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WGC Dell Technologies Match Play Preview & Picks - Best Bets For Austin

By Gary Emmerson

21 Mar 2023

Gary Emmerson 21 Mar 2023

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WGC Dell Technologies Match Play takes place between March 22-26
The tournament takes place at the Austin Country Club, Texas
Preview, predictions & format

Sixty-four elite golfers are in Texas to compete for the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play title, with Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy renewing their rivalry to be the best in the world. Who will lift the trophy come Sunday?

Scheffler returns to defend his title after beating Kevin Kisner 4&3 in the final in 2022.

Past and present major winners who will be competing this weekend include Keegan Bradley, Jason Day, Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Hideki Matsuyama, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Adam Scott, and Jordan Spieth.

These are our four selections that could win the title this weekend.

Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler has been playing excellent golf on the PGA Tour this season, defending his title at the Phoenix Open and winning the recent Players Championship, including returning to the top of the world golf rankings.

Other notable performances by the American include placing T3 at the World Wide Technology Championship, T9 at the Houston Open, 2nd at the Hero World Challenge, T7 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, T11 at the American Express, T12 at the Genesis Invitational, and T4 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

His overall record in the match play format at the WGC Dell Technologies Match play is an impressive 10-2-2.

The number one world-ranked golfer defeated Ian Poulter 2&1, lost to Tommy Fleetwood 2&1 and beat Matthew Fitzpatrick 5&4 in the group stages last year before progressing to knockout rounds.

Scheffler edged Billy Horschel 1 up, beat Seamus Power 3&2, and Dustin Johnson 3&1 on his way to the final, defeating Kevin Kisner 4&3.

However, the 26-year-old did not have the best time at the 2022 Presidents Cup, finishing with a record of 0-3-1; however, he is in fine form.

Scheffler is in Group One with Tom Kim, Alex Noren, and Davis Riley.

Jordan Spieth

Jordan Spieth had an inconsistent beginning to his new season on the PGA Tour, finishing T52 at the CJ Cup, 15th at the Hero World Challenge, T13 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, MC at the Sony Open in Hawaii, and T63 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in five tournament starts.

He has threatened to win lately by placing T6 at the WM Phoenix Open, MC at the Genesis Invitational, T4 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, T19 at the Players Championship and T3 at the Valspar Championship this past weekend.

The 29-year-old has a long history at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play tournament, compiling a record of 15-10-2.

He failed to progress out of the group stages last year, winning his opening match against Keegan Bradley 2 up before losing to Justin Rose 3&2 and Adam Scott 3&2.

However, Spieth was the standout player for the United States at last year's Presidents Cup, winning every match he contested to finish with a record of 5-0-0.

Spieth will be playing alongside Shane Lowry, Taylor Montgomery and Mackenzie Hughes in Group 12.

Max Homa

Max Homa has been producing top consistent results on the PGA Tour this season, including defending his title at the Fortinet Championship and winning the Farmers Insurance Open.

Other noteworthy performances include placing T20 at the Shriners Children's Open, T23 at the ZOZO Championship, 17th at the Hero World Challenge, T3 at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, T39 at the WM Phoenix Open, 2nd at the Genesis Invitational, T14 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and T6 at the Players Championship.

The 32-year-old has an average record at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play event of 3-3.

The American did not make it out of the group stages last year, grabbing a victory over Matthew Wolff 3&1 in his match before succumbing to back-to-back losses against Mackenzie Hughes 2 down and Dustin Johnson 1 down.

However, Homa was impressive at last year's Presidents Cup, compiling a record of 4-0-0.

Homa is in Group Five alongside Hideki Matsuyama, Kevin Kisner, and Justin Suh.

Tyrrell Hatton

Tyrrell Hatton has been playing great golf since September last year and has been thereabouts at the start of the new season.

Hatton placed T45 at the ZOZO Championship, T13 at the CJ Cup, T7 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, T38 at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, T6 at the WM Phoenix Open, T40 at the Genesis Invitational, T4 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and 2nd at the Players Championship.

The Englishman has accumulated a record of 8-8-1 at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play tournament.

The 31-year-old progressed out of the group stages last year, securing a win over Christiaan Bezuidenhout 3&2, a victory over Si Woo Kim 1 up, and Daniel Berger 2 up before losing against Seamus Power 4&3.

Hatton is in the same group as Russell Henley, Lucas Herbert, and Ben Griffin.

The Format

The golfers are formed into 16 groups of four. They then play against one another in a round-robin format from Wednesday to Friday.

Scoring is straightforward. A player gets one point for a win, zero for a loss and 0.5 for a halved match.

If two or more players are on equal points at the end of the round-robin format, they will enter into a sudden-death playoff to determine the winner of the group.

Once each group winner has been finalised, the format turns to single-match play elimination. The round of 16 begins on Saturday morning and the quarter-finals in the afternoon.

The semi-finals start on Sunday morning, and the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play final starts on Sunday afternoon.

Verdict

WGC Dell Technologies Match Play

Scheffler is back to his best and can make it back-to-back wins at the Austin Country Club.

Spieth has been in great touch and can convert that form into victory at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play.

Homa brings excellent form into this tournament and will fancy his chances to win in Texas.

Hatton has gone close in recent starts and can get over the finish line this weekend.

Scottie Scheffler

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Jordan Spieth

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Max Homa

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