2017 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play (The 19 th of 43 events in the PGA TOUR Season) Austin, Texas March 22-26, 2017 Purse: $9,750,000 ($1,670,000 to the winner) Austin County Club Par/Yards: 35-36 71/7,037 First-Round Notes Wednesday, March 22, 2017 Weather Cloudy and cool in the morning with sun breaking through in the afternoon as temperatures reached the low 80s. Strong south winds throughout the day at 20-25 mph. Group format The 64-player Dell Technologies Match Play field is divided into 16 four-player groups. Each group will play round-robin matches within their group on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Players receive one point for a victory, ½ point for a draw and zero points for a loss. The player with the best record in each of the four player groups advances to the Round of 16 for single-elimination match play. In the event two or more players are tied in points following the completion of group play, those players will have a sudden-death stroke-play hole-by-hole-playoff starting on No. 1. The Round of 16 will be played Saturday morning, followed by the Quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon. The Semifinals will be Sunday morning, followed by the Championship Match and Consolation Match on Sunday afternoon. The top seed for each of the 16 four-player groups are the top 16 players in order of their position in the Official World Golf Ranking. The remaining three players in each group were determined by a blind draw from each of three pools depending on their standing in the OWGR. Miscellaneous Notes Only one player (Dustin Johnson) from the top 5 seeds won his first-round match. This is the first time in tournament history that only one player from the top 5 won in the first round. Last year, Johnson was the only player to lose in the opening round of group play last year and still advance to the round of 16. Three players halved their first-round match and advanced Ben An, Ryan Moore and Patton Kizzire. Top 5 seeds Seed Player Result 1 Dustin Johnson Defeated Webb Simpson (58), 5 and 3 2 Rory McIlroy Lost to Soren Kjeldsen (62), 2 and 1 3 Jason Day WD Pat Perez (56) 4 Hideki Matsuyama Halved match with Jim Furyk (51) 5 Jordan Spieth Lost to Hideto Tanihara (54), 4 and 2 Jason Day withdrew from the event before finishing his first-round match. In a press conference, he shared that his mother was schedule to have surgery on Friday after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Day is choosing to travel back to Ohio to be with his mother for the surgery. Players making their first appearance at the Dell Technologies Match Play include Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm, Kevin Chappell, Jeunghun Wang, William McGirt, Brendan Steele, Si Woo Kim, Hideto Tanihara and Jhonattan Vegas. Of the first-timers, Hatton, Rahm, McGirt and Tanihara won their first-round matches.
GROUP 1 Dustin Johnson (1) 1-0-0 1 8-9-0 Martin Kaymer (41) 1-0-0 1 15-10-0 Jimmy Walker (18) 0-1-0 0 2-7-0 Webb Simpson (58) 0-1-0 0 7-5-0 Group 1, round-by-round RD. 1 - Johnson defeated Simpson, 5 and 3; Kaymer defeated Walker, 3 and 2 RD. 2 (THUR.) Johnson vs. Kaymer, Walker vs. Simpson RD. 3 (FRI.) Johnson vs. Walker, Kaymer vs. Simpson In a group full of major champions, Dustin Johnson defeated Webb Simpson in a battle of U.S. Open winners, while twotime major winner Martin Kaymer defeated fellow PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker, 3 and 2. Johnson, who won the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship for the second time in his career earlier this month, is seeking to become the first player to win each of the four World Golf Championships events, with the Dell Technologies Match Play title the only one missing from his resume. Johnson s WGC victories came at the HSBC Champions (2013), the Mexico Championship (2015), the Bridgestone Invitational (2016) and the Mexico Championship (2017). Johnson and Tiger Woods (18) are the only players with four or more World Golf Championships victories. Although Woods has 18 victories, he failed to collect the HSBC Champions trophy, where he finished T6 in 2009 and 2010 in his only two appearances. With a