France’s Victor Perez took a giant step towards qualifying for his Ryder Cup debut under Pádraig Harrington when he beat Robert MacIntyre and Sergio Garcia to reach the semi-finals of the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club.

Based in Scotland, Perez made a fast start by winning three of the first four holes in a 5&4 win over MacIntyre, then ousted Garcia 4&3 in the quarter-finals as he bids to become the first player since Geoff Ogilvy (2006) to win the event in his first appearance

He faces Billy Horschel, who beat Tommy Fleetwood at the 19th, and if he wins the title, Perez will be eligible to become a PGA TOUR Member while a second or third-place finish would deem him eligible for Special Temporary Membership.

Scottie Scheffler also announced his candidacy for a Ryder Cup pick as he defeated Ian Poulter 5&4 and Jon Rahm 3&1 to set up a semi-final showdown with veteran Matt Kuchar (42) who is seeking to become the oldest champion in tournament history.

Winner of the title in 2013 and runner-up to Kevin Kisner when it was last contested in 2019, Kuchar beat Jordan Spieth 1-up before seeing off Brian Harman, 2 and 1.

Things to Know

• Semifinalists by seeds: Scottie Scheffler (30), Victor Perez (31), Billy Horschel (32), Matt Kuchar (54)

• With a 4-and-3 victory over Sergio Garcia, Victor Perez seeks to become the first player since Geoff Ogilvy (2006) to win the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in his tournament debut

• Former Texas Longhorn standout Scottie Scheffler becomes the fourth player to advance to the Semifinals in his tournament debut since Austin Country Club began hosting the event in 2016 (Lucas Bjerregaard/2019/4th, Jon Rahm/2017/2nd, Hideto Tanihara/2017/4th)

• With Jon Rahm’s loss, the Semifinals will not include one of the top-16 seeds for the first time since the event introduced the group play format in 2015

• Billy Horschel outlasts Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff, with Horschel making a par-5 on the 12th hole to advance

• Of the 17 countries represented in the field, only two remain:

  • United States – Billy Horschel, Scottie Scheffler, Matt Kuchar

  • France – Victor Perez

Quarterfinals Results 

Billy Horschel (32) def. Tommy Fleetwood (21), playoff

Victor Perez (31) def. Sergio Garcia (39), 4 and 3

Scottie Scheffler (30) def. Jon Rahm (3), 3 and 1

Matt Kuchar (52) def. Brian Harman (54), 2 and 1

Semifinals Matches

9:05 a.m. – Victor Perez (31) vs. Billy Horschel (32)

9:20 a.m. – Scottie Scheffler (30) vs. Matt Kuchar (52)

Single-Elimination Format

• Sunday morning: Semifinals;

• Sunday afternoon: Championship Match and Consolation Match

Match 105 – Billy Horschel def. Tommy Fleetwood, 19 holes 

Horschel round-by-round 

RD 1: def. Max Homa, 1-up

RD 2: lost to J.T. Poston, 4 and 2

RD 3: def. Collin Morikawa, 3 and 2

RD 4: def. Kevin Streelman, 3 and 1

QF – def. Tommy Fleetwood, 19 holes 

Fleetwood round-by-round

RD 1: tied Si Woo Kim

RD 2: def. Antoine Rozner, 4 and 3

RD 3: def. Bryson DeChambeau, 1-up

RD 4: def. Dylan Frittelli, 4 and 3

QF – lost to Billy Horschel, 19 holes 

• Billy Horschel outlasted Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff, with Horschel making a par-5 on the 12th hole to advance

• Horschel advances to the Semifinals for the first time in four tournament appearances since the group play format was introduced in 2015

• 2014 FedExCup champion finished T2 in the season’s first World Golf Championships event at the WGC-Workday Championship at Concession; seeks his first WGC title in his 20th career start

• In his Round of 16, Fleetwood made a hole-in-one from 179 yards on the par-3 fourth hole with a 7-iron and win over Dylan Frittelli, 4 and 3. His advancement to the Quarterfinals tied his best tournament finish since the event moved to Austin Country Club.

