McIlroy eliminated by Kjeldsen at WGC Match Play

MIAMI, Florida: Second-ranked Rory McIlroy was eliminated from title contention on Thursday at the World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play after group rival Gary Woodland withdrew and Soren Kjeldsen won his second consecutive match.

Denmark’s Kjeldsen, barely in the field at 62nd in the world rankings, defeated Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo 4 and 3 to end McIlroy’s hopes a day after a shock victory over the four-time major winner from Northern Ireland.

The situation was created after Woodland conceded his second-round group match with McIlroy for personal reasons, handing him a victory but also giving Kjeldsen a walkover in their scheduled Friday matchup.

The Dane will advance to the knockout stage round of 16 on Saturday (today) after a 3-0 finish in the group.

Grillo began birdie-par to win the first two holes over Kjeldsen in windy conditions, but the Dane birdied two of the next four holes to square the match. Kjeldsen won the first four holes on the back nine, taking the 10th and par-5 12th with birdies, and despite a bogey to drop the 14th, clinched the match with a six-foot par putt at 15.

Woodland was the second golfer to withdraw from the tournament for personal reasons.

The Texas tournament sees the field split into 16 groups of four players who play each other on a round robin basis. Group winners then advance to the knockout rounds starting on Saturday.

England’s Paul Casey edged South Korea’s An Byeong-Hun to set up a showdown of unbeatens against South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel.