It’s a good thing the 2017 WGC-Dell Match Play Championship was changed to a round-robin event for the first three days because the No. 2 and No. 6 golfers in the world both lost their first matches in Austin, Texas. Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth will move on to play on Thursday and Friday, though, and they still have a chance to make it to the Round of 16.

The only difference is that they now no longer control their own destiny.

McIlroy was defeated 2 and 1 by Soren Kjeldsen on a cold-blooded shot on the par-3 17th, which led to his seventh birdie of the day (compared to just one bogey). McIlroy had six birdies himself (to two bogeys), but when he pressed the gas late, Kjeldsen kept up. McIlroy was actually 1 up standing on the 14th tee, but Kjeldsen closed with four straight birdies.

“I played well,” McIlroy said. “If I had of played anyone else I might have won. Soren played great. I think I have to give him credit. He played really, really well, from the first hole. He made birdie at the first, and his wedge play was very sharp all day. 

“He didn’t miss any real makeable putts. He sort of holed everything he should have. And just played a really solid round of golf. It’s hard to beat that, especially when the wind is getting up. I mean 6-under for 17 holes around here is really good.”

“I knew that I had to play well to have any kind of a chance, therefore, I didn’t look too much at what Rory was doing,” said Kjeldsen, who got lapped off the tee by the absurd McIlroy. “I played really, really well. I think I did a good job of not worrying about what Rory was doing. A few times he hit it about 100 yards past me. 

“I was trying not to look at that too much. I knew I had to play well to have a chance. To be honest with you, that’s case in every match this week. The players are so good that you need to be on your game. I got into my little zone.”

McIlroy’s round included a 410-yard drive, but in the end, his firepower was not enough. He will face Gary Woodland and Emiliano Grillo in the next two days. The good news for McIlroy (if you can call it that) is that he lost to the lowest-seeded golfer in his bracket so he has a chance to win his next two and have Kjeldsen lose his next two and still move on into the weekend. 

Even if McIlroy wins his next two and Kjeldsen only loses one, the two would find themselves (and anyone else in their pool with a record of 2-1) in a stroke-play playoff.

The same is true of Spieth on Wednesday after he lost 4 and 2 to Hideto Tanihara. Spieth did not play well at all and certainly not as well as McIlroy. The hometown kid could muster only two birdies on the day to three bogeys. The match was all square through seven holes, and Tanihara led the rest of the way.

“It’s his hometown,” said Tanihara, who never trailed. “I guess it’s his favorite course. It’s actually harder to play in that kind of situation. ... It’s more like you have to play well. So I think it was harder for him to play than myself. So I think I just had a better chance, less pressure.”

Spieth will face Ryan Moore and Yuta Ikeda over the final two days of pool play.