March 21 (UPI) -- Justin Thomas was able to rescue a ball from an impossible lie, making par Wednesday on the ninth hole at the 2018 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
Thomas battled Luke List at the Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. He blasted a 287-yard drive on the par 4, 490-yard hole. He then hit a 142-yard approach to the left and into an area 33 yards from the hole, which would later be categorized as a hazard.
The ball landed in some underbrush beneath the green and directly behind a rock wall. Thomas dropped down on the other side of the wall and lofted a shot over the barrier, tagging the green with the pinpoint chip.
He putted his fourth shot into the hole for a par. Thomas birdied four holes on the front nine and two holes on the back nine to finish the day two shots up on List, who birdied holes 2, 13, 15 and 16.
Wednesday's win marked just the second victory in seven matches at the event for Thomas.
Thomas battles Patton Kizzire at 2:27 p.m. Thursday in the second round of the tournament. The No. 2 ranked player in the World Golf Rankings faces off against Francesco Molinari at 12:04 p.m. on Friday.
