WGC-Dell Match Play Championship
March 23rd – 27th, 2016
Austin Country Club
Austin, Texas
Par: 71 / Yardage:
Purse: $9.5 million
with $1,620,000 to the winner
Defending Champion:
Rory McIlroy
Dell Match Play Daily Fantasy Golf Blog
Three weeks ago we started a new feature on GOLFstats, our daily fantasy golf blog.
It’s still a work in progress but this week we are adding a new feature, called Sal’s Fantasy Golf Chat. It’s a page on Facebook in which I want to get everyone involved with discussing Fantasy Golf. I want it to be a home for you to freely discuss your picks, thoughts on players and anything that has to do with professional tournaments.
So we have created a this special section for you to join, it’s at hit this link and I am hoping you will join us all.
This will be as much a viewer section as a product of GOLFstats, so we hope to make this a great experience for all.
We are basically starting this from scratch, so it may take a few hours to get it going and to let you join. More importantly it will be important to see if there is a big enough audience that want to have a discussion board like this.
Looking forward to you all joining,
Thanks
Sal
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Friday March 25th, 2016
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7:30PM
Dustin Johnson…
made seven birdies in 17 holes in beating Jimmy Walker 2&1, then made another birdie on the first extra hole to defeat Kiradech Aphibarnat after both finished at 2-1-0 in round-robin play. Johnson had either lost in the first round (five times) or failed to advance out of the round-robin (last year) in six of his past seven appearances in the Match Play; the other time he lost in the third round in 2012. This time, he recovered from losing his first match to win his next two.
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7:15PM
No. 1 overall seed Jordan Spieth…
completed a 3-0 round-robin with a convincing victory over pal Justin Thomas. Spieth was hitting on all cylinders with four birdies on the first five holes to go 3 up, and added a conceded birdie while Thomas was struggling on the ninth to make it 4 up at the turn. Thomas managed to cut it to 2 up with three to play, but he bogeyed the par-5 16th to end it. Jamie Donaldson beat Victor Dubuisson to get to 2-1-0, but he needed a Spieth loss to make a playoff.
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7:00PM
Louis Oosthuizen…
has reached the quarterfinals the last two years, and he’ll have a shot at going at least that far this time as he beat Andy Sullivan 4&2 in a battle of players who came in at 2-0-0. The match was all square through 11, but Sullivan essentially handed the match to his opponent with bogeys on 12, 14 and 15 before Oosthuizen finished it with a birdie on 16.
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6:30PM
Patton Kizzire…
the #63 seed, is in the round of 16 thanks to a spectacular finish, and Bubba Watson’s loss. Kizzire’s match with Emiliano Grillo was all square through 15 when Kizzire chipped in for an eagle to win the par-5 16th. He then preserved his 1-up margin by holing a 23-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th to match Grillo’s shorter birdie. For good measure, Kizzire won the 18th with a conceded birdie for a 2-up margin. Having previously halved matches with Watson and J.B. Holmes, Kizzire’s 1-0-2 record gave him two points. Watson could have advanced, but after making five birdies on the first 12 holes, he bogeyed 14 and 15 to fall 1 down against Holmes and parred in to lose 1 up. If #4 Watson had won, it would have been the first time all four top seeds made it to the round of 16.
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6:15PM
Ryan Moore…
had to beat Lee Westwood to advance and was 1 down after 12. He hit his second shot 16 feet away, but Westwood placed it 6 feet away and it looked like Westwood would be in position to win the match. But Moore was up to the occasion as he made his putt and Westwood missed. Moore went on to win the 15th, 16th and 17th holes for a 3 & 1 victory and a berth in tomorrows round of 16.
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6:00PM
Rickie Fowler…
had a very comfortable 3 up lead after 7, but Byeong Hun An won 8, 9, 10, 13 and 14 to take a 2 up lead. But he couldn’t hold on as Fowler made birdie at 15 and 18 to halve the match. That set up a playoff with Scott Piercy, who won 16 and 18 to beat Jason Dufner 1 up. In the playoff An hit his second shot 3 feet away and after Piercy missed his 13 foot birdie, An made his putt for the win and advancing to weekend play.
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5:45PM
The recipe for a blowout: Phil Mickelson…
was very bad and Patrick Reed was very good. Mickelson started out double bogey-bogey to go 2 down, then Reed went birdie-birdie-eagle starting on the fourth hole to go 5 up through six. Just to rub it in, Reed holed out from 95 yards to eagle the 10th and go 7 up before Phil made a couple of birdies to extend the match to a 5&4 margin. Reed moves on thanks to the lopsided win between players who entered 2-0-0.
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5:15PM
Rafa Cabrera Bello rescued himself by driving the green on the par-4 18th for a birdie that won the hole and halved the match with Soren Kjeldsen. So, just when it looked like Cabrera Bello might face a playoff with Hideki Matsuyama, who beat Kevin Kisner to get to 2-1-0, the Spaniard moved to 2-0-1 to move into the round of 16.
Missed this one earlier, Chris Kirk beat Branden Grace in a playoff to advance. After waiting more than two hours, Grace drove into a fairway bunker and bladed his second well over the green on the par-4 first to lose it.
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5:15PM
Rory McIlroy…
survived some very close matches last year when he won the Match Play. He did it again today, going two extra holes to beat Kevin Na in a playoff. Technically, they halved their match as both came in at 2-0-0 and finished 2-0-1 before McIlroy prevailed. Both played well as Na had a 2-up lead through seven, McIlroy squared it with birdies on 8 and 9, and each had three birdies on the back nine.
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4:45PM
Brandt Snedeker and Charl Schwartzel…
were all square through 10 holes, and then Snedeker won five straight holes to take the match. Counting a couple of concessions inside six feet, he birdied four of the five holes to claim a spot on the weekend as he finished 2-0-1 while knocking Schwartzel down to 2-1-0.
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4:15PM
Matt Kuchar…
won the Match Play in 2013 and reached the semis in 2011, he’s got another chance as he beat Justin Rose 3&2 in a well-played match. Kuchar finished 2-0-1 and Rose 1-1-1 as they faced off for the weekend berth.
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4:00PM
Brooks Koepka…
got a break as he advanced at 2-1-0 despite being drilled today by Danny Willett 4&3. Billy Horschel needed a win to tie him but lost 2&1 to Jaco Van Zyl, who holed a wedge to eagle the par-5 16th and then nearly aced the par-3 17th to end it.
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3:40PM
Bill Haas…
advanced thanks to a 1-up win over Adam Scott in a back-and-forth match where only three holes were halved all day, none on the back nine. There was only one brief occasion where anyone was more than 1 up (Scott 2 up after 12). Haas, at 2-0-0 coming in, needed only to halve the match to move on, but he got the win thanks to birdies on the last two holes in a match where the play on both sides was more erratic than stellar.
