BlogWGC-Dell Match Play Championship Preview and Picks

The Buzz:

So they say all good things have to end, and for the World Golf Championship, the end is this week. The series was born in 1999 for the same reason for all our strive between the Tour and LIV Golf. In 1994, Greg Norman started making noise about how the PGA Tour should be different and cater to the best players in the world. He drew up a plan to have eighth events and even got Rupert Murdoch and, at the time, his new Fox network to come on board. Norman’s goal for the World Golf Tour is very similar to LIV Golf, huge purses with guaranteed money. Back then, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, with the help of some promenade players like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, was able to stop Norman’s Tour. To head off any other plans in the future, Finchem got all of the golf tours around the world to ban together and start the International Federation of PGA Tours. Along with that plan, they created three events called the World Golf Championships. These events would have limited fields of under 80 players with no cut and guaranteed money and be open to all players from the newly formed golf league.

In 1999 the WGC-Match Play Championship was played outside of San Diego at La Costa Golf Course, and it started the age of the World Golf Championships. That first year three were played, the Match Play in California, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, and the WGC-American Express Championship, which was played at Valderrama in Spain. In the beginning, the series tried to go around the world. The Match Play was played in Australia in 2001, and they even had the WGC World Cup, a world team event played across the globe in Argentina, Japan, Spain, Mexico, and even the United States. Over time they found out that going to places outside of the United States was not sustainable, and most of them were played in the United States. They added one in China, but because of covid, it was last played in 2019. The event is technically still alive, but with how China is going, the event is as good as dead. One by one, the events died out. The first one to die was the World Cup team. Then when the WGC-Mexico Championship moved to Florida because of Covid, that event got replaced by a regular event in Mexico. The last one played for years in Akron moved to Memphis in 2019, and was killed off in 2022 when the event changed and became part of the FedExCup playoffs.

The thinking was that the WGC-Dell Match Play would continue, but when the contract expired after this year’s event, it wasn’t renewed, mainly because Austin Country Club wanted a substantial increase in the rights fee.

So this is the end of the road for the World Golf Championships and Match Play on the PGA Tour. There are no plans for a match-play event in 2024. For years in the Tours beginnings, Match Play was on the schedule. They had a match play event that died in 1972, and then Disney brought it back for three years in the 80s. It died after three years. So since the WGC-Match has been around for nearly a quarter of a century, it looked like Match Play was here to stay. Will it come back someday? Not in the foreseeable future

It’s too bad, after years of problems, first with a suitable home, it went from La Costa to Arizona, a year in San Francisco before it found what many thought was the perfect home, Austin Country Club, in 2016. The course was ideal for Match Play, and the players loved it. Things got even better in 2019 when they went to a different system that allowed all players to participate for three days. The original event was a knock-out event every day in which if you lost your Match on Wednesday, you went home only playing one day.

In 2019 they utilized a round-robin system in which the event had 16 pods of four players each, and they would play each other for the first three days, with the winner continuing. The players loved the new round-robin system in which they get to play for at least three days. Even Tiger Woods went out of his way to agree it was nicer to play all three days instead of going home on Wednesday if knocked out. The only problem with this event was the time of year it’s been played. It’s wedge two weeks after the Players Championship and two weeks before the Masters. The PGA Tour also solved the tricky sponsorship problem when Dell took over. That worked perfectly since Dell has their headquarters in the Austin area.

So it was a shame when the news started floating around in February when a solution wasn’t found, and the tournament was dropped. With the advent of “designated events” and the tour finding sponsors able to fund these high-cost events, the WGC series became a casualty. Even PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was nonchalant about the end as he told media at the Players that everything runs its course. The tour went in a different direction, with the new concepts being laid out for 2024.

Other news, marquee players in great form or not in shape:

I must say this, going into this week, Scottie Scheffler, Jason Day, and Jordan Spieth look in great shape. With just two events before the Masters, this is the last event for marquee players. I can’t find a better player than Scottie Scheffler, who has played this event twice, was 2nd in 2021, and won last year. In those two events, Scheffler has the best record of anyone in the field at Austin Country Club, 10 wins, two losses, and two halved matches. On top of his outstanding play in this event, since his T-3rd at Mayakoba in November, he has finished out of the top ten just twice, T-11th at the American Express and T-12th at Genesis. He has been in the top ten in the other seven, including winning in Phoenix and the Players. In that event, he looked dominating, and many feel he can replicate the same wins in Austin and Augusta as last year.

As for Jason Day, his game has also been great. Since the American Express in January, he hasn’t been worst than 19th in six starts at the Players. Throughout his last 24 rounds, he is 60 under par, and in those 24 rounds, have shot 11 rounds in the 60s and has only been over par in three rounds. He won the Match Play twice in 2014 and Austin in 2016. Since that win has struggled primarily due to his health, and despite having 24 wins, and 15 losses in the Matchplay, his record is a disappointing 8 wins and 7 losses in Austin. I still think he should be a player to watch. Jordan Spieth has also had an up-and-down last three months. He was T-13th at the Sentry and then missed the cut at Sony Hawaii after co-leading in the first round. He was a disappointing T-63rd at Pebble, an event he loves and plays well in. He bounced back to finish T-6th at Phoenix but missed the cut at Genesis. He was close at the Palmer, finishing T-4th, and was up and down at the Players, finishing T-19th, but we thought he played his best at the Valspar, finishing T-3rd after the back nine on Sunday bogey-par-bogey to finish two back. As of this week, I will pass on Spieth. In eight match play starts, his best finish was T-5th in his first in 2014. He made it to the quarter-finals losing to Ernie Els 4 & 2, but since he was T-9th in 2016, and has struggled. His match play record is 16 wins, 15 loses, and 4 draws, and at Austin C.C., he is 10-7-3, even though he has played a lot on this course. Still, the value for Spieth is the Masters. It’s his favorite of the majors, winning it in 2015 and being in the top three in five of his nine starts. He has much to prove after missing the cut last year, and we can see that he could be on the verge of going on a roll.

Those not in shape

Hard to gauge how well Jon Rahm will be. After winning the Sentry TofC, American Express, and Genesis, he fell flat finishing T-39th at the Palmer after leading with a first-round 65. He was out of sorts at the Players and withdrew after a first-round 71. Frankly, we talked about it. The one Achilles heal in his game is the inability to play well in Florida, so now that this is in his rearview mirror, we can look toward the future, which has to make him one of the favorites at the Masters. As of this week, Rahm was runner-up in his first match play in 2017 and has two top-tens in his four starts since. His record at Austin is 12 wins, seven loses, and 3 draws, so it’s not bad, but I don’t think he will win this week.

Then you have Rory McIlroy. After finishing T-2nd at the Palmer, Rory misses the cut at the Players. This was very tough, and we have heard he has driving problems. Since the summer, the Callaway driver he has used seems to be on the cusp of not conforming to USGA regulations, so McIlroy has been searching for a new one. With his rounds of 76-73, we can see that he didn’t find his dream driver and can only hope he has found one now. Rory won the Match Play at Harding Park in 2015. He has mixed results in his five Austin starts, he was 4th in 2016 and T-9th in 2019 and didn’t make it to match play the other three starts. His record is 9 wins, 7 losses, and 3 draws, so it doesn’t make one think Rory will make it far this week. But just like with Spieth, his future is two weeks from now at the Masters.

Those you least expect that have a special place in their hearts over Austin Country Club:

No need to speak any further than Kevin Kisner. In six starts, all at Austin, he won in 2019 and was runner-up in 2018 and last year. His record of 22 wins, 6 losses, and 1 draw is 75.9%, the best percentage of anyone in the field. Now his golf has been terrible in 2023. He has made four cuts in eight starts, with the best finish being T-29th at the RSM Classic. So these aren’t promising numbers. But to show that Kisner’s season doesn’t start until the match play when he won in 2019, he only had one top-ten in ten starts leading to Austin. And other than the T-7th finish at the RSM, his next best finish was T-22nd, so maybe this is a sign that Kisner could surprise us all as he did in 2019.

Another player returning to the Match Play after not playing last year is Matt Kuchar. In 11 starts, he has been in the top-ten eight times, including a win in 2013. His record at Austin Country Club is 16 wins, 5 losses, and 4 draws, as he was 3rd in 2021 and 2nd in 2019. His record is up and down in 2023, but he was T-7th at the Sony Open in Hawaii and 8th at the Genesis, so you have to think he could surprise some this year.

One other longshot to watch this week is Alex Noren. He was 3rd in 2018 and T-5th in 2017, his record at Austin is 11 wins, 5 losses, so he plays well on the course. After an excellent start to his year, finishing T-4th at Houston and T-5th at Abu Dhabi, he has slipped, missing three cuts in four starts, with him in the same group as Scottie Scheffler and Tom Kim, he could have a tough time.

Tournament information:

This will be the 24th and last  World Golf Championship – Dell Match Play championship.  Austin Country Club is the sixth different course to hold this championship. In 2015 TPC Harding Park held the event for one year. The previous home was the Golf Club at Dove Mountain for six years, and before that, the Gallery Golf Club held it for two years; before that, the LaCosta Spa and Resort, which had 1999, 2000, 2002 through 2006 events. In 2001 the Metropolitan Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, was the venue.

Course information:

• Austin Country Club
• Austin, Texas
• 7,108 yards     Par 35-36–71

The course has a 75.2 rating and a slope rating of 152 from the championship tees. Austin Country Club is a private club eight miles northwest of downtown Austin.  The club was formed in 1899, and the first course was nine holes with sand greens.  It’s believed that the course and club were the first of its kind organized in Texas.  The course grew to 18 holes but in 1949, was deemed to be too small, so the club moved to East Austin and had Perry Maxwell build them a new course.  This would be the course where Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw would spend so many hours under the watchful eye of Harvey Penick. The Club remained at the Riverside Drive location until 1984, at which time the decision was made to move to the current Davenport Ranch location in the hills of west Austin.

Dye was chosen to create the new course and given 180 acres of diverse terrain that goes from golf in the hills weaving through canyons and woodlands and then juts out to the lowlands with a river border one side of the course.  So there are different natural features to every one of the holes, making it a delight.  You will see a touch of TPC at Sawgrass, Blackwolf Run, and Oak Tree Country Club, to name some courses that have held professional events on them.

More importantly, the course isn’t very long and will have many risks and reward types of shots, the kind that will make for great Match Play golf.  All of the par 5s will be reachable, and the 12th will be the favorite, as water from the river runs the final 150 yards on the left of the hole, and goes right up along the left of the green and beyond the green.  So we will see a lot of drama as players decide to go for the green and the shot that it will take to get on.  The next hole plays with water in front of the green and all along the left side.  Since the hole plays 317 yards, it will challenge players to take the driver out and go for it. The only problem the player has to hold a driver on the green, which makes the shot almost impossible.   But players will still try to get it close.

As for the par 3s, all of them are great, from the shortest, the 150-yard, 17th, to the longest, the 201-yard, 7th.  All have a safe shot to the middle of the green, but again for match play with the greens tucked away in front of water, bunkers, and ravines, it creates a perfect match-play scenario.  That will be the key to the course; it’s ideal for match play.

DraftKings with Match Play games:

2018 was the first year that DraftKings had a game, and it was a lot of fun.  The game is based on winning holes, and your player goes to Sunday.  Like the regular tournament play, you know that to win, you have to get all six players to the weekend, and the way DraftKings has done this game, the same is correct.

Here is how you win or lose points.  If you win a hole, you get 3 points.  If you halve, you get 0.75 points.  If you lose a hole, they subtract 0.75 points.  Now since matches end early, they have a bonus for a player that wins the match. They will receive 1.6 points for each hole not played, which is essential to winning.  They also will give 5 points for matches won and 2 points for a match halved.  There is also a bonus of 5 points for winning 3 consecutive holes won (Max of 1 per round) and the most significant bonus of 7.5 points if you can play a complete match without losing a hole.  Now for the round of 16 (weekend play), playoff holes will count toward the scoring, and the consolation match on Sunday will also get points.  So the big plum comes if, out of your six picks, four of them play on Sunday.

I love this game, and it should create a lot of buzzes.  It’s different in that you will have to figure out which players make it to the weekend.  You will be at a significant disadvantage for each player that doesn’t win their group (remember there are 16 groups Wed-Fri).  Again pick the 16 that play the weekend, your chances are much better.

Most DraftKings points earned

We have put together a database beginning at the start of the 2022 Calendar year and going through the 2023 Valspar, a total of 60 events. The database includes how many points a player won during the event and his cost. Out of the database, we can determine the total DraftKing points earned and the players’ average points earned per event and average points based on the number of rounds played.

Of the players in the field, here are the top 50 playing this week:

 

DraftKings tips

*Here are the guys that cost the most on DraftKings this week:

• Scottie Scheffler – $11,100
• Jon Rahm – $11,000
• Patrick Cantlay – $10,700
• Rory McIlroy – $10,500
• Xander Schauffele – $10,300
• Jordan Spieth – $10,200
• Max Homa – $10,100
• Tony Finau – $9,800
• Viktor Hovland – $9,600
• Collin Morikawa – $9,500
• Sungjae Im – $9,400
• Cameron Young – $9,200
• Jason Day – $9,100
• Tyrrell Hatton – $9,000

Here is how the groups work out and who will play each other in the first three rounds of the WGC-Dell Match Play:

Let’s look at all 16 groups:

So the groups have been established through a random pick, there are 16 groups of four players in each group.  Each player goes 18 holes with the three other players in the group, and the one with the best record moves to the round of 16.  For groups that are tied a stroke play, a hole-by-hole playoff will determine the player who advances to the 16-player, single-elimination matches.  If a game is tied after 18 holes, it’s considered a halve, with the play ends.  Now if you playing DraftKings, you better look for players in that 7,000 to 8,500 range because you can’t take all of the favorites.  So in the group behind, look for that upset and players that will make it to the weekend.

So here are the groups and their ranking with some thoughts on who will win each of the groups:

Group 1: Scottie Scheffler (1) – Draftkings $11,100, Tom Kim (17) – Draftkings $8,700, Alex Noren (38) – Draftkings $7,000 & Davis Riley (54) – Draftkings $7,300 … 

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Scheffler vs. Riley, 2:50 p.m.; Kim vs. Noren, 3:01 p.m.; Thursday – Scheffler vs. Noren, 1:22 p.m.; Kim vs. Riley, 1:33 p.m.; Friday – Scheffler vs. Kim, TBD; Noren vs. Riley, TBD

World #1 looks like the easy pick, but I don’t think Tom Kim and Alex Noren will be rollovers.  Kim did play in the Presidents Cup and had a 2-3 record, but he can be dangerous.  Noren has an 11-5 record at Austin and can be dangerous, but feel that Scheffler will be ok.  Scheffler has it easy on Wednesday with Riley, who has no match-play experience compared to Scheffler.  Thursday, he gets Noren and should prevail, and I think Friday is his toughest match with Kim.  Don’t see anything bad happening to Scottie on his way to defending his title.

Group winner – Scottie Scheffler

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Group 2: Jon Rahm (2) – Draftkings $11,000, Billy Horschel (22) – Draftkings $7,900, Keith Mitchell (39) – Draftkings $8,100 & Rickie Fowler (49) – Draftkings $8,200 …

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Rahm vs. Fowler, 11:54 p.m.; Horschel vs. Mitchell, 12:05 p.m.; Thursday – Rahm vs. Mitchell, 10:26 a.m.; Horschel vs. Fowler, 10:37 a.m.; Friday – Rahm vs. Horschel, TBD; Mitchell vs. Fowler, TBD

On paper this looks like a group in which Jon Rahm will roll over, but there are problems.  Yes, Horschel hasn’t been sharp, but he won this event when people didn’t appreciate his game.  Think that Mitchell will be the rollover player in this group.  Rickie Fowler hasn’t played in this event since the first time he played at Austin C.C. He didn’t fare well losing a match and halving the other two.  But Fowler has a lot on the line this week in trying to make the Masters, so think he will be strong.  See Fowler beating Rahm on Wednesday and then beating Horschel and Mitchell.  Even if Rickie wins his match with Rahm, it may be a tougher road for him if he doesn’t win the other two.

Group winner – Rickie Fowler

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Group 3: Rory McIlroy (3) – Draftkings $10,500, Keegan Bradley (20) – Draftkings $7,700, Denny McCarthy (48) – Draftkings $6,900 & Scott Stallings (52) – Draftkings $6,200… 

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – McIlroy vs. Stallings, 10:26 a.m.; Bradley vs. McCarthy, 10:37 a.m.; Thursday – McIlroy vs. McCarthy, 2:50 p.m.; Bradley vs. Stallings, 3:01 p.m.; Friday – McIlroy vs. Bradley, TBD; McCarthy vs. Stallings, TBD

Have to say McIlroy got lucky with this pad, Keegan Bradley who withdrew last week has a terrible record in match play, in 16 matches he has only won once, think that he may win one this year, but not against Rory.  McCarthy has never played this event, and Stallings lost his only match back in 2014.  So yes, this is an easy pick in taking Rory

Group winner – Rory McIlroy should have an easy time.

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Group 4: Patrick Cantlay (4) – Draftkings $10,700, Brian Harman (25) – Draftkings $7,400, K.H. Lee (35) – Draftkings $6,400 & Nick Taylor (55) – Draftkings $6,600  …

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Cantlay vs. Taylor, 1:22 p.m.; Harman vs. Lee, 1:33 p.m.; Thursday – Cantlay vs. Lee, 11:54 a.m.; Harman vs. Taylor, 12:05 p.m; Friday – Cantlay vs. Harman, TBD; Lee vs. Taylor, TBD

On paper this looks like an easy walk in the park for Cantlay.  It will be Taylor, and Lee have never played this event, so there is a possibility of an upset, but I don’t think so.  So look for Friday’s match with Brian Harman to be key, Cantlay can’t disregard him.  Harman is a tough customer and will take Cantlay to the very end, still feel Cantlay will win.

Group Winner – Patrick Cantlay

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Group 5: Max Homa (5) – Draftkings $10,100, Hideki Matsuyama (18) – Draftkings $8,600, Kevin Kisner (42) – Draftkings $7,200 & Justin Suh (63) – Draftkings $7,300  … 

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Homa vs. Suh, 12:38 p.m.; Matsuyama vs. Kisner, 12:49 p.m.; Thursday – Homa vs. Kisner, 11:10 a.m.; Matsuyama vs. Suh, 11:21 a.m.; Friday – Homa vs. Matsuyama, TBD; Kisner vs. Suh, TBD

This is one of the toughest pods this year, anyone of these players could win.  Suh has no experience in match play, but he can play could golf, and with nothing really riding for him could be dangerous.  Matsuyama hasn’t played well in this event, but in his history has beaten Dustin Johnson (2019), Cameron Smith (2018), Louis Oosthuizen (2017), and Kevin Kisner (2016), so don’t disregard him.  Same with Kisner, he is not playing well but seems to peak during this week and he has won a lot of matches  Homa has struggled in past and is not playing well right now, but I see this pod being settled on Thursday with Homa playing Kisner, I think Kisner wins.

Group winner – Kevin Kisner

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Group 6: Xander Schauffele (6) – Draftkings $10,300, Tom Hoge (23) – Draftkings $7,700, Aaron Wise (40) – Draftkings $6,800 & Cam Davis (64) – Draftkings $6,600  … 

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Schauffele vs. Davis, 9:42 a.m.; Hoge vs. Wise, 9:42 a.m.; Thursday – Schauffele vs. Wise, 2:06 p.m.; Hoge vs. Davis, 2:17 p.m.; Friday – Schauffele vs. Hoge, TBD; Wise vs. Davis, TBD

Come on, will anyone be able to beat Schauffele?  Not so fast, Xander’s record in this event isn’t great, and the same with the others, Davis is playing for the first time.  But the one you least expect to do well could go on a win this pod, Cam Davis.  After missing five straight cuts was T-6th at the Players  Look for the good play to continue with him upsetting Xander on Wednesday and then rolling over the other two.

Group winner – Cam Davis

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Group 7: Will Zalatoris (7) – Draftkings $8,900, Ryan Fox (29) – Draftkings $7,000,  Harris English (37) – Draftkings $6,900 & Andrew Putnam (56) – Draftkings $6,000 …

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Zalatoris vs. Putnam, 11:10 a.m.; Fox vs. English, 11:21 a.m.; Thursday – Zalatoris vs. English, 9:42 a.m.; Fox vs. Putnam, 9:53 a.m.; Friday – Zalatoris vs. Fox, TBD; English vs. Putnam, TBD

Tough pod to judge, Zalatoris played well last year but has seen a lot f up and downs this year.  Andrew Putnam has not played well, but he could be Zalatoris on Wednesday.  I think the Fox/English match on Wednesday will dictate who wins, English is a tough customer, but I like Fox winning this pod.

Group winner – Ryan Fox

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Group 8: Viktor Hovland (8) – Draftkings $9,600, Chris Kirk (28) – Draftkings $7,800, Si Woo Kim (34) – Draftkings $7,500 & Matt Kuchar (59) – Draftkings $7,100  … 

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Hovland vs. Kuchar, 2:06 p.m.; Kirk vs. Kim, 2:17 p.m.; Thursday – Hovland vs. Kim, 12:38 p.m.; Kirk vs. Kuchar, 12:49 p.m.; Friday – Hovland vs. Kirk, TBD; Kim vs. Kuchar, TBD

This will be one of the tougher brackets, anyone could win.  You never know which game Viktor Hovland will bring, we will see on Wednesday if he can handle the ever-tough Matt Kuchar.  As for said Kuchar, his 35 wins, 18 loss, 5 draws are hard to beat, but he is even better at Austin C.C., with 16 wins, 5 losses, and 4 draws.  Chris Kirk is the hard one to judge, he has played well in this event but hasn’t played since finishing T-5th in 2016.  As for Si Woo Kim he’s not going to win this week, but can beat anyone and is a person to fear due to that.  Again think the Wednesday Hovland/Kuchar match determines this, and I don’t see Hovland losing.

