WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play - Day one digest

Everything you need to know from day one at Austin Country Club.

There were big wins for big names as well as a few surprises in the opening matches in Texas.

McIlroy got the job done, Lee, Meronk and Fox posted wins while late in the day Scott beat Power before Fleetwood, Lowry, Perez and Hovland tasted defeat. But the round-robin format means everyone still has a chance.

Here's everything you need to know.

Lee's magic touch

Min Woo Lee's short game was hot in Texas on Wednesday and it was fitting that this shot, from the greenside bunker at the 18th, sealed his 1UP victory over Sahith Theegala. Lee said: "I just love having my back against the wall when I need to do it. Match play is a funny thing. Got a lucky break on 17, and, yeah, it was all momentum into 18, which was nice. I've just been chipping and putting really good so it was nice."

Anything Lee can do....

Jordan Spieth pulled a few rabbits of his own out of the hat on his way to victory over Mackenzie Hughes. This one below was an obvious highlight for the three-time Major winner, who plays Taylor Montgomery before taking on Shane Lowry in Group 12.

The beauty of match play

Lucas Herbert and Russell Henley treated fans to an epic encounter. Herbert was 5UP at the turn but was taken to the last before winning 1UP. He said: "It was very satisfying now. I wouldn't say it was fun (laughing). My nerves are fried. But, I mean, I played great. I think I made seven birdies. I didn't give him any holes. I made him hole 25, 30-footers to win holes and he did it. So if you're not going to win a match or if you're not going to win holes, at least you want to make the other person win them and he did that. So I said to him on the last, that's probably nine of the best holes I've ever seen in my life."

JJ's eagle follows a Tiger

JJ Spaun produced this moment of magic at the 13th, holing his second from 107 yards on his way to a 5&3 win over Matt Fitzpatrick. He said: "It was funny. It's maybe more funny to me, but I laid up. I can't get to that green, especially with this wind. Kind of hit it up to the right and it was a little right of where I wanted to and we're walking up and I'm like, 'isn't this where Tiger hooped it from a couple years ago?'

"He was like, 'yeah, this is'. So we had it in our head the entire time. I kind of just slung it with the wind. I knew that green spins severely from back to front, like right to left considering our angle, so I couldn't really tell if it was going to be good. I could tell it was going to be pretty good, but then it got really good, and then it just disappeared and the crowd went nuts.

"It was just funny that the GOAT did it, that was what we were thinking, and I did it too."

Fox feeling comfortable

Ryan Fox did very little wrong in his opening win over Harris English and he put his form down to feeling like he belongs. When asked about why he now feels he can compete with the top players, he said: "Probably just because I've had the chance to do it. I was in contention a lot over in Europe last year and sort of had lots of really good shots down the stretch, won a couple of times, but even under pressure I felt like I hit some really good shots on hard golf courses, so felt like coming over here it wasn't as intimidating as it used to be.

"I can draw on those experiences from playing on the DP World Tour and go, 'well, I kind of deserve to be here'. I feel like I can compete with these guys because again, I've kind of had a chance to do it."

Fowler expecting Rahm to bounce back

Rickie Fowler served up a reminder of what he is capable of by producing the upset of the day (JJ Spaun might disagree) but he admitted to having sympathy for Jon Rahm after beating him 2&1.

Fowler said: "Yeah, Jon struggled a little. I know him quite well and we always have fun playing together. That wasn't the normal Jon Rahm and what I was expecting to face. We both struggled a little bit on the greens. Just happened to hit it a little bit better than him today. That's match play. Never know what you're going to get.

"In golf, just about anyone can beat anyone, especially this week with the guys that are out here. Yeah, fortunate to come out on top. I know Jon will be tough for the boys next couple matches. I've got to take care of business on my end."

Day's birdie blitz

Jason Day birdied six holes in a row from the 11th to see off Adam Svensson and he said: "Yeah, it was nice. It was hard because I was just saying to him, that was a very enjoyable match. We both played really solid.

"I just told him, I said, 'look, if I could just get some breathing room', but he just kept on flagging irons in there. He played really, really solid, so I just had to pick and choose when I had to be aggressive."

Day is a two-time winner of this event so knows how to get over the line.

He added: "It's good. I mean, it's obviously different with the round-robin format. I know that we're here until Friday regardless, so I've got to kind of bear down against Victor (Perez) tomorrow, and then if I can sweep through with the win there, I've got a tough match with Collin (Morikawa). Overall very happy with how things progressed. I've just got to get to the range and the putting green, just kind of work on a few things, and then tomorrow is another day."

Kuchar catching Tiger

Matt Kuchar's win over Viktor Hovland was his 35th victory in this tournament - one behind Tiger Woods. A smiling Kuchar said: "Any time you're in the conversation with Tiger Woods it's a very cool thing, and certainly a feather in the cap."