 

Match 106 – Victor Perez def. Sergio Garcia, 4 and 3

Perez round-by-round 

RD 1: def. Marc Leishman, 2 and 1

RD 2: lost to Russell Henley, 4 and 3

RD 3: def. Sungjae Im, 2 and 1

RD 4: def. Robert MacIntyre, 5 and 4

QF – def. Sergio Garcia, 4 and 3 

Garcia round-by-round

RD 1: def. Lee Westwood, 4 and 3

RD 2: def. Tyrrell Hatton, 3 and 2

RD 3: lost to Matt Wallace, 3 and 2

RD 4: def. Mackenzie Hughes, 2 and 1

QF – lost to Victor Perez, 4 and 3 

• After starting the match 1-down through the first hole, Victor Perez responded with wins on his next two holes en route to a 4-and-3 win over 11-time PGA TOUR winner Sergio Garcia

• Perez seeks to become the first player since Geoff Ogilvy (2006) to win the event in his first appearance

• The European Tour winner is making his fifth World Golf Championships appearance this week (best finish T4/2019 WGC-HSBC Champions)

• He is the second player from France in tournament history to advance to the Semifinals (Victor Dubuisson/2014/2nd); No player from France has won a World Golf Championships event

• With a win on Sunday, Perez is eligible to become a PGA TOUR Member and a second or third-place finish would deem him eligible for Special Temporary Membership; he has 94 non-member FedExCup points in the 2020-21 season and needs 228

• Prior to his loss against Perez, Garcia won his Round of 16 matchup against Mackenzie Hughes, 2 and 1

• 2021 marked Garcia’s third visit to the Quarterfinals without advancement to the Semifinals

 

Match 107 – Scottie Scheffler def. Jon Rahm, 3 and 1

Scheffler round-by-round

RD 1: def. Jason Day, 2-up

RD 2: tied Andy Sullivan

RD 3: tied Xander Schauffele

RD 4: def. Ian Poulter, 5 and 4

QF – def. Jon Rahm, 3 and 1

 Rahm round-by-round

RD 1: def. Sebastian Munoz, 1-up

RD 2: def. Shane Lowry 2-up

RD 3: tied Ryan Palmer

RD 4: def. Erik van Rooyen, 3 and 2

QF – lost to Scottie Scheffler, 3 and 1

• Scottie Scheffler did not trail in either match on Saturday and advanced to the Semifinals with a 3-and-1 win over Jon Rahm

• Scheffler is the fourth player to advance to the Semifinals in his tournament debut since Austin Country Club began hosting the event in 2016 (Lucas Bjerregaard/2019/4th; Jon Rahm/2017/2nd; Hideto Tanihara/2017/4th)

• Scheffler is the first player from the University of Texas to reach the Semifinals at Austin Country Club

• Scheffler is seeking his first World Golf Championships title in his fifth appearance (best finish: 5th/2021 WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession)

• With Jon Rahm’s loss the Semifinals will not include one of the top-16 seeds since the event introduced group the play format in 2015

 

Match 108 – Matt Kuchar def. Brian Harman, 2 and 1

Kuchar round-by-round

RD 1: def. Justin Thomas, 3 and 2

RD 2: def. Louis Oosthuizen, 1-up

RD 3: def. Kevin Kisner, 2 and 1

RD 4: def. Jordan Spieth, 1-up

QF – def. Brian Harman, 2 and 1

Harman round-by-round

RD 1: lost to Patrick Cantlay, 1-up

RD 2: def. Hideki Matsuyama, 1-up

RD 3: def. Carlos Ortiz, 3 and 2

RD 4: def. Bubba Watson, 2 and 1

QF – lost to Matt Kuchar, 2 and 1 

• 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play runner up Matt Kuchar birdies the 17th hole to defeat Brian Harman, 2 and 1

• With his win in the Quarterfinals against Harman, Kuchar moves to second all-time in matches won at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play with 33; Tiger Woods holds the most with 36

• Kuchar seeks to become the third player with two or more wins in WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play history (Tiger Woods/3; Jason Day/2)

• Kuchar, 42, is seeking to become the oldest champion in tournament history

• Prior to falling to Kuchar in the Quarterfinals, Harman defeated 2018 champion Bubba Watson in the Round of 16, 2 and 1.