Group winner – Viktor Hovland

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Group 9: Collin Morikawa (9) – Draftkings $9,500, Jason Day (32) – Draftkings $9,100, Adam Svensson (44) – Draftkings $6,700 & Victor Perez (51) – Draftkings $6,500  … 

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Morikawa vs. Perez, 1:44 p.m.; Day vs. Svensson, 1:55 p.m.; Thursday – Morikawa vs. Svensson, 12:16 p.m.; Day vs. Perez, 12:27 p.m.; Friday – Morikawa vs. Day, TBD; Svensson vs. Perez, TBD

Another tough pod, on paper Morikawa, should win, but Jason Day has won this, and Victor Perez could surprise many.  As For Adam Svensson he is playing for the first time, and we don’t know how he will do, but players like Svensson have a way of beating players.  Still think Morikawa, if he putts well, will do it.

Group winner – Collin Morikawa

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Group 10: Tony Finau (10) – Draftkings $9,800, Kurt Kitayama (19) – Draftkings $7,600, Adrian Meronk (45) – Draftkings $6,400 & Christiaan Bezuidenhout (56) – Draftkings $6,700  …

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Finau vs. Bezuidenhout, 10:48 a.m.; Kitayama vs. Meronk, 10:59 a.m.; Thursday – Finau vs. Meronk, 9:20 a.m.; Kitayama vs. Bezuidenhout, 9:31 a.m.; Friday – Finau vs. Kitayama, TBD; Meronk vs. Bezuidenhout, TBD

I smell a big upset in this pod.  Many will think Finau is unbeatable, but we saw how tough Kitayama was at the Palmer, especially when he drives well.  Also have a lot of respect for Adrian Meronk, who I think is going to be the new best player from Europe.  Whoever wins the Wednesday Kitayama/Meronk match will go on to win, I see Meronk pulling off a big upset.

Group winner – Adrian Meronk

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Group 11: Matt Fitzpatrick (11) – Draftkings $8,500, Sahith Theegala (26) – Draftkings $8,000, Min Woo Lee (41) – Draftkings $7,600 & J.J. Spaun (61) – Draftkings $6,600  ...

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Fitzpatrick vs. Spaun, 9:20 a.m.; Theegala vs. Lee, 9:31 a.m.; Thursday – Fitzpatrick vs. Lee, 1:44 p.m.; Theegala vs. Spaun, 1:55 p.m.; Friday – Fitzpatrick vs. Theegala, TBD; Lee vs. Spaun, TBD

This is an easy pod to see the long shot coming through.  I like Sahith Theegala, who will have to prove it by beating the defending U.S. Open champion on Friday.

Group winner – Sahith Theegala

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Group 12: Jordan Spieth (12) – Draftkings $10,200, Shane Lowry (21) – Draftkings $8,400, Taylor Montgomery (47) – Draftkings $7,400 & Mackenzie Hughes (50) – Draftkings $6,100 … 

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Spieth vs. Hughes, 12:16 p.m.; Lowry vs. Montgomery, 12:27 p.m.; Thursday – Spieth vs. Montgomery, 10:48 a.m.; Lowry vs. Hughes, 10:59 p.m.; Friday – Spieth vs. Lowry, TBD; Montgomery vs. Hughes, TBD

Smell another upset in this pod, and it will be determine on Thursday when Spieth plays Montgomery, and he surprises Spieth.  Jordan has never played well in this event while it’s played at Austin C.C.  You just never know what Spieth will do, but I don’t think it’s winning this pod.  As for Lowry’s game is in limbo, and I can’t see him doing anything but losing.

Group winner – Taylor Montgomery

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Group 13: Sam Burns (13) – Draftkings $8,800, Seamus Power (30) – Draftkings $7,200, Adam Scott (33) – Draftkings $7,800 & Adam Hadwin (53) – Draftkings $7,500 … 

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Burns vs. Hadwin, 1:00 p.m.; Power vs. Scott, 1:11 p.m.; Thursday – Burns vs. Scott, 11:32 a.m.; Power vs. Hadwin, 11:43 p.m.; Friday – Burns vs. Power, TBD; Scott vs. Hadwin, TBD

Hard to believe that Sam Burns has not played in this event before.  His game is on a roll after a good finish at the Valspar, Adam Scott, we keep wishing for, and he never comes true.  As for Adam Hadwin I don’t see him with the chops to win so think Burns succeeds.

Group winner – Sam Burns

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Group 14: Tyrrell Hatton (14) – Draftkings $9,000, Russell Henley (31) – Draftkings $7,100, Lucas Herbert (46) – Draftkings $6,300 & Ben Griffin (62) – Draftkings $6,500 …

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Hatton vs. Griffin, 10:04 a.m.; Herbert vs. Henley, 10:15 a.m.; Thursday – Hatton vs. Herbert, 2:28 p.m.; Henley vs. Griffin, 2:39 p.m.; Friday – Hatton vs. Henley, TBD; Herbert vs. Griffin, TBD

The big question is if Ben Griffin could pull an upset, he has played well and has the type of attitude to do that.  We will know on Wednesday, he plays Tyrrell Hatton, who is a good match player.  As for Russell Henley and Lucas Herbert they haven’t me that they could win this week.

Group winner – Tyrrell Hatton

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Group 15: Cameron Young (15) – Draftkings $9,200, Sepp Straka (27) – Draftkings $6,100, Corey Conners (36) – Draftkings $7,900 & Davis Thompson (57) – Draftkings $6,200 … 

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Young vs. Thompson, 11:32 a.m.; Straka vs. Conners, 11:43 a.m.; Thursday – Young vs. Conners, 10:04 a.m.; Straka vs. Thompson, 10:15 a.m.; Friday – Young vs. Straka, TBD; Conners vs. Thompson, TBD

Think the winner will come out of the Young/Conners match on Thursday, think its a toss-up, I am going with Conners due to him playing well last year in Austin.

Group winner – Corey Conners

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Group 16: Sungjae Im (16) – Draftkings $9,400, Tommy Fleetwood (24) – Draftkings $8,300, J.T. Poston (43) – Draftkings $6,300 & Maverick McNealy (58) – Draftkings $6,800 …

SCHEDULE: Wednesday – Im vs. van McNealy, 2:28 p.m.; Fleetwood vs. Poston, 2:39 p.m.; Thursday – Im vs. Poston, 1:00 p.m.; Fleetwood vs. McNealy, 1:11 p.m.; Friday – Im vs. Fleetwood, TBD; Poston vs. McNealy, TBD

This is a great pod for Tommy Fleetwood to stroll to play on Saturday.  McNealy has been injured and getting over a shoulder problem, Im is unimpressive, and Poston has his moments of glory, was T-10th last week at the Valspar but don’t think this week will be one of those moments of glory.

Group winner – Tommy Fleetwood

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DraftKings Strategy

Again you must be sure you find those longshot winners in each pod.  As for my dream pick for Draftkings and why:

Scottie Scheffler – $11,100

Scottie Scheffler is playing way too well right now, and I see him winning but will be tough to beat Tom Kim and Alex Noren in his pod.  After that, see him beating Tommy Fleetwood in the round of 16 and then beating Viktor Hovland in the Quarters.  After that, see him against Patrick Cantlay in the semis and then beating Rory in the finals.

Rory McIlroy – $10,500

So I see Scheffler in the finals with McIlroy.  Rory should have an easy time and I see him facing Rickie Fowler in the semis.

Patrick Cantlay – $10,700

Should be an easy pod for Cantlay, who then faces Sam Burns and then Taylor Montgomery before facing Scheffler.

Collin Morikawa at $9,500

In a tough pod with Jason Day and Victor Perez, the problem with Morikawa is the road is tough to face players like Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay.

Sam Burns at $8,800

In an easy pod, but he will be against Patrick Cantlay in the round of 16, if he can get by that, he will have to beat Scheffler in the semis.

Rickie Fowler at $8,200

If he can get past Jon Rahm in his pod, can see him going a long way.

Kevin Kisner at $7,800

The guy plays great in the match play and at Austin C.C.  If he gets going will be tough to beat.

Taylor Montgomery at $7,400

Yes, he is in the same pod as Jordan Spieth, but I can see him beating him, and he is very cheap.

Adrian Meronk at $6,400

Looking for a long shot and a cheap price, this is your man.  In a tough pod with Tony Finau and Kurt Kitayama, but if he can get out of that pod could go a long way.

One other big important point in making DraftKings picks for the Match Play.  When you pick your six guys, make sure you don’t pick two in the same pod, that is like working against you.  Remember, the most important thing you must do is look at the 16 pods and pick your winners as I did above.  When you have your 16 winners, it’s now down to doing the math work to try and get as many top players along with players that aren’t costly.  It’s also important to look at your 16 and pick which players will have the easiest group.