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3:30PM
Zach Johnson…
has been the hottest player so far, adding a 4&3 win over Shane Lowry to earlier wins by 4&3 over Marcus Fraser and 8&6 over Martin Kaymer to cruise into the round of 16.
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3:10PM
Russell Knox could have clinched Group 11 with a win…
but he didn’t have it today as he didn’t make a birdie until the 12th hole and lost to Branden Grace 5&4. Instead, it’s Grace and Chris Kirk, a 3&2 winner over David Lingmerth, heading into a playoff with 2-1 records. But they’ll have a long wait before all the matches clear the first tee and playoffs begin.
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3:00PM
Jason Day was the first man into the final 16…
when his opponent, Paul Casey withdrew due to illness with the match all square through six holes. It was an unfortunate circumstance for Thongchai Jaidee, who with a win over Graeme McDowell and a Day loss could have forced a playoff. The Casey WD gave Day a 3-0-0 record and some extra rest for his back, which he tweaked on the first day.
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8:00AM
What to look forward to on Friday at the Match Play…
One thing that we are all realizing about the round-robin format, now in its second year in a slightly different form, it has created an unimportance to the early rounds. In the past it was like two gladiators entering an arena in which two men entered and only one man left. Each day provided carnage as 32 went packing on Wednesday, 16 went packing on Thursday and 8 went packing on Friday. At today we will have some conclusion and 16 men will advance, but there will be some meaningless matches like Bernd Wiesberger against Matt Jones, both 0-2-0 and just playing for an additional $20,000. The good news is that all four of our top ranked players, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Bubba Watson are in the running, but Spieth, who is 2-0-0, will probably have to win his match with close friend Justin Thomas or risk a playoff to continue. Day is also 2-0-0 and playing Paul Casey, Day is in good shape because the worst that could happen to him is he loses and faces Thongchai Jaidee in a playoff, if Jaidee beats Graham McDowell, but Day could skate through unscathed with a loss if McDowell also beats Jaidee. For #3 ranked Rory McIlroy he knows what he has to do, he is 2-0-0 and faces Kevin Na, also 2-0-0 so the winner advances and the loser has to make a call to JetNet for a ride home tonight. The toughest of the top-four will be Bubba Watson, he is at 1-0-1 and is in if he beats J.B. Holmes who is 0-1-1. If Holmes beats Watson the two will have identical 1-1-1 records and would open up the door for Emiliano Grillo, who is 1-1-0 and plays Patton Kizzire who is 0-0-2. A win by Grillo and a Watson loss or half sends Grillo to weekend play. There is even a chance of a four-way playoff if Grillo and Kizzire tie and Holmes wins, leaving Kizzire 0-0-3 and the other three 1-1-1. Sound confusing and wasting a lot of brain cells, yes it is but that’s the problem with round robin play.
Some other good matches today, in group 16 both Louis Oosthuizen and Andy Sullivan face off with 2-0-0 records and the winner advances. Another important match is in group 9, both Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed have identical 2-0-0 records and the winner advances. In group 7 Justin Rose and Matt Kuchar with identical 1-0-1 records, they face off and the winner will advance. In group 6, Bill Haas (2-0-0) advances with a win or half against Adam Scott (1-0-1), who advanced with a win.
In group 10, Brooks Koepka (2-0-0) definitely advances with a win or half against Danny Willett (0-1-1), with a loss Koepka will either advance or go into a playoff if Billy Horshel wins his match. Zach Johnson (2-0-0) is in the same situation in group 14 advancing with a win or half and either advancing or ending up in a playoff with Martin Kaymer with a loss. Rafa Cabrera Bello in group 12 is another player who advances with a win or half; a loss would put him in a playoff with the Hideki Matsuyama winner but Cabrera Bello would advance if those two halve their match. Cabrera Bello is the only one left of the seven who had a chance to qualify for the Masters, but he needs to get to the quarterfinals to have that happen.
Group 8 is the only one where all four players are 1-1. The winners of the Dustin Johnson vs. Jimmy Walker and Robert Streb vs. Kiradech Aphibarnrat matches will meet in a playoff, or advance if the other match is halved—or there will be a four-way playoff if both matches are halved.
Group 13 is a bit complicated, but Ryan Moore does get the berth with a win that would put him 2-1. There are various scenarios that would have Sergio Garcia (1-1-0) or Lee Westwood (1-1-0) either advancing or making a playoff with a win, while Moore would have a chance for a playoff with a half.
The last two groups have a lot of scenarios. In group 5 if Byeong-Hun An (1-0-1) beats Rickie Fowler he will advance but if Fowler wins, it opens the door for either Jason Dufner or Scott Piercy. The same in group 11, if Russell Knox with a 1-0-1 record beats Branden Grace (1-1-0) he wins but if Grace wins it creates scenarios where either Grace or Chris Kirk (1-1-0) could advance or get in a playoff.
So for those who love this round robin format it will be a fun day for you. But for others like myself, I like the old fashioned way of doing things, you beat someone you advance, you lose and you go home.
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Thursday March 24th, 2016
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Look at what has happened on Thursday to each group:
8:20PM
Group 5...
Now here is a group in a real mess with Scott Piercy missing a short putt at 18 to halve his match with Rickie Fowler and Byeong-Hun An defeating Jason Dufner 2 up. With Fowler playing An on Friday and Duffner taking on Piercy, you will probably see a playoff tomorrow. Fowler should of won but his bogey on 17 hurt him and he was lucky that Piercy missed a short putt for birdie at 18 that would of given him the win. An fought back as he was 2 down after 13 but won 14 and 16 to square the match, they won 17 and 18 for the 2 up win.
7:50PM
Group 2…
Jason Day took care of any concerns about his back on the first hole when he uncorked a 372-yard drive that finished on the green, 12 feet from the hole. He kept the pedal to the metal in a 5 and 3 victory over Thongchai Jaidee to go to 2-0. In today’s other match, Paul Casey and Graeme McDowell eliminated each other by halving to put both at 0-1-1. Jaidee (1-1) still has a chance to reach a playoff with Day if he beats McDowell and Day loses to Casey.
7:30PM
Group 12:
Here’s a group where it matters that unlike last year, ties won’t be broken by head-to-head results. Hideki Matsuyama (yesterday) and Kevin Kisner (today) both lost to Rafa Cabrera Bello. Matsuyama and Kisner are both 1-1, so if their match isn’t halved, one of them will be 2-1. That would create a tie with Cabrera Bello if Rafa loses to Soren Kjeldsen (0-2), and the group winner would be determined by a playoff. So, unlike last year, the Matsuyama-Kisner match isn’t meaningless. Of course, Cabrera Bello can drain the meaning from it by advancing with a win or half tomorrow.
