PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

We do a lot of DFS site specific coverage here at FantasyCPR, so in an effort to bring in new golf fans, and look at Fantasy Golf as a whole, I am excited to bring you my PGA Power Rankings for this weeks second phase of the World Golf Championships, and the Dell Technologies Match Play tournament.

This PGA Power Rankings article will cover the top 20 golfers for this event, and with each golfer will come a short blurb with some justification to their respective rankings. Before we do that, let’s touch a bit on the history of the World Golf Championships, and the Dell Technologies Match Play series.

PGA Power Rankings: WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play – Course and History

March Madness the golf version starts kicks off on Wednesday this week, and while the daily fantasy sports may be structured a bit differently, this is still a very fun tournament to watch and follow, as the best in the world will play down to a final two, who will go head-to-head for the championship.

The WGC-Dell Match Play event will be taking place in Austin, Texas for the fourth straight year, as the par-71, 7,108 yard Austin Country Club is set to host once again. The easiest way to describe the course is that it has a hilly, somewhat more challenging front nine, while the back nine plays a bit more level, and not as much in the Texas hillside.

The event itself is in its 20th year, but it was 2015 when the rules changed a bit, going from the traditional head-to-head, single elimination tournament to pool play. In today’s format, the top 16 are seeded by their OWGR ranking, and the remaining players are filled into those top seeds respective pools by a blind draw on Monday. Round robin format will determine who will advance from each pool, and that is played out Wednesday through Friday, then a single elimination bracket will determine a winner on the weekend.

Bubba Watson held off Kevin Kisner to win last year, and Dustin Johnson held off Jon Rahm in 2017 to win his first match-play crown. The only golfers electing to pass on the event this season up to this point, are Rickie Fowler, and Adam Scott.

Obviously the top 16 seeds all have a chance to play on the weekend due to the fact that they are all in different pools, so most of the rankings are pretty straightforward. However, course history and recent form will always come into play, and will shape the differences in this weeks rankings.

While there is a slight chance I could end up with three in my top 20 that end up in the same pool since the draw has not taken place yet, my rankings are assuming that does not happen. Without further ado, let’s unveil the top-20.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

***The following golfers are my top 20 overall. Each golfer will be followed by their official golf world ranking (OGWR) in parenthesis.***

20. Charles Howell – (44)

I want to note right away once again that this article will likely be released right after the pools are selected late this afternoon, so my hope is that the last four or five golfers in my rankings do not end up in the same pool, but it could happen. Depending on who Charles Howell ends up with in his group, history shows he is a good bet to make it to the weekend.

Howell made it out of his pool in each of the last two years at Austin Country Club in match play. It is pretty rare to see someone down this far in the OWGR to have success to the point of just making it to the weekend and getting out of their pools. Since winning the RSM Classic in November, Howell has notched six additional top-20’s in eight events. Can Chucky Three Sticks make it to the single-elimination round three years straight?

19. Louis Oosthuizen – (27)

Oosty got hot on the weekend at the Valspar Championship, firing a 66 on Saturday and a 69 on Sunday to move all the way up into a T-2. He moved up seven spots in the OWGR this week to number 20, and he is another golfer who has had some match play success.

In the first year that Austin C.C. hosted the WGC-Dell Match Play tournament, Oosthuizen came close to a victory, reaching the finals, and ultimately losing 5 & 4 to Jason Day. He did not make the single elimination round in 2017, but did make it out of his pool again last year, only to be bounced in the first round.

18. Alex Noren – (28)

Noren is off to an awful start in 2019, so I am sure you will see this as a surprise. He has missed his last two cuts, and in four events on U.S. soil thus far, his best finish was a T-44 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. However, Noren has been solid here at Austin the last two years.

In 2017, Noren bested his pool and won his first single elimination contest, ultimately finishing in the final eight. Last year, he improved on his finish, making it to the final four. If he ends up in a favorable pool, I like his chances of playing on the weekend.

17. Ian Poulter – (32)

Poulter is a WGC-Dell Match Play former champion, but that victory came back in 2010. He held off Paul Casey 4 & 2 in the championship round, and that was back when the event was held at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain in Arizona. His first crack at Austin was last year, and he made a good run.

Poulter made it out of his pool and won his first single elimination match, before being finishing in the final eight. He was on a tear on the European Tour, but has cooled of a little in the States the last couple of weeks. He skipped the Valspar last week, and I like the fact that he took the week off coming into this .

16. Tony Finau – (15)

The world’s number 16 ranked player has had a notably tough stretch, but when you really break down the last couple of weeks, it looks as though he starting to turn a corner. Finau has really limited his play over the last month, playing only in one event in the month-long Florida swing. All in all, he does have three straight top-25 finishes, with his last being his T-22 at the Players Championship. Finau made his match play debut last year, and failed to make the weekend.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

15. Patrick Cantlay – (19)

Just like Finau, this will be Cantlay’s second trip to the WGC-Dell Match Play. Also like Finau, Cantlay did not make it to the weekend. In fact there are quite a bit of similarities between the two. They have been playing the same schedule so far in 2019, but while the Players was Cantlay’s only Florida event, he missed the cut. He has played five events in 2019, and while he has two missed cuts, he also has three top-15 finishes. Cantlay will also need a favorable draw in his pool, as he looks to be just outside the top-16.

14. Jason Day – (13)

Day is so hard to peg right now. Is he even healthy? Nobody really knows. After notching back-to-back top-fives at the Farmers Insurance Open and at Pebble Beach, Day’s bad back forced him to withdraw a few holes in at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

It seemed weird as he brushed it off as not serious then returned to notch another top-10 at the Players the following week. But he obviously wasn’t 100% last week as he missed the cut at the Valspar. Day won this event in its first trip to Austin in 2016, and it was his second Dell Match Play victory. If he is healthy this week, which I have no idea whether or not he is, I expect him to contend.

13. Bubba Watson – (16)

Watson is on a very short list of names who has not only been a staple at the WGC-Dell Match Play since 2011, he is the defending champion. Last year, he destroyed a likely exhausted Kevin Kisner 7 & 6 to capture the win in the finals, and the fact that he is coming off a solid T-4 at the Valspar last week should make him one of the favorites this week. However, this is quite the star-studded field, so Bubba sits just outside the top-ten.

12. Xander Schauffele – (9)

Coming off of a rare missed cut, Schauffele will make his second trip to Austin for the WGC-Dell Match Play. He failed to make the weekend, but the world’s ninth ranked player will be a top seed in his pool, and I expect him to be a little better. Even though he did miss the cut at the Players, he has still been one of the best golfers in 2019.

Schauffele won the Sentry Tournament of Champions to kick things off, then notched four straight top-25’s before missing the cut two weeks ago. Truthfully, I basically have a three-way tie here this week between Bubba, Xander, and our next golfer. When it comes to Match Play, things are obviously a little different.

11. Jon Rahm – (8)

Rahm is another golfer who has been extremely consistent to start 2019, notching six top-tens in eight total events. The worst start for Rahm came at the last WGC event, which was the Mexico Championship, where he finished T-45. He bounced back fairly decently since, grabbing a T-12 at the Players Championship, and tying for sixth place at the Valspar last week. This will be his third WGC-Dell Match Play, and he nearly won it in his debut two years ago. However, Dustin Johnson held him off to win a close one, one up.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

10. Tiger Woods – (14)

Tiger is a three-time winner of the WGC-Dell Match Play tournament, but the last victory came over ten years ago in 2008. In fact, 2019 will be the first time Woods has been healthy enough and/or willing to play this event since 2013. This will be Woods’ first crack at Austin Country Club, but I think the match play format will be good for him this week.

Instead of chasing a number, you only have to be better than the person next to you, and I would think Tiger is starting to get back to the frame of mind that he is just that. Woods skipped the Valspar to be prepared for this, and if he gets a favorable draw, I expect him to be a force in single elimination.

9. Paul Casey – (11)

Casey will make his fourth trip to Austin, and he comes into match play after bouncing back I would say incredibly well from a missed cut at the Players, by becoming the repeat champion at the Valspar Championship on Sunday. The win gives Casey four top-three or better finishes in his last six events, and if he stays on his game this week at Austin Country Club, he will also be tough to beat in head-to-head play. However, Casey has only made it out of his pool once the last three years, and was bounced in the first round of single elimination when he did advance in 2017.

8. Bryson DeChambeau – (6)

DeChambeau came up just short of qualifying for this event last year, so he will be the highest ranked player making his debut in the WGC-Dell Match Play this week. It has been a semi-rough stretch for the youngster to his standards, but the number six player in the world is another golfer who could benefit from a change in play this week.

Since winning the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour in impressive form in January, it had been a slow, gradual slide for DeChambeau, that seemed to have peaked in Mexico at the first World Golf Championship event in late February. He struggled to a T-56 finish, and has been slowly creeping back into contention in his two events since. Bryson skipped the Valspar Championship last week, so he is coming off of a T-20 finish at the Players.

