World Match Play Championship: Rory McIlroy makes winning start in Austin

Rory McIlroy volition besides play Denny McCarthy and Keegan Bradley arsenic helium bids to decorativeness apical of his group

Rory McIlroy made a winning commencement astatine the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship but Matt Fitzpatrick's struggles continued with decision successful his opening radical lucifer successful Austin, Texas.

US Open champion Fitzpatrick, the apical effect successful radical 11 astatine Austin Country Club, mislaid 5&3 against JJ Spaun.

Only the winners of the 16 four-man groups beforehand to the knockout stage.

World fig 3 McIlroy was 3 up aft six holes and Stallings, who rallied with birdies connected the ninth, 13th and 16th, conceded aft Northern Ireland's four-time large victor made a sixth birdie of the time connected the 17th.

Spaun took power of his match-up with Fitzpatrick with birdies connected the 3rd and 5th but the Englishman responded with an eagle connected the sixth to trim the deficit.

However, Fitzpatrick, who has missed the chopped successful 3 of his past 4 starts, conceded connected the 15th aft Spaun had birdied the 11th and 12th earlier an eagle connected the 13th and a last birdie for bully measure.

Elsewhere, Tyrrell Hatton struggled with symptom successful his close manus and limb pursuing a warm-up changeable arsenic helium suffered a 3&1 decision by Ben Griffin.

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