Hideki Matsuyama was eliminated from the Dell Technologies Match Play on Friday after losing his final round-robin pairing 4 and 3 to Patrick Cantlay of the United States.
Cantlay cruised to an easy win over the world No. 6. Cantlay was 5 up after 12 holes, allowing the American to easily brush off losing the 13th and 14th at Austin Country Club.
Australian Cameron Smith advances to the single-elimination stage after halving his match Friday with already-eliminated Yusaku Miyazato to finish the Group 5 round-robin without a loss.
Yuta Ikeda's hopes of advancing from Group 16 evaporated as American Matt Kuchar booked his ticket to the single-elimination stage with a 6 and 4 win over Ross Fisher of Britain.
Ikeda, who needed Kuchar to lose or halve against Fisher, took the lead on the fifth hole against Zach Johnson of the United States. However, an Ikeda bogey on the 17th saw the pair all square as they halved the match.
Matsuyama, coming back after suffering a left thumb injury at February's Phoenix Open, where he was the two-time defending champion, said he struggled with his accuracy.
"Other than on the second and fourth holes, my shot placement wasn't that great," said Matsuyama, who has structured his comeback with an eye on next month's Masters, where he hopes to win his first major championship. "I want to make sure I'm in good condition in for (the Masters)."
