WGC Match Play Preview – Thursday 28th – Sunday 31st March
The WGC Match Play is still one of the most fascinating and exhilarating tournaments on the golf calendar. It brings wonderful knockout-style golf action to the table and it’s unpredictable and exciting all of the way.
The tournament starts with a round robin group stage, each group containing four players. The winner of each of these groups then progress through to the round of sixteen which is when the tournament switches straight over to a knockout format.
The tournament is being hosted at the Austin Country Club in Texas. It will be the 21st edition of the match play event.
World Match Play 2019 Winner Odds
Rory McIlroy 10/1
Dustin Johnson 10/1
Justin Thomas 16/1
Justin Rose 18/1
Jon Rahm 20/1
Brooks Koepka 18/1
Tommy Fleetwood 22/1
Francesco Molinari 22/1
Bryson DeChambeau 28/1
Jason Day 28/1
Ian Poulter 28/1
Tiger Woods 30/1
Bubba Watson’s 30/1
Tony Finau 33/1
Louis Oosthuizen 35/1
Xander Schauffele 40/1
Sergio Garcia 40/1
Marc Leishman 45/1
50/1 bar
* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on March 26th, 2019 at 6:17 p.m.)
Bracket Breakdown
There are sixteen groups going across the tournament to start with. That’s a lot, so let’s get our teeth into the listing.
Group 1
Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Branden Grace, Chez Reavie
Johnson goes as the top seed as he is the 20/21 favourite to win this group* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on March 26th, 2019 at 6:17 p.m.). He has form having won in Mexico and he won this match play event in 2017. The course in play this week suits the big hitters. That’s an advantage for Johnson. Matsuyama is the most likely to cause an upset, but he has struggled with group play here for the last few years.
Group 2
Justin Rose, Gary Woodland, Eddie Pepperell, Emiliano Grillo
A great group here and Justin Rose is going to get a challenge here. He has skipped this for the last two yeasr and the big threat here to his favouritism is Woodland. Woodland has a runners up finish at the event and looks a great threat to top this section at 5/2 odds* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on March 26th, 2019 at 6:17 p.m.).
Group 3
Brooks Koepka, Allen Noren, Hao Tong Li, Tom Lewis
Koepka gets the nod here. He will love thrashing it around with the big hits in Austin. He wasn’t able to compete last year because of injury but has been carrying form this season. There’s not enough in the others to suggest an upset is going to happen.
Group 4
Rory McIlroy, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Justin Harding, Luke List
McIlroy will probably be pretty happy with this draw to start off with. He has been in steady form this season and should get out of the pool stage. The threat will be coming from Fitzpatrick who showed a fine hand in taking a second place at the Arnold Palmer recently.
Group 5
Justin Thomas, Keegan Bradley, Matt Wallace, Lucas Bjerregaard
Wallace and Bjerregaard are both making their debut appearance at the tournament. Keegan Bradley has no form to speak of at the event. That leaves a clear path for the in-form Thomas to make headway to the knockout stage. Thomas was a losing semifinalist last year.
Group 6
Bryson DeChambeau, Marc Leishman, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Russell Knox
Marc Leishman has gotten past the pool stage from two of his previous five attempts and looks a pretty handy head to head player. DeChambeau has taken four PGA Tour wins since a year ago and lines up as top seed in this group despite this being his debut. It should boil down to Leishman or DeChambeau though.
Group 7
Francesco Molinari, Webb Simpson, Thorbjorn Olesen, Satoshi Kodaira
The latter two in the Group 7 line up don’t look a threat because of previous form (or lack thereof) at the event. Francesco Molinari has only won 4 of 15 previous Match Play fixtures. However, his win at the Arnold Palmer has to say something for his chances here. Webb Simpson will be a dangerous wildcard though.
