Golf’s edition of March Madness is here as the PGA Tour is in Austin, Texas, for the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club for the final time.
Eight of the top nine players in the Official World Golf Ranking are in the field — No. 5 Cam Smith is ineligible while No. 10 Justin Thomas chose to take the week off due to an unsuccessful resume at ACC.
World no. 1 and Players champion Scottie Scheffler is looking to defend a title successfully for the second time this season (WM Phoenix Open). The Texan is the betting favorite at +800 followed by Jon Rahm at +1100.
Golf course
Austin Country Club | Pair 71 | 7,108 yards | Pete Dye design
Course comparisons (according to Data Golf): 1. Harbor Town Golf Links (home of the RBC Heritage), 2. Colonial Country Club (home of the Charles Schwab Challenge), 3. TPC Sugarloaf
Kevin Na plays against Matthew Fitzpatrick during the first round of the 2022 WGC- Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club. (Photo: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports)
Course history
Betting preview
Odds
|
Player |
Odds |
Player |
Odds |
|
Scottie Scheffler |
(+800) |
Collin Morikawa |
(+2800) |
|
Jon Rahm |
(+1100) |
Cameron Young |
(+3300) |
|
Rory McIlroy |
(+1400) |
Jason Day |
(+3300) |
|
Patrick Cantlay |
(+1800) |
Will Zalatoris |
(+3300) |
|
Max Homo |
(+2000) |
Matt Fitzpatrick |
(+4000) |
|
Tony Finau |
(+2200) |
Sungjae Im |
(+4000) |
|
Jordan Spieth |
(+2500) |
Sam Burns |
(+4200) |
|
Tyrrell Hatton |
(+2500) |
Tom Kim |
(+4500) |
|
Viktor Hovland |
(+2500) |
Tommy Fleetwood |
(+4500) |
|
Xander Schauffele |
(+2500) |
Hideki Matsuyama |
(+5000) |
Bracket
Max Homa (20/1)
Max Homa hits his tee shot on the second hole during the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions golf tournament at Kapalua Resort – The Plantation Course. (Photo: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports)
Max Homa represented the United States for the first time in 2022 at the Presidents Cup. During the match-play event, Homa went 4-0-0.
He’s failed to make it out of group play in his two appearances at ACC but he’s a different player now. In his last three starts, Homa has finished second at the Genesis Invitational, T-13 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and T-6 at the Players.
The rest of his group: Hideki Matsuyama, Kevin Kisner and Justin Suh.
Jason Day (1/33)
Jason Day poses with his wife Ellie and children Dash and Lucy after defeating Louis Oosthuizen in the championship round of the World Golf Championship-Dell Match Play at the Austin Country Club. (Photo: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports)
“Oh, look, Riley is picking Jason Day again! What a surprise!”
Listen, I don’t care. The Aussie has grabbed six straight top 20s to open 2023, four of which were top 10s.
Day won the WGC Match Play the first year it was held in Austin (2016) and once before that in 2014.
He’ll need to get by Collin Morikawa, Adam Svensson and Victor Perez to advance to the round of 16.
Jordan Spieth (25/1)
Jordan Spieth plays his shot from the second tee during the final round of the 2023 Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida. (Photo: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports)
Jordan Spieth let the Valspar Championship slip through his fingers Sunday when his tee shot found the water on the par-4 16th. Before tying for third in Tampa, the Texan finished T-19 at the Players and tied for fourth at the API.
At last year’s Presidents Cup, Spieth posted a 5-0-0 record.
The rest of Spieth’s group: Shane Lowry, Taylor Montgomery and Mackenzie Hughes.
Story originally appeared on GolfWeek