Max Homa Goes Down, Scottie Scheffler Claws Back in WGC-Match Play

The WGC-Match Play saw yet another significant upset on Saturday morning when Max Homa fell to Mackenzie Hughes, the 50-seed. Homa, who advanced in the WGC-Match Play when Hideki Matsuyama conceded their match, lost to the Canadian 3 and 2 in the Round of 16. 

Homa and Hughes both came out of the gates strong, posting a pair of birdies on Austin Country Club’s opening hole. Homa then went up one after birdieing the 4th, but from that point onwards the Californian struggled. The six-time PGA Tour winner bogeyed the 6th and 7th holes, allowing Hughes to go 2 up. Homa carded one more birdie on the 11th, but two more costly bogeys on 14 and 16 handed the match to Hughes. 

“Yeah, I played solid, kept the heat on him most of the day, and to be honest, didn't have to do anything like super spectacular,” said Hughes. “Max would probably attest that he didn't have his best stuff today, so a lot of times it kind of forced me into the middle of the green to keep the heat on him. Most of the day had some control there.” 

Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler—the top seed this week and the current world No. 1—had a thrilling back-and-forth match against J.T. Poston that came down to the 18th hole. 

Poston stood 2 up on the 14th hole, capitalizing on some errant shots from the defending champion. But Scheffler didn’t let up—he fired off three birdies in a row on 15, 16, and 17 to tie up the match heading into the final hole. The 43-seed then missed the green on the short par-4, while Scheffler stuck his approach to 14 feet and secured a par to win the match. 

“Too many mental errors is what I would say,” Scheffler said of the shaky start. “I've done a great job over the years in this tournament of staying patient and not trying to force things. I got down, and J.T. is such a fantastic player and putter that he put the pressure on me today and I let it get the best of me, but I was able to finish strong and come out on top.”

Sam Burns, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Cam Young, Kurt Kitayama, and Xander Schauffele also advanced to the quarterfinals, which will take place on Saturday afternoon.