What they said: A round-up of the best quotes from day one of the WGC Dell Match Play
Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Sergio Garcia, Jordan Spieth and more give their thoughts after the opening group games at Austin Country Club
One of the biggest standouts was Rory McIlroy's 6&5 hammering by 60th seed Ian Poulter. The Englishman's match play reputation suggested the result wasn't unexpected although the margin of victory was an eye-opener.
To American audiences, perhaps the biggest surprise was Antoine Rozner taking down fifth seed Bryson DeChambeau. Many will hardly have heard of the Frenchman although European Tour watchers know that he headed to Texas on the back of a win at the Qatar Masters.
Matt Kuchar beating No.2 seed Justin Thomas was another shock while who saw Dylan Frittelli thrashing Tony Finau 6&5? Well, actually, some did. The South African went to college nearby and lives just 15 minutes from the course.
After the first of the three group stage matches, Paddy Power bet: 9/1 Dustin Johnson, 10/1 Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, 14/1 Patrick Cantlay, 18/1 Webb Simpson, 20/1 Daniel Berger, Sergio Garcia, 25/1 Collin Morikawa, Sungjae Im, Cameron Smith, Scottie Scheffler, Abraham Ancer, 28/1 Tyrrell Hatton, 33/1 Kevin Kisner, Ian Poulter.
Here, Planet Sport picks out some of the best quotes from the day's opening matches:
Antoine Rozner - after beating Bryson DeChambeau 2up
Jon Rahm - after beating Sebastian Munoz 1up
"I was hitting good tee shots, giving myself plenty of chances for birdie. Made the one on 6, made the one on 9 and ended with a 3-up lead on 11 tee, and he turned on the jets. Four straight birdies, the one on 14 from where he was was pretty unbelievable, and well, we came down to basically a four-hole match where I ended up on top."
Sergio Garcia - after beating Lee Westwood 4&3
Ian Poulter - after beating Rory McIlroy 6&5
Jordan Spieth - after beating Matt Fitzpatrick 3&1
Patrick Reed - after tie with Bubba Watson
Matt Kuchar - after beating Justin Thomas 3&2
Dustin Johnson - after beating Adam Long 2up
Patrick Cantlay - after beating Brian Harman 1up
"I didn't make any bogeys today, I made an eagle, I made a bunch of birdies and still sweating it down to the last hole. Brian played great and it felt like I could never really get any momentum, I would win a hole, tie it up and then he would make a birdie and go back 1up. Until the 12th hole. And then that chip in from over there where you're just looking to get it close and get up-and-down and then fortunately it went in. And then the birdie on the next hole was really key on keeping that 1up advantage and then it was just enough going in."
Dylan Frittelli - after beating Tony Finau 6&5
(On whether he should be 64th seed) "There's no way. If you had checked the betting odds, if those guys were doing their homework, I would figure they would put me in the top half, just having that sort of experience, hometown, sleeping in my own bed. I think that counts a lot. I'm not going to spout too much, but I definitely think it's a huge advantage that at least puts me in the top half of the field.
"My best friend Travis was out there and a few other friends, but it's just nice to have those routines with falling out of bed, riding in the car. It's perfect; the roads I know, I can cut in and out of traffic and get to the course really quickly because I know the roads. It just feels really familiar right now."