7:10PM
Group 15:
The group winner will be determined tomorrow in the match between Charl Schwartzel (2-0) and Brandt Snedeker (1-0-1), with Schwartzel needing a win or half and Snedeker needing a win. It could have been a matchup of 2-0 players, but Danny Lee birdied 18 to get a half with Snedeker today. Schwartzel led most of the way against Charley Hoffman (0-2), though it was all square through 12 before Schwartzel pulled away with two birdies and a Hoffman bogey for a 3&2 win.
7:00PM
Group 7:
Nothing but halves today, which leaves the top seeded players, Justin Rose and Matt Kuchar, to play for a weekend spot tomorrow as both are 1-0-1. Rose is in that position thanks to winning the last two holes to halve his match with Anirban Lahiri, thanks to a Lahiri bogey on 17 and Rose’s birdie on 18 with a 48-yard second shot to two feet on the short par 4. Fabian Gomez needed a win against Matt Kuchar to stay alive and was 1 up with 3 to play before Kuchar won 16 with a birdie and 17 with a par. But Gomez’s win on 18 for a halved match put Kuchar in a slightly worse position. If he were 2-0 he could have advanced with a halved match tomorrow, but now he needs to win.
6:15PM
Group 11…
Another group that has no answers as to who will win, but Branden Grace defeated David Lingmerth 4 & 3 and Russell Knox defeated Chris Kirk 2 & 1. With Grace (1-1-0) playing Knox (1-0-1) on Friday and Wood (0-2-0) playing Kirk (1-1-0) Grace, Knox and Kirk could possilby win. Grace had an easy day with Lingmerth thanks to playing his first 12 holes in five under to lead 5 up. Kirk dominated the front nine but Knox dominated the back as he won 16 with a birdie unroute to a 2 & 1 win.
6:00PM
5:40PM
Group 10…
Brooks Koepka controls his own destiny as Koepka beat Jaco Van Zyl 5 & 4 and will face Danny Willett on Friday. Koepka only lost one hole and won six as he had a easy day against Van Zyl. As for Horschel, his match with Willett was tight all day and was all square after 12 but Horschel got lucky as Willett got sloopy making double on 13 while Horschel made bogey and then Willett bogey 14 and 16. So if Horschel wins Friday and Koepka loses, then they will playoff for the weekend berth.
5:30PM
Group 3…
5:15PM
Group 6…
Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth are good friends, but at 0-2 Thomas is out of it and all he can do is knock Spieth (2-0) possibly into a playoff. Spieth looks like he is back in form after whipping Victor Dubuisson 5 & 4. It’s Dubuisson and Jamie Donaldson both 1-1 meeting tomorrow. The winner would be hoping for a Spieth loss. If Dubuisson and Donaldson halve their match, Spieth would advance even with a loss.
4:50PM
Group 8…
Wednesday’s losers Dustin Johnson and Jimmy Walker turned things around and scored convincing victories over Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Robert Streb, respectively. Now all are 1-1 and it’s Johnson vs. Walker and Aphibarnat vs. Streb remaining. A win by anyone tomorrow either gets them into a playoff, or the round of 16 if the other match is halved. If both matches are halved, it’s a four-way tie.
4:40PM
Group 16…
Another of those cut and dry groups as both Louis Oosthuizen and Andy Sulivan win today and will play off tomorrow for the berth into the round of 16. In the Oosthuizen/Bernd Wiesberger match Louis was out of the gates early with birdies on the first two holes to take an early lead. But Wiesberger was able to win the a couple of holes and after 8 the match was all square. But Wiesberger had some untimely bogeys on 9 and 10 to give Oosthuizen a 2 up lead and Wiesberger wasn’t able to win another hole losing 2 & 1. In the Andy Sullivan/Matt Jones match, Jones struck early winning two of the first three holes but after a birdie at 3 hit a rough path. With a Sullivan birdie at 9 he took a 2 up lead and was able to hold on to the victory, making birdie at 17 to win 3 & 1. With the lose, Matt Jones dreams of possibly getting to the Masters were dashed.
4:30PM
Group 9…
This one is simple. Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed both went to 2-0 with wins today and play each other tomorrow for the spot in the round of 16. Reed whipped Matthew Fitzpatrick 4 & 3, while Mickelson emerged with a 1-up win over Daniel Berger when Berger drove into deep trouble to the left of the 18th, couldn’t extricate himself and conceded the hole and match.
4:20PM
Group 4…
OK, this is interesting. We could actually have a four-way tie, thanks to the fact that Patton Kizzire halved with J.B. Holmes after halving with Bubba Watson yesterday. If Kizzire halves with Emiliano Grillo (1-1) tomorrow and Holmes (0-1-1) beats Watson (1-0-1), we would have three players at 1-1-1 and one at 0-0-3. Since you get a full point for a win and half-point for a halved match, that’s a four-way deadlock, which would mean a four-way, stroke-play playoff. On the other hand, if Watson beats Holmes, he’s in. Grillo would get in at 2-1 if he wins and Watson loses. And Kizzire can get in at 1-0-2 (2 points) if he wins and Watson loses. Confusing? Maybe, but at least all four have something to play for.
4:10PM
Group 13…
Thanks to a birdie on the 18th hole, with a layup off the tee and 128-yard approach to inside two feet to win the hole and beat Sergio Garcia 1 up, Ryan Moore is in the driver’s seat with a 1-0-1 record. If Moore beats Lee Westwood tomorrow, he is in. Westwood and Garcia are 1-1 and still have a chance with a win tomorrow. Westwood’s 1-up victory over Marc Leishman ended Leishman’s chances at 0-1-1.
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4:00PM
Under the round-robin format…
the second day isn’t decisive, but it does eliminate some people from making the final 16 (they do still have to play tomorrow, though). We’ll be taking a look at each of the 16 four-player groups and how today’s action sets things up for tomorrow.
10:30AM
Health watch…
Jason Day’s back got the most attention yesterday, but Kevin Kisner also managed to win his match against Soren Kjeldsen despite battling the flu. He stayed at his hotel Monday, played only seven practice holes on Tuesday, then beat Kjeldsen 2 and 1. He told the Austin Statesman-American that he’s feeling better, but stamina could be an issue as the week goes on.
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10:00AM
Today’s most interesting matches…
- Jordan Spieth vs. Victor Dubuisson. World No. 1 vs. 2014 Match Play runner-up, both won yesterday.
- Jason Day vs. Thongchai Jaidee. How will Day’s back hold up? Both are 1-0.
- Zach Johnson vs. Martin Kaymer. A pair of two-time major champions; both 1-0.
- Dustin Johnson vs. Kiradech Aphibarnrat. Johnson tries to recover from yesterday’s loss; Aphibarnrat looks to go 2-0.
- Rickie Fowler vs. Scott Piercy. No. 5 seed Fowler, 0-1, tries to stay alive.
- Phil Mickelson vs. Daniel Berger. After beating 21-year-old Matthew Fitzpatrick yesterday, Mickelson takes on 22-year-old Berger.
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Wednesday March 23rd, 2016
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11:00PM
Players with last minute Masters dreams that are still alive…
Time is coming to an end for players who still have some hopes of getting to the Masters. For a player not in the field, they will either have to win the Match Play or Shell Houston Open, but for seven others there was an avenue, via the world rankings. For anyone that finishes in the top-50 of the World rankings after Sunday night they will get one of those last minute invites, so what are there chances.
#66 – Thorbjorn Olesen – He needed at least a 3rd, maybe a 4th place finish and with him losing in the first round to Rory McIlroy has probably lost his chance.
#65 – Patton Kizzire – He needs to finish 4th and with his halve match with Bubba Watson his dreams are on life support and will probably come down to him having to win his second round match with J.B. Holmes and 3rd round match with Emiliano Grillo.
#63 – Matt Jones – He also needs a 4th place finish and losing his first round match to Louis Oosthuizen probably has shattered his dreams. In a way he probably will kick himself because after he won the Australian Open in November, he raised to 51st in the rankings. So he needed to play in the following weeks Australian PGA which he didn’t and since he didn’t play the rest of 2015 he didn’t give himself a chance to get into the top-50 by years end.
#62 – Marcus Fraser – He could possibly scrape through if he makes it into the quarterfinals but his chances are very slim with him losing to Zach Johnson 4 & 3 on Wednesday.
#57 – Thomas Pieters – Needs to find a way to the quarter-finals, his chances were decreased with his halve match against Adam Scott. He has to beat Bill Haas on Thursday and then hope that Adam Scott beats Haas on Friday to have any chance so his dream is just about gone.
#54 Rafael Cabrera Bello – He also needed to get into the quarterfinals, so by beating Hideki Matsuyama his dreams are still alive. Bello has to beat Kevin Kisner today to have any chance since Kisner beat Soren Kjeldsen on Wednesday.
#52 Jaco Van Syl – He had the best shot because he needed to get to the weekend and the round of 16. But he halve his first round match with Danny Willett so he needs to beat Brooks Koepka today and then Billy Horschel on Friday (and a bit of pixie dust) for any chance to continue to the weekend.
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8:30PM
Danny Willett made a splash...
at the Match Play last year, finishing third, and good play this year has him all the way up to the 10 seed. He couldn’t get a full point off South Africa’s Jaco Van Zyl today, though, settling for a half. Neither played well on the front nine, especially on the eighth hole which they halved with double bogeys. They settled down on the back, where Willett went from 1 down to 1 up with birdies on 12 and 13, but Van Zyl squared it with a birdie on 16.
8:10PM
Just got this in from Jason Day’s manager Bud Martin…
“Jason tweaked his back on hole No. 15 and had some work done post round. He is pleased with the outcome of the match and is getting prepared to play tomorrow,”
8:05PM
Justin Rose and Fabian Gomez…
got off to an awful start, halving the first three holes with bogeys followed by Gomez hitting his tee shot on the par-3 fourth into a native area and conceding without playing another stroke. After Rose went 4 up, Gomez finally got it going and made a couple of birdies to take the match to the 18th 1 down, and proceeded to butcher the 18th for a bogey that gave Rose a 2-up win.
8:00PM
Brooks Koepka was 3 down through eight holes…
before winning the next four holes, three with birdies to go 1 up on Billy Horschel. Koepka’s length paid off on the par-5 12th where he hit his second shot to 11 feet for a two-putt birdie. He ended up closing out a 3-and-2 victory on another par-5, the 16th, even though he laid up off the tee playing conservatively with the lead. Horschel ended up close to the green in two, but it was Koepka who birdied by hitting a 60-yard shot to four feet.
7:45PM
Kevin Na was 1 down…
through 11, but he won the next four holes to take care of Smylie Kaufman. Two of those holes were Na birdies and two were Kaufman bogeys, the most painful being the 12th where his pitch from right of the green in two on the par 5 went into the water on the other side.
7:30PM
And another good showing by an American…
Bill Haas started slowly, but turned a 2-hole deficit into a 2-up lead with wins on holes 9, 10, 12, and 13. He hit the par-5 12th in two for a birdie and birdied the 13th from seven feet to take control, and parred the rest of the way for a solid 2-and-1 win.
7:25PM
Terry Gannon was right…
when he said that Thorbjorn Olesen should be kicking himself for not winning his match with Rory McIlroy. As Gannon said, “it’s not everyday you can beat the world 3rd best player in the world.” Gannon was right, Olesen quickly made birdies at 2 and 4 to lead 1 up. McIlroy won 4 and 7 to square the match, but Olesen birdied 8 and then won 13 to lead 2 up. Unfortunately Olesen bogey 14 and McIlroy birdied 15 to square the match but Olesen’s major gaffe came at 18 when he mishit a chip and went on to bogey the hole to give McIlroy a 1 up win.
7:15PM
Shane Lowry could be kicking himself…
for losing his match against Martin Kaymer. It could of been one of the best matches of the day as six holes were won with birdies and they halve the match when both players made birdie on 18 with Kaymer winning 1 up. With the win, it sets up what could be a great match tomorrow as Kaymer faces Zach Johnson who beat Marcus Fraser 4 & 3.
6:50PM
Sorry but I have to think that Thomas Pieters…
winning 16 and 17 and then matching Adam Scott’s par on the last hole was one of the biggest upsets of the day. Yes it was a halve, but you would of thought that Scott was better. For him to lose a 2 up lead with three holes left is not good. Scott plays Chris Wood tomorrow and then needs to play hard on Friday in his match with Bill Haas.
6:30PM
Another guy who played well was Zach Johnson…
who birdied three of the first four, didn’t make any bogeys, and eagled the 12th hole as he went on to beat Marcus Fraser 4 and 3. Fraser eagled the 6th, but Johnson was too much.
6:20PM
Everyone else seemed to be struggling in the wind...
but Chris Kirk birdied the first three holes and eagled the sixth to go 3 up. It was a tough match-up for Branden Grace, who played pretty well himself but lost 3 and 1.
