Rory McIlroy has been eliminated from the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play Championship after his opponent withdrew from their match.
Gary Woodland pulled out of his second round duel with McIlroy due to family reasons which gave the Northern Irishman the win.
However, Soren Kjeldsen, who beat McIlroy in the first round, won his second match with Emiliano Grillo and will also be awarded a walk-over against Woodland giving him an insurmountable lead in the group.
Soren Kjeldsen joins Alex Noren as the first two players to clinch spots in the knockout stage of the @DellMatchPlay. pic.twitter.com/LAFV9GF2ub
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 23, 2017
Speaking afterwards the former Irish Open winner said: Very pleased (to advance). Actually, not happy about Gary and what's going on with Gary. I don't know all the details, but Gary is one of the nicest guys out here. So we wish him all the best."
The early knock-out will be a huge blow to McIlroy as he prepares for the first major of the year: the US Masters at Augusta, where he is aiming to complete a career Grand Slam of majors.
It was also a bad day for Shane Lowry as he lost to Spain's Jon Rahm 2&1 and is also eliminated from the tournament.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
