Rory McIlroy produced the shot of the day at the 18th as he came within four feet of making an albatross on his way to securing a second successive victory on day two of the 2023 WGC - Dell Technologies Match Play.
Leading his opponent Denny McCarthy by one hole with just the par-four last to play, McIlroy drove the green, with his ball finishing up around four feet from the hole for a tap-in eagle.
The four-time Major Champion had found himself three down in the early stages of the match but fought back with wins at the seventh, eighth and tenth before going ahead for the first time courtesy of a birdie at the 16th.
And his heroics on the final hole secured a two-hole victory and a second point.
McIlroy will meet Keegan Bradley on Friday to decide who progresses to the knockout phase after the American saw off Scott Stallings 6&5 in the day's final match.
Speaking about his big finish, McIlroy said: "It was good. I didn't think that I could get it on the green, then I was walking up there and was told that it flew on the green.
"I played really well. Denny got off to a really good start and was 3UP early and then I just played really well, played really solid - didn't make a bogey today and made some birdies when I needed to.
"Thankfully I was able to win the match."
Matt Fitzpatrick picked up his first point of the week with a hard-fought 2&1 victory over Min Woo Lee in Pool 11.
The 2022 U.S. Open Champion banished the memory of Wednesday's 5&3 loss to J. J. Spaun at Austin Country Club, but was made to work very hard for his point.
Lee fought back from a one-hole deficit on three occasions before victories at the 13th and 15th allowed Englishman Fitzpatrick to move two clear.
And he sealed the win in style, walking in his birdie putt from around 20 feet on the 17th.
The 28-year-old needs to win his match against Sahith Theegala on Friday and hope Spaun takes nothing from his meeting with Lee if he is to advance.
"Today was much better," said Fitzpatrick.
"I've definitely got a good chance. I need a little bit of help but, you know, all I can do is go out there and control what I can and do as best as I can."
Australian Lucas Herbert secured his second consecutive victory in Pool 14 late in the day, beating Tyrrell Hatton 2&1 after winning three holes without reply on the back nine, while Russell Henley beat fellow American Ben Griffin 5&4.
Victory for the reigning US Open champion 👊 @MattFitz94 2&1 vs Lee. #DellMatchPlay pic.twitter.com/wAOglf0PzV
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 23, 2023
World Number One and defending champion Scottie Scheffler won six holes without reply as he came from behind to secure a comfortable 5&4 win over Alex Noren and claim his second point.
Elsewhere in Pool 1, Davis Riley beat Tom Kim by one hole.
Tommy Fleetwood holed his birdie putt from around ten feet at the last to tie his match with Maverick McNealy but the result eliminates them both after J. T. Poston beat Sungjae Im by one hole in Pool 16's other encounter.
