Friday 25 March 2016 22:24, UK
Jason Day was grateful for the chance to have extra treatment on his injured back after Paul Casey withdrew from their final group stage clash at the WGC-Dell Match Play.
Casey has been laid low with a stomach virus during the week in Austin, although he won the first two holes against Day before the Australian won the fifth with a par and then levelled the contest with a birdie at the next.
But that proved to be the final blow of the match as Casey complained of experiencing stomach cramps and declared himself in no state to continue, leaving Day as the winner of Group 2 with a perfect 3-0 record.
The world No 2 strained his back towards the end of his first-day victory over Graeme McDowell and, with the Masters less than a fortnight away, he admitted he considered withdrawing before defying the pain to crush Thongchai Jaidee by a 5&3 margin on Thursday.
But Day insisted his back "feels pretty good" before heading to the treatment table as he prepared for a possible 36-hole marathon on Saturday.
"Unfortunately, Paul didn't feel that great. It happened to him last year, as well, against Rory. These things pop up and unfortunately it just got to him," said Day of Casey's misfortune for the second year running.
"Obviously you don't want to see someone go out like that, when you are playing a match play event and it's a heated battle. But I'll take it - I'm not saying it's a bad thing for me. It's definitely a good thing for me to be able to get some more rest and try and rest my back and get some good therapy going.
"If I can make it all the way through to the final on Sunday that means I'm playing 72 holes on the weekend, which is a lot of golf. But I made sure I stayed wary of my back and bending over. It feels pretty good, so hopefully it responds well for tomorrow."
Meanwhile, Day's fellow Australian Adam Scott saw his remarkable run of results come to a halt as he crashed out of the competition following his defeat to Bill Haas at the final hole.
Haas rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to clinch his third straight victory in Group 6 which earned him a showdown with Chris Kirk in the last 16.
Open champion Zach Johnson retained his perfect record in Group 14 with a comfortable 4&3 win over Ireland's Shane Lowry, while Danny Willett's 4&3 victory over Brooks Koepka did not prevent the American advancing from Group 10 with a 2-1 record.
