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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

It's a fairly solid argument that anyone can beat anyone over 18 holes of match play.
And it held up well on day one of the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play in Texas.
The pressure is perhaps a little less these days given that every player in the field is guaranteed three matches after the event switched to a group stage. Previously a first-day loss meant packing your bags and going home.
But even with the idea of a second or third chance, history still says it's difficult to lose your opener and progress.
The 64 players are seeded on world ranking with each pot containing one player from seeds 1-16, 17-32, 33-48 and 49-64.
So, how did the higher seed fare in Wednesday's 32 matches at Austin Country Club? Well, overall, they came out on top but only just.
Looking at the results, the higher seed won 15 matches, the lower seed 11 and there were six matches tied.

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

"I think in match play everyone is on the same level, so no, I don't think it's an upset. Obviously he's a heck of a player. He hit the ball so far. No, I think it's just a round of golf. It doesn't matter who you are. In one round you can beat anyone. No, I don't think there is any upset in there.
"I played a lot of match play as an amateur at home. I won the French Am back-to-back. I played the Palmer Cup as an amateur and won my four matches there, so I've got a pretty good record in match play."

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

"It was nice. Tough match. Obviously Westy is always going to be difficult. He's been playing really well, too. Obviously got off to a great start, made some good birdies, got a couple nice breaks, but then he kept fighting hard and he kept getting a little bit closer.
"You know, I was very, very clutch with the putts that I needed to make today, and kind of kept the pressure on him the whole round, and then obviously hit a great drive on 13 and then four really good shots on the next two holes to win it."

Ian Poulter - after beating Rory McIlroy 6&5

"I love the format. It's no secret to know that when I go out in match play it kind of keeps me turned on pretty quickly as soon as you tee off. And this is definitely one that I missed (the event was cancelled last year). It's good to get that kind of feeling going, it's not often you tee off on a first round and you kind of, the heart's fluttering already and you got good adrenaline and you got good excitement to go out and play."

Jordan Spieth - after beating Matt Fitzpatrick 3&1

"I struck my irons really well, I didn't drive it particularly as well as I did the last few weeks, so I got to go work on that a little bit. It's kind of hard to tell out here sometimes you just don't hit a ton of drivers, it's pretty narrow, but I struck my irons beautifully, I hit some mid irons within four, three feet. I had a couple gimmies after hitting 6-irons and 8-iron, so in match play if you can kind of get your iron play dialed in out here that's obviously a huge advantage with these par-3s."

Patrick Reed - after tie with Bubba Watson

"That match looked like I was going to lose, when I was 2-down through 14 and it wasn't looking good. Then I think I was 2-down through 15 as well, after he hit it to four feet. At that point it was looking like, all right, well let's see how far we can kind of get it going, find something in the swing, find something on the greens, just kind of build on for tomorrow, and we were able to come out with a halve."

Matt Kuchar - after beating Justin Thomas 3&2

"I'm not sure that many people have been picking me this week and certainly after the last few weeks I mean there's no chance you would pick me. But big thanks to Chris O'Connell, we have been working hard the last kind of month or two and continue refining, continue tweaking and kind of stayed the course and thankfully things kind of came together the last few days with some good work here and feeling a whole lot more like my old self again and it's a lot more fun.
Austin County Club
"I wedged it great, putted really well. So I had a handful of short irons, wedge opportunities, put those close, made a few putts, Justin got a few bad breaks, that's kind of the way things go and I was fortunate to get that sort of lead (5up at the turn) against him."

Dustin Johnson - after beating Adam Long 2up

"It was a tough match. I felt like I played solid, didn't play great, but played really solid. Felt like I hit a lot of good shots and holed a couple long putts, but other than that I didn't really make much. Hit a lot of really good putts that I thought had a chance to go in. Obviously Adam played well, too. It was a tough match."

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."

READ MORE: Rory McIlroy has that sinking feeling; thrashed by Ian Poulter in Texas

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