Jason Day has advanced to the top 16 of the Dell Matchplay after he was gifted a third-round win in Austin, Texas today.
Day was all square with England's Paul Casey through six holes of their match when the Englishman withdrew because of stomach cramps. Casey has been ill throughout the week.
Day will play Brandt Snedeker of the United States in a round-of-16 match tomorrow as the World Golf Championship event, worth $US9.5 million, moves to the knockout stage.
"Unfortunately, Paul didn't feel that great. It happened to him last year, as well, against Rory (McIlroy),'' said Day. "These things pop up and unfortunately it just got to him. 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.''
Day told reporters his back, which was in spasm during his first-round match, felt good. "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."
The Queenslander is the last Australian standing after Adam Scott lost to Bill Haas and was eliminated today. Haas sunk a four-metre birdie putt at the 18th hole to oust Scott, who won just one of his three matches.
The top three on the world rankings — Jordan Spieth, Day and Rory McIlroy — have all advanced to the top 16.