win at this year s event, Johnson would join Rory McIlroy (2015) and Tiger Woods as the third player to win the Dell Technologies Match Play as a No. 1 seed. Woods won the tournament three times (2008, 2004 and 2003) as the No. 1 seed. Johnson (2), Justin Thomas (3) and Hideki Matsuyama (2) are multiple winners on the PGA TOUR this season. After becoming the No. 1 player in the Official World Ranking following his win at the Genesis Open, Johnson became the fifth player, and first since Adam Scott in 2014, to win his first PGA TOUR start as the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking when he captured the Mexico Championship. 1991 Ian Woosnam Masters Tournament 1999 David Duval BellSouth Classic 2004 Vijay Singh RBC Canadian Open 2014 Adam Scott DEAN & DELUCA Invitational 2017 Dustin Johnson World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship Johnson (14/2008-present) has at least one win in each of his first ten seasons on the PGA TOUR (the best current streak) and joins Arnold Palmer (17/1955-1971), Jack Nicklaus (17/1962-1978) and Tiger Woods (14/1996-2009) as the only players since 1960 to achieve this feat. Last season, Johnson claimed the Jack Nicklaus Trophy as PGA TOUR Player of the Year. He also took home the Byron Nelson Award for Adjusted Scoring Average (69.172) and the Arnold Palmer Award as the TOUR s leading money-winner ($9,365,185) and also finished No. 2 in the FedExCup standings. Johnson has a 4-3-0 overall record in two Ryder Cup appearances but has won both singles matches. In two Presidents Cup appearances his record is 4-4-1 with one singles victory. Johnson is No. 1 in the current standings for the 2017 Presidents Cup U.S. Team with 7,027 points. GROUP 2 Gary Woodland (33) 1-0-0 1 7-3-0 Soren Kjeldsen (62) 1-0-0 1 1-4-1 Rory McIlroy (2) 0-1-0 0 22-9-1 Emiliano Grillo (26) 0-1-0 0 1-3-0 Group 2 round-by-round RD. 1 Kjedlsen defeated McIlroy 2 and 1, Woodland defeated Grillo 3 and 2
RD. 2 (THUR.) - RD. 3 (FRI.) McIlroy vs. Woodland, Grillo vs. Kjeldsen McIlroy vs. Grillo, Woodland vs. Kjeldsen With his 2-and-1 victory over Rory McIlroy, Soren Kjeldsen records his first victory in his sixth career match at the Dell Technologies Match Play after entering this week with an 0-4-1 record. The loss is just McIlroy s second first-round loss in his ninth appearance at the Dell Technologies Match Play. McIlroy s only other first-round loss came in 2013 to Shane Lowry, 1-down. Kjeldsen s most recent victory came on the European Tour at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open in 2015. He and partner Thorbjorn Olesen also won the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf in November representing Denmark. He has four career wins on the European Tour. McIlroy will play Gary Woodland in round two. He defeated Woodland in the championship match in 2015, 4 and 2. Woodland defeated Emiliano Grillo 3 and 2 in the first round. McIlroy finished T7 in the Mexico Championship earlier this month after not playing a tournament since Jan. 15, when he lost a playoff to Graeme Storm in the South African Open. The layoff was forced due to a stress fracture in his ribs. He followed with a T4 at last week s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. The 2016 FedExCup champion is seeking his third World Golf Championships title having already won the 2014 Bridgestone Invitational and the 2015 Dell Technologies Match Play. McIlroy is one of 11 players with at least two career World Golf Championships victories. Players with multiple World Golf Championships wins include Tiger Woods (18), Dustin Johnson (4), Geoff Ogilvy (3), Jason Day (2), Rory McIlroy (2), Darren Clarke (2), Ernie Els (2), Hunter Mahan (2), Phil Mickelson (2), Ian Poulter (2) and Adam Scott (2). GROUP 3 Marc Leishman (28) 1-0-0 1 4-4-1 Pat Perez (56) 1-0-0 1 2-2-0 Lee Westwood (43) 0-1-0 0 14-20-0 Jason Day (3) 0-1-0 0 21-7-0 Group 3 round-by-round RD. 1 Pat Perez defeated Jason Day, concession, Leishman defeated Westwood, 3 and 2 RD. 2 (THUR.) Day vs. Westwood, Leishman vs. Perez RD. 3 (FRI.) Day vs. Leishman, Westwood vs. Perez Jason Day withdrew from the event before finishing his first-round match. In an emotional press