in his PGA Tour career. As I said, no matter who you draw in this event, you know you’re going to get a tough match.”

The 18-hole match play switched to group last year, moving away from the single-elimination format that made this event aggravating to those who lost early, and difficult on the sponsors because top players often were gone by the weekend.

This year, however, matches during group play can end in a draw.

One player from each of the 16 groups advance to the knockout stage that starts on Saturday. If two or more players in a group are tied, they go to a sudden-death playoff.

Jason Day, the No. 2 seed based on his victory Sunday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, preferred the single-elimination format because it made every match feel more important. He lost all three of his matches last year at Harding Park.

His group has a couple of names that should get his attention. Day will face Graeme McDowell on Wednesday and Paul Casey on Friday. Thongchai Jaidee is the other player in his group.