Some of the best golfers in the world will make the trip to Texas this weekend for the World Golf Championships Dell Match Play. There will be $9.5 million in prize money up for grabs, but the focus heading in to this week remains on the top of the world rankings with the potential for there to be a change at No. 1. Jason Day is coming off an impressive win last week while the incumbent No. 1, Jordan Spieth, hasn’t been doing much of anything over the last month. He’s stumbled while finishing no higher than 17th in any of his last four PGA Tour appearances, which has opened the door just a crack.
Event Details
Event: World Golf Championships-Dell Match Play
Category: PGA
Date: March 23-27
Location: Austin Country Club, Austin, Texas
Jordan Spieth remains at No. 1 for now but that could change this week with Jason Day looking to jump over him in to the top spot in the world rankings. Day is coming off his first win of 2016 and that should provide him with some confidence heading in to a tournament that he won in 2014.
Past Five Winners
2015: Rory McIlroy
2014: Jason Day
2013: Matt Kuchar
2012: Hunter Mahan
2011: Luke Donald
What To Know About The Course
After six years at Dove Mountain, the Dell Match Play was held at Harding Park last year but the venue switches again in 2016 with the Austin Country Club in Texas the site of this year’s tournament. The course isn’t long and it isn’t very tight either, but the wind should be a factor based on the forecast for this week. Familiarity is important but it’s also important to remember that match play is very different than tournament play and all of these golfers will have just one opponent to beat.
The Field
Rory McIlroy is the defending tournament champion and outright betting favorite to win this week at +1000 odds but the reality is that the field is wide open with a ton of talent at the top. McIlroy is coming off one of the worst performances of his career at the Arnold Palmer Invitational while Day is coming off of his best with Spieth taking aim at redemption with his No. 1 position in the world rankings on the line. Adam Scott failed to match McIlroy’s three straight PGA Tour wins from 2014 last week but he still placed in the top-10 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and should be in the mix at +1400 to win. Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose fill out the rest of the top 10 in terms of betting favorites and the loaded field should result in some outstanding play.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Jason Day over Jordan Spieth
Day finally broke through with a big win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and there is plenty of reason to like his chances again this week. Day was a 20/1 long shot when he won this tournament in 2014 and he hasn’t looked back with some incredible numbers over the past couple years. Meanwhile, the pressure will be on Spieth following four straight finishes outside of the top-10 including a missed cut at the Northern Trust Open. He has the talent to bounce back but he finished 17th at this event a year ago and we like Day to finish ahead of him at this week’s tournament.
Top Four Prediction: Rory McIlroy
McIlroy is coming off the first tournament of his career in which he shot six double-bogeys and he will be seeded third heading in to the Dell Match Play. However, he is the defending champion at this tournament and his incredible match play record makes him a prime candidate to defend his trophy and win it all again this year. McIlroy hasn’t looked great over the last month but he is bound to break out eventually and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he successfully defended his title.
Top 10 Odds To Win World Golf Championships Dell Match Play
Jason Day +1050
Jordan Spieth +1150
Rory McIlroy +1150
Adam Scott +1250
Bubba Watson +1415
Rickie Fowler +1550
Dustin Johnson +1850
Justin Rose +2250
Charl Schwartzel +2550
Hideki Matsuyama +2550
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