Following an exciting four-stop Florida Swing, headlined by the PLAYERS Championship, the PGA Tour now heads to Texas for the annual WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, the only head-to-head competition on the schedule.
Featuring 64 of the world’s best golfers (the entire field is ranked inside the world’s top 74), the Match Play is composed of five jam-packed days of elite-level match play golf.
Contested at Austin Country Club in the Lone Star State’s capital city, the tournament offers dramatic showdowns, and exciting storylines.
Billy Horschel will attempt to defend his 2021 title against a field which features seven of the world’s top-10 ranked players, including six of the top 7 in Jon Rahm (1), Collin Morikawa (2), Viktor Hovland (3), Patrick Cantlay (4), Scottie Scheffler (5) and Justin Thomas (7).
Other top-20 notables include Dustin Johnson (11), Bryson DeChambeau (12), Jordan Spieth (15) and Brooks Koepka (20).
WGC-Dell Match Play
The WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Primer is powered by Taylormade Golf Store at Amazon.
The Skinny
WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play
Dates: Mar 23-27, 2022
Where:Austin, Texas
Course: Austin CC
Distance: Par 71, 7108 yards
Architect: Pete Dye
Format: Match Play
Field: Top-64 Ranked (OWGR)
Purse: $12,00,000
Winning Share: $2,160,000
FedExCup/OWGR Pts: 600/74
Defending Champion: Billy Horschel (2021)
How to Follow
TELEVISION: Wed-Fri: 2-8 p.m. (GOLF); Sat: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (GOLF), 2-6 p.m. (NBC); Sun: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. (GOLF), 3-7 p.m. (NBC)
PGA TOUR LIVE: Wed-Fri: 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sat: 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m.
Watch on Prime Video
PGA TOUR RADIO: Wed-Fri: 2-8 p.m.; Sat: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun: 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
(PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio)
LINKS: Official Website | Facebook | Instagram
Event History
While match play tournaments have a lengthy history on the PGA Tour – even outside of the Ryder and Presidents Cups, the WGC-Dell Match Play is currently the only regular match play event on Tour.
Debuting in 1999, the same year the World Golf Championships series started, the inaugural event was won by Jeff Maggert, a 6 seed in his pool, who impressively knocked off the gauntlet of Fred Funk, Nick Price, Bernhard Langer, Tiger Woods, and Steve Pate – before outdueling Andrew Magee in a marathon finale that required 38 holes (the 36-hole final plus two sudden-death holes) to complete.
In its 19 previous editions, the tournament has produced one three-time champion (Tiger Woods), and a pair of two-time winners (Geoff Ogilvy, Jason Day). Tiger had perhaps the most impressive victory in tournament history, when he obliterated Stewart Cink 8&7 in the 2008 Finals.
From 1999-2014, the tournament was a strict straightforward single-elimination bracket, with four regions composed of players seeded 1-16. In 2015, the event was reformatted, and now contains 16 pools of round-robin, before the 16 pool winners are reseeded by world rankings and go head to head in a single-elimination bracket.
History: Recent Champs
2021: Billy Horschel 2-1 (Scottie Scheffler)
2020: Canceled COVID-19
2019: Kevin Kisner 3-2 (Matt Kuchar)
2018: Bubba Watson 7-6 (Kevin Kisner)
2017: Dustin Johnson 1 up (Jon Rahm)
2016: Jason Day 5-4 (Louis Oosthuizen)
2015: Rory McIlroy 4-2 (Gary Woodland)
2014: Jason Day 1 up (Victor Dubuisson)
2013: Matt Kuchar 2-1 (Hunter Mahan)
2012: Hunter Mahan 2-1 (Rory McIlroy)
2011: Luke Donald 3-2 (Martin Kaymer)
History: Records
- Wins: 3 (Tiger Woods – 2003-04, 2008)
- Consecutive Matches Won: 13 (Woods – 2003-2005)
- Largest Winning Margin (Final): 8 & 7 (Woods over Stewart Cink – 2008)
- Largest Winning Margin (Other): 9 & 8 (Woods over Stephen Ames – 2006)
Defending Champion
Billy Horschel made par on the 17th hole to close out Scottie Scheffler, 2 Up, and claim victory at the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship.
After defeating Victor Perez in the semi-finals, Horschel went down early to the young Texan, but gained control before the turn, and never relinquished the lead as the two finalists battled to ties on each of the remaining homeward holes.
With the win, Horschel earned $1,820,000, 550 FedExCup points, and 76 Official World Golf Ranking points, while Scheffler picked up $1,150,00, 325, and 45.6.
Horschel’s Path
Round of 16: Beat Kevin Streelman (53) 3 and 1
Quarterfinals: Beat Tommy Fleetwood (21) 19 Holes
Semifinals: Beat Victor Perez 3 and 2
Finals: Beat Scottie Scheffler 2 Up
The Field
In the current format, the top 64 players in the world as of March 15, 2021 qualify. Players who qualified but will not compete include Cameron Smith (No. 6), Rory McIlroy (8), Sam Burns (10), Hideki Matsuyama (12), Harris English (22), Phil Mickelson (47), Shaun Norris (62) and Dean Burmester (64).
Their replacements were: Bubba Watson (65), Sebastian Munoz (66), Ian Poulter (67), Keegan Bradley (69), Robert MacIntyre (70), Keith Mitchell (71), Sepp Straka (72) and Maverick McNealy (74).
The players will be placed into one of four (4) pools, according to where they rank in the field, based on Official World Golf Rankings, as of Sunday evening, March 20.
- Field Rank Nos. 01-16 (Pool A)
- Field Rank Nos. 17-32 (Pool B)
- Field Rank Nos. 33-48 (Pool C)
- Field Rank Nos. 49-64 (Pool D)
Once the four pools are set, 16 groups will be formed – each comprised of one player from each of the four pools with Pool A (Nos. 1-16) players each heading one of the 16 groups.
