Fansided

WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play groups and predictions

By David Salituro

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL - MARCH 17: Tiger Woods of the United States hits a tee shot on the ninth hole during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship on March 17, 2019 on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL - MARCH 17: Tiger Woods of the United States hits a tee shot on the ninth hole during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship on March 17, 2019 on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl. (Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
PALM HARBOR, FLORIDA – MARCH 24: Dustin Johnson watches his tee shot on the sixth hole during the final round of the Valspar Championship on the Copperhead course at Innisbrook Golf Resort on March 24, 2019 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)
PALM HARBOR, FLORIDA – MARCH 24: Dustin Johnson watches his tee shot on the sixth hole during the final round of the Valspar Championship on the Copperhead course at Innisbrook Golf Resort on March 24, 2019 in Palm Harbor, Florida. (Photo by Matt Sullivan/Getty Images) /

Group 1: Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Branden Grace and Chez Reavie

The long-hitting Dustin Johnson has a game made for Austin Country Club. Johnson ranks 14th on the PGA Tour this season in strokes gained: off the tee, and trails only Rory McIlroy in total strokes gained. In his first two appearances on this course, he made the quarterfinals in 2016, then won the event against Jon Rahm in 2017. Surprisingly, he went 0-3 in group play last year and is coming off a Sunday final round at the Valspar where he failed to make a single birdie. Johnson, however, recovers this week to win the group.

His biggest challenger is Hideki Matsuyama, The Japanese star comes into the event in solid form with top-20 finishes in five of his last six events on the PGA Tour. He’s never advanced past the group stage in three attempts in Austin, though. Branden Grace also hasn’t moved past this stage since 2015, while Chez Reavie is making only his second appearance in the Match Play after his debut last year.

Group 2: Justin Rose, Gary Woodland, Eddie Pepperell and Emiliano Grillo

World No. 2 Justin Rose may be the highest-ranked player in this group, but he’s in for a challenge against Gary Woodland. The 34-year-old Woodland made the final in this event in 2015 and already has two runner-up finishes this season on the PGA Tour. Woodland also ranks 12th in driving distance on tour and is seventh in strokes gained: tee-to-green.

Rose is making his first appearance in this event since 2016. The Englishman won the Farmers Insurance Open in January before a disappointing 63rd place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He rebounded with a top-10 at the Players Championship two weeks ago, his last start on tour. Fellow Englishman Eddie Pepperell has never played this event, while Emiliano Grillo has only won once in six career matches.

Group 3: Brooks Koepka, Alex Noren, Haotong Li and Tom Lewis

Alex Noren isn’t coming into this week on his best form, but he has the kind of resume around Austin Country Club that could pose a threat to Brooks Koepka. Noren finished third here last year and made the quarterfinals in 2017. Overall, he has a 10-2 career record at Austin Country Club.

Koepka, meanwhile, won his group in both 2016 and 2017 before missing last year’s event with a wrist injury. He also hasn’t been playing his best as of late, with a missed cut and 56th place finish in his last two starts. Haotong Li lost all three matches in his debut last year and is coming off two straight missed cuts, while Englishman Tom Lewis is making his first appearance.

Group 4: Rory McIlroy, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Justin Harding and Luke List

The best player on the PGA Tour this year also has one of the best records in this event. Rory McIlroy won here in 2015, lost in the final in 2012 and was a semifinalist in 2016. The Northern Irishman has finished in the top-six of all six PGA Tour events in 2019, including winning the Players Championship two weeks ago. He also leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained: off-the-tee, tee-to-green and total strokes.

If there is a player that can beat him in this group, it’s Luke List. List may have lost all three matches in his debut last year, but this year he is third on tour in driving distance and fifth off the tee. Matthew Fitzpatrick has never made it out of his group in this event. Justin Harding may be a relative unknown in the U.S., but the South African did win on the European Tour two weeks ago and has seven career wins on the Sunshine Tour.

Home/PGA Tour