Jason Day advances to Match Play semis, takes over world No. 1
No matter what happens from here, Jason Day will be the new world No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking on Sunday night.
By winning two matches on Saturday and advancing to the semifinal round on Sunday morning at Austin Country Club, the Aussie will pass Jordan Spieth, who has been No. 1 in the world since winning the FedEx Cup at the Tour Championship in September. Spieth lost in the Saturday morning Round of 16 match against Louis Oosthuizen, who will also be part of the final four alongside Rory McIlroy and Rafael Cabrera-Bello.
In the semifinal round, Day will take on McIlroy, who will hold his No. 3 world ranking regardless of the Sunday results. Were Day to win against McIlroy, he’ll play in the championship match against the winner of Oosthuizen and Cabrera-Bello.
Day is seeking a second win in as many weeks, taking last weekend’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando for his first win of 2016. The reigning PGA champion has been battling with back problems through the week. He got a reprieve on Friday when opponent Paul Casey conceded the match after feeling ill. However, he had to play 32 of a possible 36 holes in regulation to advance to the final day.
“I’ve been on the massage table a lot this week,” Day said. “That’s probably why I’m still up and around and playing.”
Meanwhile, Spieth will likely have an opportunity to quickly regain the top spot in the ranking. He’s playing in next week’s Shell Houston Open, a tournament where he finished a playoff loser last year to J.B. Holmes.
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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