WGC Match Play 2018 scores: Justin Thomas eyes No. 1 ranking, more stars eliminated

The story out of the first three days at the 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play is who didn't move on. After pool play and heading into the final 16, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson and Hideki Matsuyama are all headed home.

What we were left with on Friday, though, was the match of the event (so far), a bizarre (but fun!) round of 16 and quite possibly the longest shot in the history of the PGA Tour. Here's what went down on the third day of Match Play from Austin, Texas.

Match of the day

No matter what they did, Jordan Spieth taking on Patrick Reed was going to be the preeminent match of Friday. It wasn't pretty, but it was dramatic at the end. Spieth eventually took him to the 17th hole after a bumpy start and some shaky putting, but of course Reed made a 40-footer to end his Ryder Cup playing partner's week.

"It was a tough draw to have Patrick in the pod," said Spieth. "But that's how it works. You have got to beat some of the best match play players in order to win this tournament."

With authority! 💪@PReedGolf defeats @JordanSpieth 2 and 1 to advance to the Round of 16.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/TmmPGyB4Gv
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 23, 2018

Shot of the day

Dustin Johnson hit what is likely the longest drive in the history of the PGA Tour. Stats from this event don't officially count, but his drive at the 12th went nearly 500 yards.

DJ went long. REAL LONG.

489 yards. 🚀🚀

Statistics do not officially count in this event. But the longest drive on TOUR in the ShotLink era (2003) is 476 yards by @Love3d. pic.twitter.com/EHgMscMhdt
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 23, 2018

FOUR-EIGHTY-NINE

Apologies. The FCC didn't clear the drive for the broadcast 🤭 pic.twitter.com/FJgnWGfWw2
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) March 23, 2018

Hottest hand

Justin Thomas made quick work of Francesco Molinari 7 and 5 and blasted his way to a 3-0-0 start. With Dustin Johnson exiting stage right, this event is now set up for him to get to No. 1 in the world if he can take four straight matches on the weekend.

"I feel great. My game is feeling better each day," said Thomas, who recently had his wisdom teeth taken out. "I'm playing better each day. I hope I can continue to get better. That would bode well for my performance for the tournament. But that's thing about golf in general, let alone match play, is you don't know what you are going to get. You don't know what your opponent is going to do. All I can do is go out and play my game, and if it's good enough to win holes and matches, then great."

Most important win

Ian Poulter, Cameron Smith and Charles Howell III share this one. Poulter took down Kevin Chappell, and Howell beat Satoshi Kodaira. Smith halved with Yusaku Miyazato. All three are on the edge of a Masters invite, and all three could lock that up this weekend with good finishes.

Quote of the day

We go back to our good friend Patrick Reed for that, of course.

"There were a lot of Jordan cheers going on, which I expect," said Reed. "He went to college here and everything. It was awesome that not only were so many of them cheering for Jordan, but at the same time they were very respectful. They never crossed that line. That's awesome to see.

"Being a Texan, to see that from other Texans, it's awesome. It very easily can go the other way. You can get really rowdy and cross that line. The fans were great today and they were respectful in both sides and were cheering for good shots no matter who hit them."

Ryder Cup preview?

Brian Harman toasted Rory McIlroy 5 and 3 to advance. Harman is a semi-dark horse Ryder Cup candidate, and a lot of people believe he could do some damage if he makes it to Paris. He certainly lit it up on Friday with five birdies in 15 holes. He still deflected the praise.

"Rory did not play his best golf today," said Harman. "I played extremely well. I'm proud of the way I came out. Rory is an intimidating guy. He hits it a mile, especially what he did last week. I kind of had this circled this week, and I'm glad I came out and played well."