Rory McIlroy needs extra holes to advance in match play

The knockout stage at the Dell Match Play started a day early.

The pressure was already cranked up to high Friday in win-or-go-home matches at Austin, Texas, that saw defending champion Rory McIlroy pushed through a 20-hole grinder and Phil Mickelson sent home in a rout.

The round-robin format sent several pairs to the first tee with both players 2-0 and facing elimination with a loss. And none was bigger than McIlroy fighting off Kevin Na in a match that wasn’t settled until the second playoff hole.

Mickelson was quickly dismissed by Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup teammate Patrick Reed. The 24-year-old Reed steamrolled the 45-year-old Mickelson by winning six of the first nine holes before closing out the match 5 and 4.

“Today it was either do or die,” McIlroy said. “It’s a sigh of relief. It’s nice to get to the weekend.”

McIlroy hasn’t lost a match in this tournament in two years, but has had to work hard for his three wins this week. He will face British Open champion Zach Johnson in the round of 16.

There was nothing tense about Reed’s dispatching of Mickelson. Mickelson opened the door with a double bogey on the first hole and the rout was on. Reed had two eagles in the first 10 holes.

Reed continues to build an impressive match-play resume. He was a rare bright spot for the U.S. team in the 2014 Ryder Cup when he went 3-0-1 and showed the bravado his teammates lacked when he put his fingers to his lip to “shush” the European home crowd.

“I love match play,” said Reed, who next faces Dustin Johnson. “I relish every time I get to go in this format and go up against one guy … just going out and getting in a dog fight.”

In other loser-goes-home matches, Matt Kuchar beat Justin Rose, 3 and 2, Brandt Snedeker topped Charl Schwartzel, 5 and 3, and Louis Oosthuizen beat Andy Sullivan, 4 and 2.

Perhaps no match was more entertaining than the duel between Adam Scott and Bill Haas, who were at times sloppy and then brilliant at the end. They didn’t halve a hole over the final 11, and there were 13 lead changes. Haas won 1-up, making a 15-foot birdie putt on the last hole to knock out the world’s sixth-ranked golfer.

“I struggled all day tee to green,” said Haas, who plays Chris Kirk in the round of 16. “Adam gave me a few holes. Matter of fact, when we shook hands, he said, ‘I don’t know what to say about that, but you need to play better tomorrow,’ which was the truth.”

Top-ranked Jordan Spieth completed an undefeated first round with a 3-and-2 victory over friend Justin Thomas and will face Oosthuizen in the round of 16. No. 2 Jason Day clinched his group and will face Snedeker.

Shin up after 65 at Kia Classic

Jenny Shin shot a seven-under-par 65 and took the lead in the LPGA Tour’s Kia Classic at Carlsbad, a stroke ahead of top-ranked Lydia Ko and Brittany Lang.

Shin birdied five of her first eight holes and is at 10-under 134 at Aviara. The 23-year-old South Korean is winless on the LPGA Tour.

Ko shot a 67, and Lang had a 68. The 18-year-old Ko is coming off a second-place finish at Phoenix in the Founders Cup.

Second-ranked Inbee Park and fellow South Korean Hyo Joo Kim were eight under. Park had a 69, and Kim shot a 66.

Campos holds lead in Puerto Rico

Rafael Campos held onto the lead in front of his home fans in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open, shooting a one-under 71 in windy conditions at Rio Grande.

Campos had a nine-under 135 total at Coco Beach for a one-stroke lead. He’s the first Puerto Rican to lead a PGA Tour event since the 1979 Tallahassee Open, when Chi Chi Rodriguez was tied for the 54-hole lead and went on to win his eighth and final title.

George McNeill, the 2012 winner, was second after a 71. Ian Poulter was tied for third at seven under after a 66 — the best round of the day.