Dustin Johnson

Sergio Garcia advanced to the round of 16 on a walkoff ace and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson has been eliminated as group competition concluded at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play on Friday at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas.

Elsewhere, upsets have permeated this entire competition to the point where Jon Rahm was the only top-16 seed to advance. Rahm needed a playoff to advance after taking down Ryan Palmer.

Here's a look at who will join Garcia and Rahm in the round of 16, which will occur Saturday. The quarterfinals will follow on the same day before the semifinals and finals take place Sunday.

You can also check out some memorable moments from Friday.

Round of 16

No. 52 Matt Kuchar vs. No. 49 Jordan Spieth

No. 55 Bubba Watson vs. No. 54 Brian Harman

No. 30 Scottie Scheffler vs. No. 60 Ian Poulter

No. 3 Jon Rahm vs. No. 62 Eric Van Rooyen

No. 32 Billy Horschel vs. No. 53 Kevin Streelman

No. 21 Tommy Fleetwood vs. No. 64 Dylan Frittelli

No. 41 Robert MacIntyre vs. No. 31 Victor Perez

No. 39 Sergio Garcia vs. No. 48 Mackenzie Hughes

Friday Rundown

Garcia and Lee Westwood led Group 8 with matching 2-1 records after three days, leading to a sudden-death playoff between the two. The tie remained intact after three holes, but the 2017 Masters champion took matters into his own hands with an ace on the par-three No. 4 from 161 yards out.

The 41-year-old is moving onto the final 16, but Johnson will not be joining him. DJ would have played another day if he beat Kevin Na on Friday, but the five-time PGA Tour winner won 1-up over Johnson.

Na and Johnson had an interesting exchange after the 11th hole. Johnson had a 7'10" putt to win the hole that lipped out. Instead of finishing the hole or waiting for Na to concede, Johnson tapped the ball to himself before picking it up. Na then discussed the matter with DJ and spoke with reporters afterward:

Johnson was 1-up after 11 holes, but Na had four birdies on the final seven holes to finish with the 1-up win.

Meanwhile, Robert McIntyre halved his match with Adam Long to finish 1-0-2 over three days and earn Group 1's bid to the next round. Johnson fell just short at 1-1-1.

Johnson won the 2017 competition, but he's been the No. 1 overall seed in the 2018, 2019 and 2021 competitions and failed to advance from group play each time.

Only two golfers will advance to the round of 16 with 3-0-0 records.

Ian Poulter was the first to earn that mark after taking down Cameron Smith, Rory McIlroy and Lanto Griffin. He started his tournament with a dominant 6-and-5 victory over McIlroy before beating Smith 1-up and Griffin 2-and-1 on Friday. Per Justin Ray of the 15th Club, Poulter has now made the round of 16 eight times, tying Tiger Woods for most all-time.

Matt Kuchar joins Poulter in the ranks of the unbeaten and untied. He defeated Justin Thomas 3-and-2 and Louis Oosthuizen 1-up before facing Kevin Kisner (2-0-0 entering Friday) in a de-facto group championship match. Kuchar took care of business against Kisner, winning 2-and-1.

Golf Channel will begin the televised broadcast of the quarterfinals beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday. NBC will then air the tournament from 2-6 p.m.

All results and schedules via PGATour.com.

The 2021 Players Championship ended as it began for Dustin Johnson: with a disappointing whimper.

Johnson carded a one-under 71 in Sunday's final round, going into the clubhouse at one under for the tournament and tied for 53rd place. It is the world No. 1's lowest finish in any of golf's big five events (the four majors and The Players Championship) since he missed the cut in the 2018 Open Championship.

Johnson's wild round included six birdies and five bogeys. The back nine saw DJ par only one hole—the par-five 11th—while birdieing or bogeying the other eight.

TPC Sawgrass just never seemed to agree with Johnson this week, as he didn't have any one area where he completely fell apart but also failed to excel in any aspect. His four rounds—73, 70, 73, 71—tell the story of a middling, unspectacular performance that can happen even to the all-time greats.

