Jason Day marked his return to the top of the world rankings in emphatic fashion with a second WGC-Dell Match Play title in three years as Rory McIlroy turned his attention to completing a career grand slam.
Day, who replaces Jordan Spieth as world number one on Monday by virtue of his performance at Austin Country Club, beat defending champion McIlroy by one hole in a hard-fought semi-final on Sunday.
And the 28-year-old Australian then cruised to a 5&4 victory in the final against former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, who had earlier defeated Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello 4&3 in the last four.
“I’m very, very thrilled,” Day said at the presentation ceremony. “It’s been a memorable week this week, not only winning the Dell Match Play championship but also to get back to number one in the world.
“I have really enjoyed this golf course. I have been able to utilise the great short game that I had from last week but also to play the way I did from tee to green and hit the clutch shots.”
Jason Day is unstoppable! With WGC Match Play title, he's won 6 of his last 13 events & is back to No. 1 in world. pic.twitter.com/lH5OudsBqm
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 27, 2016
Oosthuizen won the opening hole after driving the green on the short par four, but lost the third after finding a hazard with his second shot and went behind for the first time when Day birdied the fourth.
A bogey on the seventh saw the South African fall further behind and Day turned the screw with a birdie from six feet on the ninth to close in on a second win in succession, following his victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week.
Day, who feared he would be unable to continue in the event after injuring his back on Wednesday, moved further ahead with a birdie on the 13th and was three feet away from another on the 14th when Oosthuizen bowed to the inevitable and conceded.
“It was 50/50 when I woke up on Thursday and was hitting balls on the range,” Day added. “My team wanted me to get an MRI on my back but I thought if I have to pull out I can get an MRI back home. I’m very pleased with how it recovered so quickly.”