6:15PM
Another marquee player goes down…
as Bubba Watson halve his match with Patton Kizzire, who got the tie when he made a six footer on 18 for birdie. Watson had control of the match on the back nine and when Kizzire made bogey on 17 it looked like Watson would get a win. But it wasn’t to be.
6:10PM
I don’t know if you call it an upset…
since he isn’t playing very poorly but Dustin Johnson lost to Robert Streb 3 & 2. Not much for Johnson to be pround of as he only won 2 holes as his game is still missing in action. Johnson’s pain may continue as he faces Kiradech Aphibarnrat tomorrow.
6:05PM
Louis Oosthuizen…
took care of business against Matt Jones by winning the 12th, 14th and 16th holes to gain a 2 up lead and then won the match at 17 with a par for a 2 & 1 victory
6:00PM
In a match between…
two European Tour players saw Andy Sullivan defeat Bernd Wiesberger 3 & 2. Sullivan dominated the front nine and with a win at ten was 5 up. But Wiesberger had a string of birdies on 11, 12 and 13 to get close, but then bogey 14 to make it easy for Sullivan.
5:50PM
Victor Dubuisson took care…
of Justin Thomas and ruined what could of been a great match between old friends Thomas and Jordan Spieth on Friday. For Dubuisson he took a quick lead winning 1 and 2, got it up to 3 up after 11 and then cruised home. for his 3 & 2 win.
5:40PM
#1 player Jordan Spieth…
took command early and didn’t let Jamie Donaldson into the match as he won 3 & 2. Spieth was 3 under in his 16 holes of play and moves on to face Victor Dubuisson tomorrow, the winner of this match will probably move on to weekend play.
5:30PM
This is a bit of an upset as…
Kiradech Aphibarnrat defeated Jimmy Walker 2 & 1 in a match in which Aphibarnrat showed some match play prowes. He played it safe most of the day and won thanks to errors by Walker, the biggest was him making double bogey on the par 5, 16th hole. As we said yesterday Aphibarnrat did win the Paul Lawrie Match Play Championship on the European Tour, so he is a guy to watch. He has another tough match on Thursday against Dustin Johnson who lost. As for Walker, we were surprised because he has played the course and you would of thought since he was from Texas he would play well. Just didn’t happen.
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5:20PM
Patrick Reed’s match play..
dominance led Augusta State to a couple of NCAA titles and he loves the format. He got off to a hot start today and played the first five holes in 3 under to take a 3 up lead on Daniel Berger. Reed stalled after that, but preserved a 1-up margin on 18 when he pitched his second shot inside two feet from the hole for a birdie.
5:10PM
Another match that came down to the 18th…
Patton Kizzire was 1 down, but laid up off the tee–and made a birdie to win the hole and halve his match with Bubba Watson. Kizzire hit a 122-yard second shot to within six feet, much closer than Bubba, who had gone for the green off the tee but finished in the rough. Neither player held more than a 1-up lead all day.
5:00PM
Ryan Moore escaped…
with a half against Marc Leishman when Leishman bogeyed the short par-4 18th. Both were off line with their drives and missed the green, but Moore got up and down while Leishman missed a 12-footer for par. No. 18 is proving to be no pushover despite offering a chance to drive the green.
4:50PM
In another match with a 5-up…
margin after nine, Emiliano Grillo defeated J.B. Holmes. This one finished with a 3-and-2 margin as Holmes made a bit of a comeback, but his bid ended when he couldn’t birdie the par-5 16th.
4:45PM
Phil Mickelson…
went 5 up through nine and cruised to a 5-and-4 victory over young Matthew Fitzpatrick. It was a combination of good play from Phil and a rough day for Fitzpatrick, who had four bogeys on the front nine.
4:40PM
Sergio Garcia beat…
fellow European Lee Westwood 1 up in a wild match. Garcia was 2 up through three holes, Westwood won the next four to go 2 up, then Garcia won four straight holes starting at the 9th to reverse it to 2 up in his favor again. They alternated winning the next five holes before the only halved hole of the back nine gave Garcia a 1-up win. Sergio had to get up and down from a bunker and hole an 11-footer for par to clinch it after hitting a wild drive to the left in going for the green off the tee.
4:25PM
We have our first halved match…
Scott Piercy completed a comeback from 3 down with five to play to Byeong Hun An when he birdied the 18th from four feet. An, a Korean who plays the European Tour and won the 2015 BMW PGA Championship missed a nine-footer for birdie after laying up off the tee. An let it get away as he was on his way to bogey or worse on 14 and conceded Piercy’s short birdie putt, then drove into the water and bogeyed 16.
4:15PM
Kevin Kisner…
beat Soren Kjeldsen in a match where only one hole was halved on the front nine, which ended with Kisner 2 up. Kisner went 4 up through 13, lost the next two holes, and held on as there were finally a couple of halved holes for a 2-and-1 win.
4:00PM
Rafa Cabrera Bello…
knocked off 12th-seeded Hideki Matsuyama in a match where neither played all that well. Cabrera Bello went 3 up through nine, Matsuyama tied it up through 14 but Cabrera Bello made an 18-foot birdie putt on the 17th to give him the 1-up margin that held up.
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3:30PM
We got our first stunner upset…
Nobody saw Jason Dufner beating Rickie Fowler which he did 2 & 1. Rickie played terrible the first 11 holes and found himself 3 down and even though he won three of his next four holes to square the match, lost 16 and 17.
3:10PM
Have our first upset of the day..
Thongchai Jaidee defeated Paul Casey 2 & 1 in a match that we thought Casey would handle easily. Casey only made two birdies as he only wins two holes 5 and 16. The match was all even going into 10 and Jaidee made bogey on that hole and still won. Jaidee hit a great shot on the par 3, 11th to four feet and made a birdie to go 2 up.
2:40PM
Two more winners…
Jason Day found himself 2 down after 4 holes to Graeme McDowell but Graeme doesn’t win a single hole after the 4th hole and Jason wins 3 & 2. Only problem with the win, Day look to be hurting, he showed signs that his back could be in trouble and couldn’t even give an interview to Golf Channel after the round because of the pain.
Charl Schwartzel beats Danny Lee 1 up in the first match of the day going to 18.
Interesting to see that Schwartzel almost drove the 18th hole, guess that makes for a very interesting finishing hole having one that is driveable.
2:30PM
Snedeker beats Hoffman…
Away we go, now I never watch anything live on television because I love not watching commercials, but I see that we have our first winner with Brandt Snedeker beating Charley Hoffman 2 up. Was expected, Snedeker went from 1 down after 13 to winning the next three holes to win.
