If the Match Play was medal play
By Bill Felber
The top 10
Obviously a precise medal play accounting of a match play event can’t be calculated. Not all matches go the full 18 holes, some holes are conceded, and many putts that, at least in theory, might be missed are also given.
Still, the data base is deep enough that we can arrive at some pretty reliable estimates of what a top 10 would look like if this event was the Dell Technologies Medal Play rather than match play.
Based on those best estimates, here is what the top 10 would look like entering a theoretical fourth and final round Saturday:
Pos. Player Scores To par
1 Brian Harman 65-66-66-197 -17
2 Patrick Cantlay 63-63-71-200 -14
2 Dustin Johnson 66-67-67-200 -14
2 Robert Macintyre 65-67-68-200 -14
2 Daniel Berger 66-66-64-200 -14
6 Matt Kuchar 64-72-65-201 -13
6 Russell Henley 69-66-66-201 -13
8 Carlos Ortiz 67-66-71-204 -10
9 Mackenzie Hughes 69-66-69-204 -10
9 Webb Simpson 64-71-69-204 -10
9 Adam Long 68-68-68-204 -10
How many of those 11 top 10s survived to the weekend’s bracket play? The answer is just four. Harman defeated Cantlay in a playoff, MacIntyre survived despite winning just one of his three matches, Kuchar emerged when co-favorite Justin Thomas badly under-performed, and Hughes won what turned out to be possibly the weakest-performing bracket.
Several of the best performers were victimized by the draw. Johnson, the event’s overall top seed, played well as the standings above illustrate. But MacIntyre and Long both landed in his group. And when Johnson managed to lose 1-up to a previously winless Kevin Na, despite out-scoring Na 67-69 on a medal play basis, MacIntyre slid past him.