A random selection will take place then to fill up each of the 16 groups with a B player (ranked 17-32), a C player (ranked 33-48) and a D player (ranked 49-64). For example, No. 1 Jon Rahm will be in a group with one player from Pool B, one from Pool C, and one from Pool D, and so on.
The selections will be unveiled live on PGA Tour digital platforms Monday, March 21.
WGC-Match Play: The 4 Pools
Pool A (1-16)
Field Rank-Player (World Rank)
1. Jon Rahm (1)
2. Collin Morikawa (2)
3. Viktor Hovland (3)
4. Patrick Cantlay (4)
5. Scottie Scheffler (5)
6. Justin Thomas (7)
7. Xander Schauffele (9)
8. Dustin Johnson (11)
9. Bryson DeChambeau (13)
10. Louis Oosthuizen (14)
11. Jordan Spieth (15)
12. Billy Horschel (16)
13. Tyrrell Hatton (17)
14. Joaquin Niemann (18)
15. Abraham Ancer (19)
16. Brooks Koepka (20)
Pool B (17-32)
Field Rank-Player (World Rank)
17. Daniel Berger (21)
18. Tony Finau (23)
19. Paul Casey (24)
20. Matt Fitzpatrick (25)
21. Sungjae Im (26)
22. Jason Kokrak (27)
23. Patrick Reed (28)
24. Will Zalatoris (29)
25. Kevin Na (30)
26. Thomas Pieters (31)
27. Talor Gooch (32)
28. Shane Lowry (33)
29. Kevin Kisner (34)
30. Max Homa (35)
31. Webb Simpson (36)
32. Adam Scott (37)
Pool C (33-48)
Field Rank-Player (World Rank)
33. Tom Hoge (38)
34. Russell Henley (39)
35. Harold Varner III (40)
36. Corey Conners (41)
37. Marc Leishman (42)
38. Matthew Wolff (43)
39. Lucas Herbert (44)
40. Cameron Young (45)
41. Tommy Fleetwood (46)
42. Seamus Power (48)
43. Sergio Garcia (49)
44. Brian Harman (50)
45. Cameron Tringale (51)
46. Justin Rose (52)
47. Lee Westwood (53)
48. Si Woo Kim (54)
Pool D (49-64)
Field Rank-Player (World Rank)
49. Min Woo Lee (55)
50. Alex Noren (56)
51. Mackenzie Hughes (57)
52. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (58)
53. Luke List (59)
54. Richard Bland (60)
55. Erik van Rooyen (61)
56. Takumi Kanaya (63)
57. Bubba Watson (65)
58. Sebastian Munoz (66)
59. Ian Poulter (69)
60. Keegan Bradley (69)
61. Robert MacIntyre (70)
62. Keith Mitchell (71)
63. Sepp Straka (72)
64. Maverick McNealy (74)
WGC-Match Play: The 16 Groups
Group 1
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Jon Rahm (1)
B. Patrick Reed (23)
C. Cameron Young (40)
D. Sebastian Munoz (58)
Group 2
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Collin Morikawa (2)
B. Jason Kokrak (22)
C. Sergio Garcia (43)
D. Robert MacIntyre (61)
Group 3
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Viktor Hovland (3)
B. Will Zalatoris (24)
C. Cameron Tringale (45)
D. Sepp Straka (63)
Group 4
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Patrick Cantlay (4)
B. Sungjae Im (21)
C. Seamus Power (42)
D. Keith Mitchell (62)
Group 5
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Scottie Scheffler (5)
B. Matt Fitzpatrick (20)
C. Tommy Fleetwood (41)
D. Ian Poulter (59)
Group 6
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Justin Thomas (6)
B. Kevin Kisner (29)
C. Marc Leishman (37)
D. Luke List (53)
Group 7
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Xander Schauffele (7)
B. Tony Finau (18)
C. Lucas Herbert (39)
D. Takumi Kanaya (56)
Group 8
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Dustin Johnson (8)
B. Max Homa (30)
C. Matthew Wolff (38)
D. Mackenzie Hughes (51)
Group 9
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Bryson DeChambeau (9)
B. Talor Gooch (27)
C. Lee Westwood (47)
D. Richard Bland (54)
Group 10
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Louis Oosthuizen (10)
B. Paul Casey (19)
C. Corey Conners (36)
D. Alex Noren (50)
Group 11
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Jordan Spieth (11)
B. Adam Scott (32)
C. Justin Rose (46)
D. Keegan Bradley (60)
Group 12
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Billy Horschel (12)
B. Thomas Pieters (26)
C. Tom Hoge (33)
D. Min Woo Lee (49)
Group 13
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Tyrrell Hatton (13)
B. Daniel Berger (17)
C. Si Woo Kim (48)
D. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (52)
Group 14
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Joaquin Niemann (14)
B. Kevin Na (25)
C. Russell Henley (34)
D. Maverick McNealy (64)
Group 15
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Abraham Ancer (15)
B. Webb Simpson (31)
C. Brian Harman (44)
D. Bubba Watson (57)
Group 16
Pool-Player (Field Rank)
A. Brooks Koepka (16)
B. Shane Lowry (28)
C. Harold Varner III (35)
D. Erik van Rooyen (55)
WGC-Match Play: Brackets
WGC-Match Play: Full Field & Odds
Austin CC | Austin, TX | Mar 23-27, 2022
Top-5 Betting Favorites
1. Justin Thomas (12-1)
1. Jon Rahm (12-1)
3. Viktor Hovland (16-1)
3. Scottie Schefflern (16-1)
3. Collin Morikawa (16-1)
Carey Hoffman contributed to this report.