Johnson also had some pretty bad luck. His bounce into the water off the flag stick at No. 17 during Saturday's third round is one of the unluckiest shots in recent memory.

That said, even an ace rather than a five on that hole would not have been enough to put him into contention with the leaders.

Sawgrass has had Johnson's number throughout his career. His fifth-place finish in 2019 was the only time he's been inside the top 10 at golf's fifth "major," and he's finished outside the top 20 eight times.

The disappointing performance will do little to knock Johnson off his perch as the world's top-ranked golfer, as he's built up a significant lead over Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas.

Nevertheless, he'll need to get his game back in top form soon if he wants to repeat as Masters champion. 

The No. 1 golfer in the world will not participate in the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer. 

Dustin Johnson told reporters in Florida he plans to skip the event in order to concentrate on the PGA Tour, leaving the United States without one of the biggest names in the sport for the rescheduled Olympics. 

"It's right in the middle of a big stretch of golf for me, so that was the reason I was kind of waffling on it a little bit,'' Johnson said Saturday. "It's a long way to travel, and I think the [World Golf Championship event] is the week right after it. The British is a couple weeks before. It's a lot of traveling at a time where it's important to feel like I'm focused playing on the PGA Tour.''

Johnson had taken a similar stance last year before the games were postponed.

Countries are eligible to send two golfers to the Olympics with an extra two slots available per nations with players ranked top-15 in the world. 

The United States still has 10 players ranked in the top 15 aside from Johnson—including standouts Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa. Norway's Viktor Hovland (No. 13), Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy (No. 11), England's Tyrrell Hatton (No. 7) and Spain's Jon Rahm (No. 2) make up the rest of the top 15. 

The 2020 games in Tokyo—delayed a year because of the pandemic—is just the fourth time golf has been included at the Summer Olympics. It was added back as an event in 2016 and remains on track to take place in Japan at Kasumigaseki Country Club from July 29 to August 1.

Those dates will require plenty of travel for those PGA Tour stars who do intend to participate in the games. The Open Championship is slated for July 15-18 in England with the WGC St. Jude Invitational scheduled from August 5-8 in Memphis, Tennessee. 

It's too close of a call for Johnson, who will remain focused on his PGA Tour season this summer.

"I think if there was a little more time, especially if you weren't trying to fly right from Tokyo to Memphis and play the WGC, I definitely would have thought about it a lot more,'' Johnson said. "It was more a little more space between there, for sure.''

The American's comments come after three straight rounds of 70 or worse at The Players Championship this weekend, putting Johnson (even par) 11 strokes off the lead. 

Dustin Johnson's pedestrian week at the 2021 Players Championship continued Saturday as he only mustered a one-over 73 in the third round at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Johnson entered the third round well off the pace after shooting a 73 in the first round and 70 in the second round. Upon entering the clubhouse Saturday, Johnson was nine shots behind tournament leaders Lee Westwood and Paul Casey with an overall score of even par.

The world No. 1 was never quite able to get anything going Saturday, carding four birdies, three bogeys, one double-bogey and 10 pars on the round.

It initially looked as though Johnson could make a charge in the third round after birdying the par-five second, but after bogeys on each of the next two holes, he found himself playing catch-up the rest of the round.

While Johnson did manage to make the turn at even par for the day after a birdie on No. 7, one of the toughest holes in golf scuppered his chances of a below-par round.

Johnson seemed to have hit a near-perfect tee shot that went off the flag stick, but instead of the ball going into the hole or settling near it, it caromed into the water:

As a result, Johnson had to settle for a tough-luck double bogey, marking his second score of bogey or worse on the hole during the tournament.

Jason Sobel of Action Network took the opportunity to crack at joke at Johnson's expense by playing off Tiger Woods' famous "better than most" putt on No. 17 during the 2001 Players Championship:

Following his round, Johnson commented on the bad break, telling Golf Channel's Rex Hoggard: "That sums up my week right there."

While Johnson has been among the best players in the world for the past several years, a Players Championship victory continues to elude him.

