WGC-Match Play: Making the predictions at Austin Country Club
The WGC-Match Play heads to Austin Country Club for the fourth straight year as all but two of the world’s top 50 are in Texas.
Are you sick of the regular ol’ stroke play events? Ready for something different on the PGA Tour?
Well, you’re in luck. In a month’s time we’ll be treated to the two-man team event at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
In the meantime we’re tided over by this week’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play.
Gone are the days of the old 64-man NCAA Tournament-like single-elimination bracket. Since 2015 the Match Play has been divvied up into 16 pools of four with each pool winner advancing to the knockout stage.
All players are still seeded 1-64 as it was in the past, but now there is a bit of randomness to the equation given the stratified random draw to create the pools. The top 16 seeds each head a pool with the random draw used to fill out the competition.
The pools lead into a bracket with the winner of group 1 to play the group 16 winner, group 2 to play 15 and so on.
Here are the pools accompanied by their seed, which was determined by the Official World Golf Rankings:
Group 1: 1 Dustin Johnson, 24 Hideki Matsuyama, 40 Branden Grace, 55 Chez Reavie
Group 2: 2 Justin Rose, 22 Gary Woodland, 34 Eddie Pepperell, 53 Emiliano Grillo
Group 3: 3 Brooks Koepka, 27 Alex Noren, 36 Haotong Li, 60 Tom Lewis
Group 4: 4 Rory McIlroy, 32 Matt Fitzpatrick, 47 Justin Harding 64, Luke List
Group 5: 5 Justin Thomas, 31 Keegan Bradley, 33 Matt Wallace, 50 Lucas Bjerregaard
Group 6: 6 Bryson DeChambeau, 17 Marc Leishman, 39 Kiradech Aphibarnrat, 59 Russell Knox
Group 7: 7 Francesco Molinari, 21 Webb Simpson, 45 Thorbjorn Olesen, 63 Satoshi Kodaira
Group 8: 8 Jon Rahm, 23 Matt Kuchar, 43 J.B. Holmes, 54 Si Woo Kim
Group 9: 9 Xander Schauffele, 29 Rafa Cabrera Bello, 35 Tyrrell Hatton, 62 Lee Westwood
Group 10: 10 Paul Casey, 25 Cameron Smith, 42 Charles Howell III, 58 Abraham Ancer
Group 11: 11 Tommy Fleetwood, 19 Louis Oosthuizen, 41 Kyle Stanley, 49 Byeong-Hun An
Group 12: 12 Jason Day, 20 Phil Mickelson, 37 Henrik Stenson, 52 Jim Furyk
Group 13: 13 Tiger Woods, 18 Patrick Cantlay, 44 Brandt Snedeker, 61 Aaron Wise
Group 14: 14 Tony Finau, 30 Ian Poulter, 48 Kevin Kisner, 56 Keith Mitchell
Group 15: 15 Bubba Watson, 28 Jordan Spieth, 38 Billy Horschel, 57 Kevin Na
Group 16: 16 Patrick Reed, 26 Sergio Garcia, 46 Shane Lowry, 51 Andrew Putnam
The Course
Two weeks after taking on TPC Sawgrass, the field will take on another Pete Dye design in Austin Country Club. The course opened in 1984 and measures to 7,108 yards for a par 71.
The two nines are distinct as the front is on higher ground with views of the Texas hill country while the back is more “lowlands” alongside Lake Austin.
It’s been all bombers to win here (Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson), but the likes of Kevin Kisner and Louis Oosthuizen have also fared well here.
Per usual in Texas, wind expects to be a factor with consistent wind in the teens miles per hour. Temperatures look to be in the 60s and 70s with rain possible for the knockout rounds on the weekend.
While course history will help around here, a lot of this tournament has to do with how well a player plays on a given day and the matchup they’re handed.
Let’s dive into predictions for the round of 16 and beyond: