2022 WGC-Dell Match Play: Top 10 power rankings at Austin CC

It’s not easy leaving world No. 4 Patrick Cantlay out of the quarterfinals, but I do see him shaking off a missed cut at the Players Championship with a Group 4 victory.

His top competition is No. 21 seed Sungjae Im, who has only played in one WGC-Dell Match Play. That was in 2021 when the South Korean went 1-2-0 and finished last in his group. Im also hasn’t finished better than 20th in his last four events.

Next to get past for Cantlay is No. 42 Seamus Power. Power played the best golf of his career in 2021 with a win at the Barbasol Championship and a slew of top-10s and top-25s. However, the Irishman’s missed three of his last four cuts and is a WGC-Dell Match Play rookie.

Lastly, Cantlay will finish ahead of No. 62 Keith Mitchell. With six top-13s in his last eight starts, he’ll be a trendy upset pick. I gave it serious consideration.

However, Mitchell is another tournament rookie and he hasn’t won an event since his maiden PGA Tour victory at the 2019 Honda Classic.

Cantlay’s international team experience and hunger to finally break through into bracket play will get him to the round of 16.

He’s finished second in his group in all three of his WGC-Dell Match Play appearances.

Unfortunately for the former UCLA Bruin, I forecast the run ending in the round of 16 against No. 13 winner, Daniel Berger. No. 13 Berger surprisingly hasn’t made bracket play in his career, either, so this is a true “something’s got to give” scenario.

Berger is coming off a solo fourth (Honda Classic) and T-13th (Players) recently in Florida and played well in Hawaii and California earlier in the year.