Group 8
Jon Rahm, Matt Kuchar, JB Holmes, Si Woo Kim
Rahm reached the final of the 2017 Match Play, which was his debut. He bombed last year though without a group stage win. This is a wonderfully competitive group. Kuchar is steady veteran and a former champion, while Holmes and Kim can pull hot streaks together. Rahm goes as the even-money favourite* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on March 26th, 2019 at 6:17 p.m.)
Group 9
Xander Schauffele, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Tyrrell Hatton, Lee Westwood
Cabrera Bello took a share of third at the Arnold Palmer which should draw interest to him in this group. Schaufelle went W2 L1 in last season’s group and missed out on the knockouts. Westwood has stacks of experience. There’s a big wildcard here in Hatton because if he’s dialled in, he can swing this.
Group 10
Paul Casey, Cameron Smith, Charles Howell III, Abraham Ancer
Cameron Smith is a brilliant hand at Match Play and makes for a great look at 14/5 odds* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on March 26th, 2019 at 6:17 p.m.) in this section. Paul Casey just won the Valspar Championship so has wind in his sails, while Howell has qualified from his group in the last two editions. Should be great matches here.
Group 11
Tommy Fleetwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Kyle Stanley, Byeong-Hun An
We don’t see enough in form and numbers on either Stanley or Byeong-Hun An. Fleetwood looks the best option here on the back of a good tournament at the recent Arnold Palmer. He’s in good nick.
Group 12
Jason Day, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Jim Furyk
What a group this is. Day is a two-time champion at the Match Play and goes up against three big veterans here. None of the veterans have been in terrifically hot form and given that Day is likely to have the edge off the tee, he looks a good fit for success at 7/5 odds in the group* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on March 26th, 2019 at 6:17 p.m.).
Group 13
Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Brandt Snedeker, Aaron Wise
This will be the first time Woods has attacked this course. He is totally unpredictable in this one as his putting game isn’t on point at the moment. Snedeker has the most appeal here because he is going to make the difference with the putter. Snedeker is 7/2 to storm this group with Woods the 11/8 favourite* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on March 26th, 2019 at 6:17 p.m.)
Group 14
Tony Finau, Ian Poulter, Kevin Kisner, Keith Mitchell
This should be a competitive group actually. Poulter is a specialist at the match play format and is a former winner. He made the quarterfinals last year so naturally the favourite in this one. Kisner went to the final last year. Finau will have appeal to a lot of punters in this his second appearance, but this is a real crapshoot of a group.
Group 15
Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Billy Horschel, Kevin Na
Watson is the defending champion and his naturally long game is going to a great fit for Austin again. He goes into this on the back of a top-five finish at the Valspar. Spieth has struggled in his group play in recent attempts and Horschel hasn’t adapted since the tournament moved to the group format. Watson should take it.
Group 16
Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Shane Lowry, Andrew Putnam
Reed is just struggling with his game at the moment and looks to be making changes. He has won his group at the last two attempts though. Garcia, therefore, looks the big threat in this group. Lowry hasn’t done anything of note in recent attempts, while Putnam is making his debut. Garcia is 2/1 to take it* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on March 26th, 2019 at 6:17 p.m.)
WGC Match Play 2019 Prediction
There are some stand out contenders, even though this tournament can get pretty unpredictable quickly. Dustin Johnson is a fair hand at this and he is trending in the game at the moment. At 10/1 he isn’t a bad option at all* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on March 26th, 2019 at 6:17 p.m.).
Jon Rahm has great head to head ability as we saw at the Ryder Cup and in the Bahamas this year. He also has tournament form with a runner up two years ago. He was humbled in the group stage last year, so that will be extra motivation.
Tommy Fleetwood is a great fit on the back of his Arnold Palmer event and a good top-five finish at the Players as well. Was a big part of Europe’s Ryder Cup success let’s not forget and is a wonderful 22/1 each way option* (Betting Odds were taken from bet365 on March 26th, 2019 at 6:17 p.m.).
For us though, it is Rory McIlroy. It’s not a particularly difficult pick to make. He has not been outside of the top six in any of his last six starts and should be right up there in the mix. He’s not a player that anyone is going to want to meet.
