WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play: Golf Odds And Predictions
The WGC-Match Play has been around since 1999 and has moved locations and on the schedule more than a few times. It has been held at the par 71, 7,108-yard Austin Country Club in Texas since 2016.
WGC-Match Play Background
Many golf fans and bettors always want to know one thing first: Is Tiger Woods playing? Woods sure looks like he’s going to be a winner again on the PGA Tour sooner than later after he tied for fifth last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his third straight event at T12 or better. This is the first time since 2013 that he has had multiple top-10 finishes in the same season. However, the WGC-Match Play is only open to the Top 64 in the world rankings. If any of those guys don’t play for whatever reason, the next guy on the rankings list gets the call. Thus, no Tiger this week as he’s 105th in the rankings. You won’t see him until the Masters (barring a surprising change of heart to play next week in Houston).
Six eligible players have decided not to play: Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson, Brooks Koepka and Adam Scott. That worked out well for Luke List, Kevin Na, Charles Howell III, Keegan Bradley and Julian Suri. Some guys simply don’t like Match Play, and this is the only Match Play event on the PGA Tour (there’s Match Play at the Ryder Cup).
Plus, it can be a grueling event if you are contending as you could play six rounds by Sunday. There are 16 groups divided into the four portions (like regions in the NCAA Tournament) of the bracket. The top 16 ranked players in the field each head each individual group. Then the rest of the spots in each group are taken from blind draws from pools of players seeded Nos. 17-32, Nos. 33-48 and Nos. 49-64 (or in this case a few spots higher with the alternates). That draw was to be held Monday night. Round-robin play is Wednesday-Friday, with the winner of each group advancing to single elimination. The Round of 16 and quarterfinals are Saturday and the semifinals and finals (and consolation match) on Sunday.
WGC-Match Play Odds Favourites
The +637 favourite at Sports Interaction is Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who shot a spectacular final-round 64 to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando on Sunday. It was his 14th career PGA Tour win but first since the 2016 Tour Championship. McIlroy won this event in 2015 at a different course (TPC Harding Park in San Francisco), beating Gary Woodland 4&2 in the final.
Defending champion Dustin Johnson is +800. He beat young Spaniard Jon Rahm 1 up in the final to become the first man to win all four current WGC events in his career. The 2014 & ‘16 champion, Aussie Jason Day, is +1300 with Justin Thomas. Day was 22nd last week and was bounced in the round-robin portion of this event in 2017. Thomas just won last month at the Honda Classic.
The lone Canadian in the field is Adam Hadwin, and he’s +8300. He qualified last year but was busy getting married. Hadwin is working on three straight Top 12 finishes on the PGA Tour this year.
WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Predictions
There will be many various prop options to bet at Sports Interaction, including winners of each group, head-to-head matchups, etc. We’ll just stick with a winning choice and it’s Sergio Garcia. His wife just had the couple’ first child so that could be good karma, and Sergio is always one of the best match-play guys in the Ryder Cup.