2023 WGC-Dell Match Play: Top 10 Power Rankings at Austin CC
Max Homa is at the height of his powers in 2023. He’s climbed to an apex of sixth in the Official World Golf Ranking and is right in the mix to win the FedEx Cup nearing the halfway point of the PGA Tour season.
The Californian’s got two wins this season in his home state at the Fortinet Championship and Farmers Insurance Open. He almost won the most coveted of them all, the Genesis Invitational, where he took second.
Homa’s next two starts since Riviera resulted in T-14th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and T-6th at the Players Championship.
Even his down weeks seem to result in top-20s, and he’s playing almost exclusively designated events these days.
Homa’s playing in his third WGC-Dell Technologies Championship. He failed to make it to the bracket stage either of the last two years, but finishing second and third in his pools as a lower-seeded guy shows he may be ready to break out.
I think No. 5 seed Homa got a relatively good group play draw. No. 12 Hideki Matsuyama has never made the top 16 in five appearances.
No. 42 Kevin Kisner was the 2019 Match Play champ, but he hasn’t recorded a top 10 since July.
No. 63 Justin Suh might be the best bet to beat Homa. Suh has two top-10s and five top-45s in his last five starts as he makes his tournament debut.
I predict Homa to advance to the round of 16 to face Group 12 winner, No. 21 Shane Lowry.
That’ll be a tough Ryder Cup-style matchup. I see Homa squeaking it out to link up with potential Ryder Cup teammate, Sam Burns.
Burns played well last week to take solo sixth at the Valspar Championship. I like his form to get him to the quarterfinals, but the rested Homa will move on.
That’s where the run ends as Homa falls to defending champion and world number one, Scottie Scheffler, in the semifinal.
Homa bounces back to beat No. 14 Tyrrell Hatton, who is too upset he lost his previous match to play well for lower stakes in the next one.