Match Play Arrives With Strong Field, Most Eyes On Tiger And Spieth
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With Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson playing golf at the highest level imaginable heading into the Masters, expect the focus this week to turn to Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth.
Woods has not played in the WGC Dell Match Play since its move to Austin and as Dan Kilbridge notes for Golfweek, seems due to take things up a notch in his Masters prep.
The Golf.com gang debates whether this is good prep for Woods and Alan Shipnuck wonders if the new format guaranteeing three matches will dull Woods’ senses.
I think Tiger would have more adrenaline for the old win-or-go-home format. For him this is all about getting reps ahead of the Masters — actually winning matches will be a bonus.
For Spieth the UT grad returning the friendly confines of Austin, the struggles are on the course, not on the range, as he explains to Steve DiMeglio for Golfweek.
The lowdown on this week’s field where Rickie Fowler and Adam Scott are the two star players passing:
Star-studded field finalized for 2019 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play
64 of the top 66 players in the Official World Golf Rankings are committed to play at Austin Country Club
AUSTIN, Texas – Sixty-four of the top 66 players from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) have officially committed to the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, which will take place March 27-31 at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. The tournament will feature the game’s biggest stars from around the globe in a rare match-play format.
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, 2018 FedExCup champion Justin Rose, reigning PGA TOUR Player of the Year Brooks Koepka, THE PLAYERS Championship 2019 winner Rory McIlroy, 80-time PGA TOUR winner Tiger Woods and former Texas Longhorn Jordan Spieth are among the notables heading to Austin. Woods, a three-time winner of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, is making his first start in the event since 2013.
The field includes players representing 17 different countries from across the globe. Final seeds for the 64-player field will be determined on Monday, March 25 when the week’s Official World Golf Rankings are released.
Rank Player Country
1 Dustin Johnson USA
2 Justin Rose ENG
3 Brooks Koepka USA
4 Rory McIlroy NIR
5 Justin Thomas USA
6 Bryson DeChambeau USA
7 Francesco Molinari ITA
9 Xander Schauffele USA
10 Jon Rahm ESP
11 Tommy Fleetwood ENG
12 Jason Day AUS
13 Tiger Woods USA
14 Tony Finau USA
15 Paul Casey ENG
16 Patrick Reed USA
17 Bubba Watson USA
18 Marc Leishman AUS
19 Patrick Cantlay USA
20 Webb Simpson USA
21 Phil Mickelson USA
22 Matt Kuchar USA
23 Gary Woodland USA
24 Hideki Matsuyama JPN
25 Cameron Smith AUS
26 Sergio Garcia ESP
27 Louis Oosthuizen RSA
28 Alex Noren SWE
30 Jordan Spieth USA
31 Rafa Cabrera Bello ESP
32 Ian Poulter ENG
33 Keegan Bradley USA
34 Matthew Fitzpatrick ENG
35 Matt Wallace ENG
36 Eddie Pepperell ENG
37 Tyrrell Hatton ENG
38 Haotong Li CHI
39 Henrik Stenson SWE
40 Billy Horschel USA
41 Kiradech Aphibarnrat THA
42 Branden Grace RSA
43 Kyle Stanley USA
44 Charles Howell III USA
45 J.B. Holmes USA
46 Brandt Snedeker USA
47 Shane Lowry IRE
48 Justin Harding RSA
49 Thorbjorn Olesen DEN
50 Kevin Kisner USA
51 Byeong Hun An KOR
52 Lucas Bjerregaard DEN
53 Andrew Putnam USA
54 Emiliano Grillo ARG
55 Si Woo Kim USA
56 Chez Reavie USA
57 Jim Furyk USA
58 Keith Mitchell USA
59 Abraham Ancer MEX
60 Kevin Na USA
61 Tom Lewis ENG
62 Kevin Na USA
63 Aaron Wise USA
64 Lee Westwood ENG
65 Satoshi Kodaira JPN
66 Luke List USA
The bracket will be unveiled live on Golf Channel Monday, March 25 from 4-5 p.m. CT.
