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Cape Town - There wasn't much to celebrate for the four South African golfers who qualified for the World Golf Championships Dell Match Play Championship after Wednesday's opening day matches.
ODDS: WGC-Dell Match Play Championship
Only Louis Oosthuizen, seeded 25th, emerged victorious when he beat American Jason Dufner, the 42nd seed, 1-up, in their Group 8 match. In his second group match on Thursday, Oosthuizen will face another American, James Hahn, who was a first round loser against Australia's Jason Day, 4&2.
Charl Schwartzel, the 49th seed this week, went down 2&1 to American fourth-seed, Jordan Spieth. Schwartzel faces a must-win clash against yet another American in the shape of Patrick Reed, the 19th seed, who beat China's Li Hao Tong 3&2, in his second round match.
Dylan Frittelli, the 41st seed, lost 1-down to American youngster Xander Schauffele, the 20th seed. Frittelli too faces a must-win Thursday clash against Spain's Sergio Garcia, who beat India's Shubhankar Sharma 1-up in his opener.
Finally, Branden Grace, the 23rd seed, was on the receiving end of a 5&3 battering at the hands of a rampant 35th-seeded American Bubba Watson. Grace too faces a must-win second round match against little-known American Julian Suri, the 64th and final player to make the field, who shocked Australia's Marc Leishman, the 11th seed, 3&2 in their opener.
Results from Wednesday's opening group-stage matches at the World Golf Championships Dell Match Play Championship at Austin, Texas (x denotes seed):
Group 1
Bernd Wiesberger (AUT x52) bt Dustin Johnson (USA x1) 3 & 1
Kevin Kisner (USA x32) and Adam Hadwin (CAN x38) halved
Group 2
Justin Thomas (USA x2) bt Luke List (USA x60) 2 up
Francesco Molinari (ITA x21) bt Patton Kizzire (USA x48) 3 & 1
Group 3
Jon Rahm (ESP x3) and Keegan Bradley (USA x63) halved
Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA x28) bt Chez Reavie (USA x43) 3 & 2
Group 4
Jordan Spieth (USA x4) bt Charl Schwartzel (RSA x49) 2 & 1
Patrick Reed (USA x19) bt Li Hao Tong (CHN x34) 3 & 2
Group 5
Hideki Matsuyama (JPN x5) bt Yusaku Miyazato (JPN x53) 2 and 1
Cameron Smith (AUS x46) bt Patrick Cantlay (USA x30) 2 up
Group 6
Peter Uihlein (USA x57) bt Rory McIlroy (NIR x6) 2 & 1
Brian Harman (USA x18) and Jhonattan Vegas (VEN x44) halved
Group 7
Sergio Garcia (ESP x7) bt Shubhankar Sharma (IND x62) 1 up
Xander Schauffele (USA x20) bt Dylan Frittelli (RSA x41) 1 up
Group 8
Jason Day (AUS x8) bt James Hahn (USA x56) 4 & 2
Louis Oosthuizen (RSA x25) bt Jason Dufner (USA x42) 1 up
Group 9
Kevin Chappell (USA x33) bt Daniel Berger (USA x26) 3 & 2
Ian Poulter (ENG x58) bt Tommy Fleetwood (ENG x9) 3 & 2
Group 10
Paul Casey (ENG x10) bt Russell Henley (USA x51) 1 up
Kyle Stanley (USA x45) bt Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG x31) 1 up
Group 11
Julian Suri (USA x64) bt Marc Leishman (AUS x11) 3 & 2
Bubba Watson (USA x35) bt Branden Grace (RSA x23) 5 & 3
Group 12
Brendan Steele (USA x36) bt Charley Hoffman (USA x22) 1 up
Tyrrell Hatton (ENG x12) bt Alexander Levy (FRA x55) 3 & 2
Group 13
Alex Noren (SWE x13) bt Kevin Na (USA x61) 4 & 2
Tony Finau (USA x29) bt Thomas Pieters (BEL x39) 2 & 1
Group 14
Charles Howell (USA x59) bt Phil Mickelson (USA x14) 3 & 2
Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP x17) bt Satoshi Kodaira (JPN x40) 2 & 1
Group 15
Gary Woodland (USA x24) and Webb Simpson (USA x37) halved
Pat Perez (USA x15) and Kim Si-Woo (KOR x50) halved
Group 16
Yuta Ikeda (JPN x47) bt Ross Fisher (ENG x27) 2 & 1
Matt Kuchar (USA x16) and Zach Johnson (USA x54) halved