The two-time major champion has a victory under his belt this season, winning the Saudi International last month, but he has struggled of late, finishing 54th in the recent WGC-Workday Championship and finding himself far down the leaderboard in the Players Championship.

Although the 36-year-old isn't in ideal form, he still has a bit of time left to find his groove before attempting to defend his Masters title next month.

A late double bogey halted Dustin Johnson's surge up The Players Championship leaderboard Friday as he posted a two-under 70 in the second round at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Johnson, who started on the back nine, recorded four birdies through his first seven holes after opening the day at one-over. After moving inside the top 10 following the red-hot start, he was two-over on the front nine to walk off the course in a tie for 33rd with Round 2 ongoing. 

The 2020 Masters champion only has one top-10 finish in the Players across 11 career starts.

Johnson was hopeful the driving problems that popped up last month, starting late in the Genesis Invitational and continuing at the Workday Championship, were solved when he arrived at TPC Sawgrass.

"Ball position was getting a little too far back, which causes me to hit it both ways," he told reporters Tuesday. "It takes a little bit to work on that, but I fixed it and feel pretty good over the driver now."

The progress was evident as he hit 64.3 percent of fairways during the first round, but he couldn't match that performance Friday, as that fairway number dropped to 42.9 percent.

He was able to make up for some of that poor play off the tee with otherwise strong play—he hit 77.8 percent of greens and gained 2.1 strokes with his putter—came within three holes of finishing the day within serious striking distance of the leaders.

Johnson's tee shot at the seventh found the water, however, and he missed a 10-foot putt for bogey that would have limited the damage.

He also failed to take advantage of the par-five ninth, his final hole of the day, as his tee ball landed in the rough and he missed a six-foot attempt for birdie.

His 70 was still three shots better than his score in the first round and it helped move him off the cut line.

Johnson will try to put together a more sustainable charge Saturday to at least give himself a puncher's chance heading into the final round.

Dustin Johnson faces an uphill climb in pursuit of his first Players Championship title this week.

Johnson opened with a one-over 73, which put him in a tie for 61st when his opening round concluded. Sergio Garcia sits atop the leaderboard at seven under.  

The two-time major champion struggled in his last outing, tying for 54th in the WGC-Workday Championship. He told reporters he didn't drive the ball well at Concession Golf Club, which caused a domino effect for the rest of his performance.

In addition to diagnosing his problem, Johnson felt good about the Players Championship due to the timing of the event.

"The golf course plays a little better," he said. "Obviously the rough's a little thicker, it plays longer, but the greens are a little more receptive, you can actually hit some shots. So I think the course plays better overseeded and playing this time of year and I definitely like it better."

"I definitely feel like I play it a little better, too."

In retrospect, Johnson's confidence may have been slightly misplaced.

The 36-year-old got off to a good start, carding a par on No. 1 and then birdieing No. 2. His momentum stalled from there, and he fell back to even par with a bogey on No. 6.

Johnson encountered big trouble on the par-five 11th hole when his approach landed well short of the green and in the water. After getting onto the green in five, he two-putted his way to a double bogey.

The South Carolina native rallied back to eagle No. 16. Following a 320-yard drive, he dropped his approach within 15 feet of the flagstick. He still had a tricky putt but found the bottom of the cup to climb to even par.

Johnson gave one stroke back on the very next hole. Unlike others in the field, he successfully navigated his way onto the famous island green off the tee. His birdie putt rolled past the hole, however, and his par putt met the same fate.

Poor putting was a theme throughout the day. According to PGATour.com, Johnson's 2.091 putts per green in regulation are tied for 145th.

His iron play wasn't great, either, as he reached 11 greens in regulation.

Looking ahead to Friday, Johnson is once again grouped with Bryson DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa for the second round, and they're scheduled to tee off at 7:40 a.m. ET.

Although he doesn't appear to be in danger of missing the cut, his title hopes are already hanging by a thread.

The 2021 Players Championship is underway at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Play began at 6:45 a.m. ET. Alex Noren, Xinjun Zhang and Doug Ghim teed off from No. 1, while Kyle Stanley, Lucas Glover and Tyler McCumber opened their tournaments on the 10th tee.