7. Tommy Fleetwood – (12)

Firing on all cylinders over his last two events, Fleetwood will make his third straight trip to Austin for the WGC-Dell Match Play this week, and he will still be looking to win his pool and make the weekend for the first time. He sat out the Valspar last week to stay in tune for this one, after posting back-to-back top fives at the Players Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. With the way he has played over the last couple of weeks, it is hard not think he will be the favorite in his pool, regardless of draw.

6. Brooks Koepka – (3)

As is the case with a handful of the worlds top-ten, Koepka is just not playing up to his normal standards as of late. Things were looking good when he T-2 at the Honda Classic to kick off the Florida swing, but a missed cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational put the brakes on that thought really quick. In his last action, he T-56 at the Players Championship two weeks ago, and skipped the Valspar last week.

Koepka returns to Austin C.C. after skipping last years WGC-Dell Match Play. He did play in 2016 and 2017, and was able to make it to the weekend both times, finishing in the final eight in 2016, and getting ousted in his first single elimination match in 2017. Depending on his draw, this might not be an easy one for Brooks considering his recent form.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

5. Francesco Molinari – (7)

Usually one to shine a little brighter on the bigger stages, it seems odd to me that Molinari has not had much success in WGC Match Play over the years. In fact, for someone who will have a number one pool seed, this might be another place to look at a potential upset to make the weekend for your fantasy golf purposes this week.

More from FanSided

• Thunder projected lineup and rotations heading into 2023-24 season
• NWSL Challenge Cup news: Courage ruthless against Washington, Racing remain perfect
• 2023 Women’s World Cup: Ary Borges and Brazil showed the entire world what they are about
• Trea Turner’s rough season goes from bad to worse
• Brewers attempt to troll Elly De La Cruz backfires 456 feet

Francesco is a big hit or miss kind of golfer, much like Koepka as of late, and even though he recently won at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his record in this tournament is downright awful. Since it has been held in Austin, Molinari did not play in 2016, withdrew in 2017, and did not make it to the weekend last year.

4. Justin Thomas – (5)

2019 started off well for JT, as he ripped off five straight top-20’s, with three top-10’s mixed in along the way. He hasn’t gotten that elusive victory quite yet, and currently has not won since the WGC-Bridgstone Invitational last year. His hot streak has been halted as of late as well, as he has failed to reach the top-25 in his last two events. In his history here at Austin, he missed the weekend in his first two trips, but made it all the way to the final four last year.

3. Justin Rose – (2)

The world’s number two will make just his second trip to Austin, having passed on the WGC-Dell Match Play for each of the last two seasons. Rose is yet another top name golfer that has not had much success in this format, never making it past the round of 32, and that was before pool play was introduced.

Although Rose T-8 at the Players Championship two weeks ago, the T-63 at the Bay Hill leads me to believe this could be another spot to attack a weaker type player in this pool depending on the draw for fantasy purposes. If he drew someone like Sergio Garcia or the crafty veteran Ian Poulter in his pool, that would likely be a fun battle, and interesting to see who makes the weekend.

2. Dustin Johnson – (1)

It’s a toss-up, but I am going to give McIlroy the edge this week, as he comes into this one in just a little better recent form. Johnson won here two years ago, holding off then rookie Jon Rahm in a thriller. Last year was not as kind, as he did not make it out his pool.

It is tough to say someone is in better form than DJ right now, considering he has a win and three top-tens in his last four events, but something tells me the Rory fresh off his victory at the Players Championship has just a very slight edge.

1. Rory McIlroy – (4)

You never know with match play. At least half of these top 16 players who all get separated into different fields will likely not make the weekend and win their pool, as any of these golfers can get hot or they wouldn’t be here. Just last year, BOTH DJ and Rory did not make it to the weekend, so anything truly can happen.

With the win at the Players, McIlroy finally got the monkey off of his back for the time being, as he had notched five straight top-six or better finishes to start 2019. His best finish at Austin for this event came in 2016, when he made it to the final four. So by a nose, Rory McIlroy is your number one ranked golfer for this weeks WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play event.

Thanks for stopping by FantasyCPR and checking out our ever-expanding PGA coverage. Be sure to keep an eye out for my FanDuel article coming soon, along with some Fantasy Draft once again as well.

Please give me a follow on Twitter with the link at the top of the page, and feel free to ask any PGA Power Rankings questions if you wish. Good luck with your Fantasy Golf this weekend!