Have fun and good luck.

Here are some of the secrets of what it takes to play well at the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship:

The key stat for the winner:

• Some players look more at a big check on the PGA Tour instead of playing to win.  These players are dangerous in match play because they have only one thing to consider: winning.  So in some respects, this year’s 17 Dell rookies (Sam Burns, Cam Davis, Ryan Fox, Ben Griffin, Tom Kim, Kurt Kitayama, K.H. Lee, Denny McCarthy, Adrian Meronk, Taylor Montgomery, Davis Riley, J.J. Spaun, Justin Suh, Adam Svensson, Nick Taylor, Sahith Theegala, and Davis Thompson).
• Just look at what happened in 2018, tournament rookies Cameron Smith made it to the quarterfinals, and Brian Harman made it to the round of 16 before he was beaten by past winner Bubba Watson. In 2021 rookie Scottie Scheffler made it to the finals only to lose to Billy Horschel.  That same year Victor Perez made it to semi’s only to lose to Billy Horschel.
• There are other factors, look at what happened to Tiger Woods in 2002 when he got beat in the first round by Peter O’Malley or even in 2013 when Charles Howell III beat him on Wednesday.  So don’t think that just because Scottie Scheffler, who is the number one draw, is a better player than the 38th draw Alex Noren on Wednesday.  When you see some pairings of a superstar against a lesser-name player like Adrian Meronk, Nick Taylor, or Justin Suh, the match looks like David versus Goliath on paper.  We all know what happened in that story, it’s happened before and will happen in years to come.

Here are some more key stats to look for this week:

• Matchplay is a rare format on the PGA Tour.  Even though it’s a game that is played regularly in golf clubs worldwide, it’s not played that much on the PGA Tour.  The secret to winning in match play is not playing the best but, more importantly, avoiding doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.  In many matches, someone could be striking the ball perfectly and putting well while his opponent could be hitting it all around the lot, missing greens but chipping in for halves on holes.  Before you know it, that match could come down to the final hole, and the player who isn’t doing the best could chip in and win.  It happens all the time.  Remember, a score doesn’t mean anything in match play.
• This is also a different format.  Just because you lose that first-round match on the 18th hole doesn’t mean that you are on a plane home that night.  You still have two more matches and could suddenly find your game and find yourself winning your group.  So it’s vital to take each match at a time and not worry if you’re playing poorly one day.  A perfect example of this was in 2019, Matt Kuchar halved his match with Jon Rahm but still won his pod and went into the finals losing to Kisner.  And talking about Kisner in 2018, he halved his first-round match to Adam Hadwin but was still able to win his group and went to the finals before losing to Bubba Watson.  So the point is anything can happen in this format.
• A couple of things that can help you pick a winner are looking at those with good match-play records.  Past winners of the U.S. Amateur, like Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland, know how to win in this format, so they have a bit of an advantage. Also, look at how robust Tyrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood were in the Ryder Cup, and Tom Kim, and Cam Davis were in the Presidents Cup.
• In the past, the most challenging place to pick winners was the first round.  You were a superstar if you chose half of them, right?  Now the first round means nothing, so look for more marquee players dominating the first three days and getting into the round of 16 on Saturday morning.  Again seeds mean nothing anymore.

Some secrets to playing at Austin Country Club:

• Austin Country Club is perfect for match play because the course isn’t long, it’s not very tight, and the greens are generous.  But with all of the changes, many bunkers in the fairways will catch wayward drives.  Making the bunkers hard, they are deep, and could be impossible to get to the green.  Also, lots of hazards to avoid, and you will see a lot of them if you are going for a tight pin position.  In some ways hitting first to the green, you control what your opponent will do based on your shot.  If you can put pressure on him, he will lose holes.  But if you don’t hit the perfect shot and get yourself in trouble, it makes it easy for your opponent to hit the middle of the green and make par to win the hole.
• Greens have a lot of undulations.  Good putters and scramblers will help a player savage his match.
• Driving will be key.  Just like at Augusta National, you have to place a drive in an excellent spot to have a good shot to the green.  The length is short, but getting close to your shot to the green will be hard if you don’t put your drives in the right spot.  So a straight driver will have an advantage over a long hitter this week.
• Weather will make it challenging as thunderstorms will hit on Wednesday through Friday.  So patience will be the key, the weekend is supposed to be good.