Fans looking to following the action can do so on PGATour.com's live leaderboard. Golf Channel's television coverage begins at 12 p.m. ET and runs through 6 p.m. ET.

A lot of eyes will be on Bryson DeChambeau following his victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The 27-year-old showed off his incredible power at Bay Hill Club and Lodge, leading the tournament in driving distance (321.3 yards). His longest drive traveled 377 yards as he effectively bypassed the fairway on the par-five sixth hole.

DeChambeau's driving ability may not provide a decisive edge at TPC Sawgrass, though. He tied for 37th in the 2018 Players Championship and finished with a share of 20th the following year. During the 2019 Players Championship, he double-bogeyed No. 18 twice.

The PGA Tour also announced Tuesday it was eliminating any chance for him to take a shortcut to the green on the 18th:

For the first two rounds at least, Bryson DeChambeau will be grouped together with Dustin Johnson.

Johnson's track record in the Players isn't great, posting one top-10 finish in 10 tries. His last outing was a 54th-place finish in the WGC-Workday Championship last month.

Still, the blistering form Johnson enjoyed to close out 2020 illustrated how good he is when he's in a groove.

"Ball position was getting a little too far back, which causes me to hit it both ways," the 36-year-old told reporters of his performance in the WGC-Workday Championship. "It takes a little bit to work on that, but I fixed it and feel pretty good over the driver now."

Jordan Spieth tied for fourth in his first try at the 2014 Players Championship. Since then, he has four missed cuts and a 41st-place showing in 2018.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational was emblematic of Spieth's season. Entering the final round, he was two shots back of tournament leader Lee Westwood. Then unraveled over the last 18 holes, carding a three-over 75.

Spieth is in a featured group alongside Patrick Reed and Jon Rahm. Perhaps the 27-year-old can turn things around in Ponte Vedra Beach, but history would indicate that won't be the case.

While it's not the single-most prestigious tournament on the PGA tour calendar, the Players Championship offers both a coveted trophy and lucrative payout.

TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, hosts the event, which is slated for March 11-14, 2021. The course is famous for the "Island Green," a 137-yard par three that is surrounded by water and provides a nerve-testing finish to every round.

And players know it for the massive purse.

Other than the Tour Championship to close the FedEx Cup, the Players Championship has the largest payday on tour.

Last year, a total of $15 million would have been distributed to the 50-person field with $2.7 million to the winner. The purse and winner's prize money are the same in 2021.

Since the coronavirus pandemic halted the 2020 Players after the first round, Rory McIlroy technically enters as the defending champion. He shot a 16-under 272 in 2019, edging Jim Furyk by a shot and earning $2.25 million of a $12.5 million purse.

McIlroy, who didn't win a tournament last year, is hoping the return to Sawgrass also brings back his winning form.

"It's good to be back," he said, per Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post. "It's nice, like I get another bite at the cherry."

McIlroy is a top contender, but 2020 FedEx Cup champion Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau are among the early favorites. They're paired together for the opening rounds, too.

DeChambeau, the winner of last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, has already forced some changes at Sawgrass. After he suggested trying to drive the ball up the ninth fairway—left of the lake—on the 18th, the PGA nixed that idea.

"In the interest of safety for spectators and other personnel, the Players Championship Rules Committee has installed an internal out of bounds left of the lake for play of hole 18," a statement said.

DeChambeau, Johnson and Collin Morikawa are slated to start Thursday's round at 1 p.m. ET on the first hole. They'll follow Patrick Reed, Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth at 12:49 p.m.

Additionally, three notable groups start on the 10th early in the morning. Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay and Viktor Hovland hit the course at 7:29 a.m., followed by McIlroy, Sergio Garcia and Webb Simpson at 7:40 a.m. and Tyrell Hatton, Xander Schauffele and Paul Casey at 8:02 a.m. local time.

The battle for $2.7 million should be highly entertaining, particularly if the Island Green comes into play Sunday.

Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.