WGC-Dell Match Play: Predictions for Saturday’s Knockout Rounds

Soren Kjeldsen (62) v. William McGirt (48)

Neither one of these players is ranked inside the world’s top 50 at the moment, so there’s a lot on the line in this match. Kjeldsen has been playing like a man half his age this week, defeating young guns Rory McIlroy and Emiliano Grillo in a terrific group play performance.

McGirt has given us more results to work with — he won three matches to Kjeldsen’s two — but he’s been playing against significantly weaker competition. Kjeldsen is the one who knocked off one of last year’s semifinalists, and I’m looking for him to continue to outplay his projection tomorrow.

Prediction: Kjeldsen

Jon Rahm (21) v. Charles Howell III (61)

As reluctant as I am to rule out Howell — the Georgia native is a giant killer in this event — this match should be all Rahm. The talented young Spaniard played a match to remember on Friday, taking down countryman Sergio Garcia 6 & 4 in one of the performances of the tournament.

Howell showed a ton of mettle outlasting Rafa Cabrera-Bello in sudden death, but Rahm’s game may prove too much to handle.

Prediction: Rahm

Quarterfinal Prediction: Soren Kjeldsen v. Jon Rahm

If I’m right, this quarterfinal match will be all European, and it could end up playing out a lot closer in reality than it does on paper. Remember, Kjeldsen beat McIlroy just a few days ago — what’s to say he couldn’t do the same thing to Rahm, who, in all fairness, has a fraction of McIlroy’s big-stage experience?

However, the Spaniard is in red-hot form, and as the 62nd seed, Kjeldsen’s run seems likely to come to an end eventually.

Prediction: Rahm