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Tuesday March 22nd, 2016
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6:50PM
An impressive list of winners…
Austin Country Club is a Pete Dye built course and one that will intrigue you. It will take a smart guy to do well and they have to hit great shots out there. So who is going to win you ask? For a clue look at the last 19 winners on Pete Dye courses on the PGA Tour and you will be blown away by the marquee value of those that have won on Pete Dye courses.
Tournament Winner Course
2016 Career Builder Jason Dufner TPC Stadium Course
2015 PGA Championship Jason Day Whistling Straits
2015 Travelers Bubba Watson TPC River Highlands
2015 Players Championship Rickie Fowler TPC Sawgrass
2015 Zurich Classic Justin Rose TPC Louisiana
2015 RBC Heritage Jim Furyk Harbour Town
2014 Travelers Kevin Streelman TPC RIver Highlands
2014 Players Championship Martin Kaymer TPC Sawgrass
2014 Zurich Classic Seung-Yul Noh TPC Louisiana
2014 RBC Heritage Matt Kuchar Harbour Town
2013 Travelers Ken Duke TPC RIver Highlands
2013 Players Championship Tiger Woods TPC Sawgrass
2013 Zurich Classic Billy Horschel TPC Louisiana
2013 RBC Heritage Graeme McDowell Harbour Town
2012 BMW Championship Rory McIlroy Crooked Stick
2012 PGA Championship Rory McIlroy Kiawah Island
2013 Travelers Marc Leishman TPC RIver Highlands
2013 Players Championship Matt Kuchar TPC Sawgrass
2013 Zurich Classic Jason Dufner TPC Louisiana
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6:00PM
Horses for courses…
Since this is the first time Austin Country Club has held a PGA Tour event we have no hard data on how players have played the course to help us predict things.
But we do have the resources of the rest of the PGA Tour. So in looking over Austin Country Club, can we compare it to some other type of courses that hold PGA Tour events annually? Yes we can.
We have picked six courses, Riviera (Northern Trust), Trump Doral (WGC-Cadillac), Augusta National (Masters), Quail Hollow (Wells Fargo), TPC Sawgrass (Players) and Muirfield Village (Memorial).
We have analyzed the records of all 64 players in this week’s field for results on these courses, going back to 2010 and here is the list sorted by average finish in the tournaments held on these courses. For missing the cut the cut they get 100 for their finish.
Here are the results:
Player Average Finish Starts Wins Top 10s
Hideki Matsuyama 26 16 1 4
Matt Kuchar 27 31 2 11
Sergio Garcia 28 24 0 7
Adam Scott 29 29 2 10
Lee Westwood 29 24 0 9
Rory McIlroy 29 30 2 17
Phil Mickelson 33 34 1 11
Justin Rose 33 30 2 11
Andy Sullivan 33 3 0 Best finish T17
Jordan Spieth 34 15 1 5
Charl Schwartzel 35 28 1 8
Ryan Moore 36 34 0 6
Dustin Johnson 37 32 1 10
Bubba Watson 38 30 4 9
Interesting players down the list
Rickie Fowler 44 32 2 8
Patrick Reed 48 12 1 1
Jason Day 49 25 0 4
I have a funny feeling that your winner could come off of this list of 17 players
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5:00PM
David Barrett looks at Wednesday’s most interesting matches…
Jason Day vs. Graeme McDowell. The world No. 2 Day, coming off a win last week, gets a tough draw in McDowell, who is a much better player than his 62 seeding.
Sergio Garcia vs. Lee Westwood. Long-time British Ryder Cup teammates square off. Westwood a bit of an unknown at this point because he hasn’t played since early February.
Phil Mickelson vs. Matthew Fitzpatrick. The experienced Mickelson (age 45) meets a player less than half his age (Fitzpatrick is 21). Both won the U.S. Amateur at match play, Mickelson in 1990 and Fitzpatrick in 2013.
Rickie Fowler vs. Justin Dufner. Another case of a top player, Fowler seeded fifth, matched against a someone who is more formidable than a typical 58 seed (Dufner has a win at the CareerBuilder this year.
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1:00PM
So who are the biggest dog picks this week (code for avoid, avoid and avoid)…
No, it’s not one of the 15 rookies. In looking at past results, about 80 percent of the 15 will at least one of their three matches and I would say two or three could advance to the weekend.
But in looking for the one pick to really avoid, how about Adam Scott. Yes, don’t shoot the messenger, in 29 matches at the Dell, Scott has 14 won of them but 12 of them were in his first five Dell Match Play starts. Scott did finish 3rd in 2003, getting beat by Tiger (who won) in the semifinals but what I am more concerned about is since the event left LaCosta in 2006, Scott’s record is 2 wins, 10 losses and he hasn’t won a match since 2010. Of course we can say that the two courses at Dove Mountain and last year at Harding Park didn’t match his game but he also struggled at the Presidents Cup with 2 wins, 2 losses and a halve. What makes me think that Scott is a dog pick for this week, he has played great the last three weeks but did struggle the last 54 holes at the Palmer. I also think that Scott, who will be playing his fifth event in the last six weeks could be tired and his thoughts could be on Augusta and not Austin. Guess we will have to wait and see.
Another possible dog pick is Dustin Johnson, who in seven Dell Match Plays did finish T-9th in 2012 but in his other years was eliminated in the first round five times. Last year he beat Matt Jones and Victor Dubuisson, but lost to Charl Schwartzel in the round-robin. Now the reason I call him a dog pick, the courses at Dove Mountain were tailor made for guys who hit it long and other than his T-9th in 2012 he never took advantage, so I don’t think he is good at Match Play. Going a step further, he is 4-4-1 in the Presidents Cup and 4-3-0 in the Ryder Cup, winning both his singles matches.
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12:30PM
Half-Points allowed…
There has been one tweak to the format in the second year of playing round-robin the first three days—matches that are tied after 18 holes will be halved instead of going to extra holes. The reason is probably that with 32 matches, there were still players on the first tee when the early matches finished, so extra-hole matches had to be squeezed in while others waited, an awkward situation. And with so many matches going on, it was also a problem for television to have sufficient camera coverage of the first hole.
A good byproduct of the move is that allowing halves means less chance of a tie for first after the three-match round robin (and there’s really no need to determine a winner in each round-robin match). With all matches having a winner determined, there were only four ways for the standings to end up after three rounds (3-0, 2-1, 1-2, 0-3; 3-0, 1-2, 1-2, 1-2; 2-1, 2-1, 1-2, 1-2; or 2-1, 2-1, 2-1, 0-3). Half of them involved a tie for first place. If two players finished 2-1, the tie-breaker was who had won head-to-head between those two. If three players were 2-1, there was a sudden-death playoff. Neither was all that satisfying as a way to determine who advanced to the weekend. With halved matches allowed, there are more different possibilities for standings through three rounds and less of a chance for a first-place tie.
Another point is that last year you could have the situation where the best a player could hope for on the third day was a two-way tie for first at 2-1, with a player he already lost to, so actually there was no hope at all. This year, while chances are there will be fewer ties, all ties will be broken by sudden-death playoffs on Friday.
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9:30AM
Away we go…
So the groups have been picked and the pairings announced so it’s time to look and update our preview done on Sunday Night.
10:00AM
Who got out with an easy group?…
The groups are made up basically in a lottery. Things are broken up into four different groups, the first 16 off the world rankings is group A. Then the next 16 is in group B, players ranked 33 to 48 are group C and 49 to 64 is group D. For each of the group A players random picks are done from each of the other three groups.
Of course in a lottery in some cases you’re going to get an easy group and others will get a tough group.
So first off, who got off easy in the lottery? Look at group 3, Rory McIlroy drew Kevin Na, Smylie Kaufman and Thorbjorn Olesen. This will be McIlroy’s 8th Dell Match Play Championship and he has won 16 matches, with just 6 losses. Since Kaufman is a rookie, between Na and Olesen they only have three total wins so they lack the experience that McIlroy has. On tour Na finished T-3rd at the CareerBuilders, but hasn’t had a good event since. Olesen was T-2nd at the Qatar Masters and T-8th at the Dubai Desert Classic, but in his last two starts has missed the cut. Kaufman is probably the best of the trio, he won in Vegas last October and has played well of late, finishing T-12th at the Palmer and T-8th at Doral. Still, if McIlroy does what he says and that is to treat each player with the respect that they could beat him, McIlroy should be able to beat these three. Another easy draw came to Hidiki Matsuyama who drew Kevin Kisner, a Dell rookie, Rafa Cabrera Bello and Soren Kjeldsen. Now Cabrera Bello and Kjeldsen have played in two past Dell’s but Kjeldsen lost both of his matches and Cabrera Bello won one. Kisner has struggled since finishing T-5th at the Sony Open, Kjeldsen finished T-8th in Dubai but was T-57th in Malaysia, T-28th at Doral and missed the cut at the Palmer. So Matsuyama should have an easy time, again if he does what he should do. Lastly, I think that Louis Oosthuizen also got an easy draw. Oosthuizen won four weeks ago in the Handa Perth International and he drew Andy Sullivan, Bernd Wiesberger and Matt Jones. Last year Jones playing in his first Dell won one of his three matches. Wiesberger played in 2014 and lost his first-round match, last year he won just one of his three matches. The big thing about that win was he beat Sergio Garcia, so he doesn’t fear anyone. As for Sullivan he played last year and won a match and lost two. Sullivan finished T-2nd at the Dubai Desert Classic, but in his last four starts his best finish was T-17th at Doral. Wiesberger finished T-14th in his last start at Doral, his best finish of the year was T-13th at Qatar. As for Jones, he has missed the cut in his last three starts.
10:30AM
Who got out with an easy group?…
Have to think that Jordan Spieth smiled ruefully when he saw the three in his group. He drew Justin Thomas, Victor Dubuisson and Jamie Donaldson. Spieth, the former Texas Longhorn and crowd favorite at Austin Country Club, wound up in the same group as longtime friend Justin Thomas. All three may not be playing great golf right now, but all of them have match play experience and could easily pull an upset on Spieth. We know how tough Dubuisson was in 2014 when he was runner-up, Thomas is the same age as Spieth so you will have two youngsters (and good friends) going at each other. As for Donaldson, in January he almost cut off his finger in a chainsaw accident and is fighting back, you never know if he will rear back and beat you, he is that good. So Spieth has a tough time ahead of him. Also think the #2 player, Jason Day got a tough group with Paul Casey, Thongchai Jaidee and Graeme McDowell. All three have some history in the Dell Match play, all have made it to at least the quarterfinals and Casey has made it to the final twice. So Day will have to be at his best to get into weekend play.
I also see problems for Sergio Garcia in his group. He drew Marc Leishman, Ryan Moore and Lee Westwood and anyone of these three can beat Garcia, who got to the semis in 2010 but has always had that one ugly round to lose. I can’t fathom him beating all three of these players, someone will get him.
Lastly I see Patrick Reed having a tough time against Phil Mickelson, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Daniel Berger. On paper it looks easy as Fitzpatrick and Berger have never played in this event. But Fitzpatrick has shown he can do well in match play with his 2013 U.S. Amateur victory. Berger was the Rookie of the year in 2015 and he finished T-11th Valspar, his last start. As for Leishman, who lost in a playoff at last year’s British Open, he won the Nedbank in December and was T-5th at the Northern Trust. So Reed, who has not played his best in the last month, could have his hands full.
Please join us on Sal’s Fantasy Golf Chat to see how you feel.
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Monday March 21st, 2016
4:30PM
So is Jason your guy for this week?…
After a slow start to his year, Jason Day was blazing for the four days of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. So the combination of his good play over the week plus the fact that he won the event in 2014 and was third in 2013 makes him a big favorite (Oddschecker has him very close with McIlroy).
Not to put any doubt in your minds, but here are some interesting facts about Day. The biggest is that he hasn’t won at match play since the 2014 final when he beat Victor Dubuisson on the 23rd hole. Seems that he has hit a brick wall in match play, last year he lost all three of his matches in the new round-robin format of the event to Charley Hoffman, Branden Grace and Zach Johnson. Then at the President Cup he lost four of his five matches, the only one he didn’t lose was a halved match in which Day and Adam Scott spilt a half a point with Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson.
So does this mean anything???
Probably not, considering just a week ago I was telling you what a poor record Day had in Florida and what did he do? Drastically improve it by winning the Palmer. So anything can and does happen in golf.
What are your thoughts on Day, tell us in our new Sal’s Fantasy Golf Chat at Facebook.
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1:30PM
So is the move to Austin Country Club good?…
I have a feeling that this is what the championship really needed, a great golf course built for match play golf. The Match Play Championship was played on five different courses and it wasn’t a secret that while Dove Mountain may have been a nice, tough golf course, it wasn’t something for Match Play.
Now you can ask me what I mean by that.
To me a great match play course is one not too long but not too short. We have all heard the phrase hitting a tee shot to have a good shot into a green, we hear that a lot at the Masters and the U.S. Open.
The same with match play. It’s like playing the game of chess, each shot has to be played to either counter your opponent’s shot or to make him have to counter your shot.
So let’s look at a par 4, if both players are in the middle of the fairway is it important to hit first or second? If you hit first and pull off that great shot, your opponents strategy will then have to change to match your shot. The same thing, let’s say you hit first and drill it into a greenside bunker, your opponent can now play safely to the middle of the green with the thought that at worst a hole will be halved with pars.
On the courses at Dove Mountain and last year at Harding Park, you couldn’t have this happening because the courses were very bland. But you won’t have this at Austin Country Club.
This Pete Dye gem is the ultimate risk/reward type of course. There are about five boring, bland holes on it and the rest have a lot of excitement. First thing for you to know, they have flipped the nines so for those that know it they may think I am wrong, but I am going off the holes for the championship, so the first hole for members is the tenth hole for the championship.
But a perfect example of a hole that is great for Match Play is the championship 2nd hole (members 11th). It’s a 446 yard par 4 in which it takes a forced shot over a ravine to reach the fairway. So right off the bat you have to think, the further left I go the easier shot to the green I have, but there’s more risk of hitting into the ravine, which spells instant disaster. So let’s say that a perfect tee shot is hit by both. That ravine runs down the length of the hole and the green is right next to it. So if the pin is back and left, it will take a gamble to get it close, so you can see if you’re the first person to hit, you have to decide, middle of the green or go for the pin. If you hit it a tiny bit left, you’re in the ravine and will probably lose the hole. So you can see how this hole is perfect for match play. There are 12 other holes just like this at Austin Country Club.
So you now will see what I mean in saying this course will be fun to watch and fun to see how players try to beat each other on it.
What do you think on this topic??
Join our Facebook chat on your thoughts on this and the Match Play Championship.
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12:30PM
Are you ready for some match play?
Yes, that’s been the battle cry on the PGA Tour since the Accenture was first played in 1999.
Match play has been a competitive form of golf that has been around since the birth of the game. It’s been sadly neglected for many years and when this event was created, many thought that it would produce some serious buzz, but in reality it hasn’t.
Match play’s roots are in Great Britain, then moved across the Atlantic when the game became popular in the United States. At the turn of the century more than half of the championships in Britain were determined by match play. Today in the 13 national championships run by the USGA, all but the U.S. Open, U.S. Senior Open and the U.S. Women’s Open determine the winner in match play. In the early part of the 19th century, match play was the proper way to determine champions. In a way it was the original form of competition, mano-a-mano. In 1934 four of the 45 tournaments on the PGA Tour were match play. Twenty years later there was only one and by 1958 match play disappeared off the face of the PGA Tour. With the advent of professional golf and television, match play took a back seat.
The PGA Championship started as a match play event in 1916 and became one of the biggest tournaments in the world. Interest in the 1920s was incredible. Of course it’s easy to see why if you take a look at the list of winners: Gene Sarazen won twice and Walter Hagen won five times. That’s one of the reasons there were so many match play events in 1934. The PGA Championship continued to shine in the ’30s and ’40s with the likes of Tommy Armour, Gene Sarazen, Paul Runyan, Byron Nelson, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan winning more than half of the championships. But the shine came off in the ’50s when a rash of nobodies winning. The PGA Championship could have survived but they had one very important entity that hated it, television.
TV deemed match play unfriendly. In its infancy it couldn’t be controlled like stroke play events. When TV started covering golf tournaments in the ’50s, only the weekends were covered with only one-hour shows. So all people saw of a tournament was the last two or three holes. With the PGA Championship going through a bad spell of champions, plus matches that didn’t go to the 18th hole, TV ran away from the championship. So without television, the championship was going nowhere so the PGA of America changed the format and went to stroke play in 1958. Since then only a number of tournaments have been played on the PGA Tour under a match play format. The first was the U.S. Professional Match Play Championship, which started in 1971 in North Carolina and went three years before it wasn’t renewed. DeWitt Weaver won the first, followed by Jack Nicklaus in 1972 and John Schroeder in 1973. In 1984 Deane Beman and Seiko thought that it was time for match play to return and made the Tucson Open the first tournament of the year and had a match play elimination format with all of the money counting as an official event. In the finals Tom Watson beat Gil Morgan and many thought that match play was back on the PGA Tour for good. But it wasn’t. The following year Jim Thorpe beat Jack Renner 4 & 3 in the finals and the PGA Tour’s love affair with match play came to an end. The following year the tournament was again an elimination tournament but instead of match play, stroke play was used. Again, TV was the problem, with matches ending too early and star players being eliminated in early rounds. Match play was deemed unpopular for any network to put it on the air.
With the increased popularity of the Ryder Cup matches in the early ’90s, and the World Match Play Championship in England being successful since it first started in 1964, match play was again gaining some attention. But the major stumbling block was to get American TV to agree with it. I remember one night in the early ’80s I was having dinner with a couple of people that included Chuck Howard, who not only was one of the people that ran ABC Sports, but was the golf producer for the network. We were brainstorming new golf ideas and when it came around to me I said that it would be great if the PGA Tour had a few match play events. The table, with of course a couple of yes men, went terribly quiet and Chuck starred me down in a gruff type of way. With a little laugh he ended the idea by embarrassing me by saying, “You must really not treasure your job with such an asinine idea like that.” Being a young production assistant back then I only wished that I could retreat under the table. Years later in talking with Chuck about match play he still hated the format and resisted it. As a matter of fact it was really funny, even though he was the main producer of golf, in the years that I was at ABC Sports starting in 1975 he never produced the Ryder Cup matches, always saying that his football games were more important and admitted he hated doing match play on television.
So, what saved match play? The Ryder Cup was becoming very popular after the European team won in 1985 and 1987, making the event more competitive. In 1989, USA Network covered the matches from England and created a lot more interest, not only in the matches but in match play in general. In 1991 NBC took over the Ryder Cup and again the golf world loved every minute of the match play events.
The Ryder Cup matches, along with the advent of cable and the increased technology that allowed golf to be televised over 18 holes, helped make match play more of a reality again in the mid-90s. The Presidents Cup matches were developed in 1994 followed by the Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship in 1995. Both found success as earlier matches were put on cable. Television was also able to cover all of the matches from start to finish. Also helping things was the addition of quick tape editing, which meant that if a match ended early, television wasn’t twiddling its thumbs with nothing to do to fill the time. Now if a match ended early highlights of that match or other matches could be put together and shown.
Match play has been embraced by the networks, somewhat apprehensively. Each year there are three match play events, either the Ryder Cup or President Cup, the VolvoWorld Match Play Championship in Spain and the World Golf Championships – Dell Match Play Championship. Unfortunately the World Match Play Championship ended in 2014 but has been replaced with the Paul Lawrie Match Play, which is played in August in Scotland. It has been well received by the public and has been growing in stature with each year.
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