conference, he shared that his mother was schedule to have surgery on Friday after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Day is choosing to travel back to Ohio to be with his mother for the surgery. Due to his withdraw, Day will now concede for all three of his first-round matches, meaning Westwood will get a point without teeing it up on Thursday as will Leishman on Friday. Day will receive last-place money and last-place FedExCup points. Marc Leishman won his first-round match against Lee Westwood. Given that Leishman will get an automatic point for his third-round match against Day on Friday, if he wins his second-round match against Pat Perez, he will win the group and lock in his spot in the round of 16. GROUP 4 Louis Oosthuizen (23) 1-0-0 1 16-7-0 Hideki Matsuyama (4) 0-0-1 ½ 6-3-1 Jim Furyk (51) 0-0-1 ½ 18-17-1 Ross Fisher (47) 0-1-0 0 5-5-0 Group 4 round-by-round RD. 1 Matsuyama halved with Furyk, Oosthuizen defeated Fisher, 4 and 3. RD. 2 (THUR.) Matsuyama vs. Fisher, Oosthuizen vs. Furyk RD. 3 (FRI.) Matsuyama vs. Oosthuizen, Fisher vs. Furyk
Jim Furyk, playing as the No. 51 seed, halved his match with No. 4 seed and Hideki Matsuyama. Furyk missed last year s event at Austin Country Club due to injury. Furyk faces Louis Oosthuizen, who defeated Ross Fisher, 4 and 3, in the second round. Furyk defeated Louis Oosthuizen in 2015 in the quarterfinals 4-and-2. Oousthuizen finished runner-up in last year s Dell Technologies Match Play, beating Matt Jones, Bern Wiesberger, Andy Sullivan, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson and Rafa Cabrera Bello before losing to Jason Day in the finals. Since the end of the 2015-16 PGA TOUR season, Matsuyama has won five of his last 11 worldwide starts, including the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and the Waste Management Phoenix Open in a four-hole playoff over Webb Simpson. Matsuyama also claimed the Japan Golf Open and the VISA Taiheyo Masters in his home country and beat a small but stellar field in the Bahamas to capture the Hero World Challenge (unofficial win). During this time, he also finished runner-up at the CIMB Classic and the SBS Tournament of Champions. Matsuyama, with two PGA TOUR wins, joins Justin Thomas (3) and Dustin Johnson (2) as multiple winners on the PGA TOUR this season. Matsuyama leads the FedExCup by a small margin over Thomas. GROUP 5 Hideto Tanihara (54) 1-0-0 1 1-0-0 Ryan Moore (32) 0-0-1 ½ 7-8-2 Yuta Ikeda (37) 0-0-1 ½ 0-2-1 Jordan Spieth (5) 0-1-0 0 8-4-0 Group 5 round-by-round RD. 1- Tanihara defeated Jordan Spieth 4 and 2, Moore and Ikeda halved RD. 2 (THUR.) Spieth vs. Ikeda, Moore vs. Tanihara RD. 3 (FRI.) Spieth vs. Moore, Ikeda vs. Tanihara Japan s Hideto Tanihara, who has won three times on the Japan Golf Tour in the last year, defeated Austin favorite Jordan Spieth, 4 and 2. Tanihara is ranked 13 th in the International Team Presidents Cup standings as he looks to make the team for the first time in his career. The 38-year-old has 13 international victories and is playing in the Dell Technologies Match Play for the first time. Entering the final hole 1-down, Yuta Ikeda hit his approach shot from 132 yards to 4-feet and rolled in the birdie to win the 18 th hole and halve his match with Ryan Moore. Ikeda has 16 wins on the Japan Golf Tour including three in 2016. He is playing in this event for the third time in his career and the first since 2011. In his previous two appearances, he had failed to advance from the first round before the format was changed to group play. In six starts this season Spieth has four top-10s - a victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am followed a T3 at the SBS Tournament of Champions, a third at the Sony Open in Hawaii and a T9 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. During the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, Spieth shot a tournament-low 8-under 63 in the third round, eventually finishing T12. His week included four hole-outs from off the green, the most by any player that week. GROUP 6 Justin Thomas (6) 1-0-0 1 1-3-0 Kevin Na (46) 1-0-0 1 4-4-1 Matt Fitzpatrick (27) 0-1-0 0 1-3-0 Chris Wood (49) 0-1-0 0 0-6-0 Group 6 round-by-round RD. 1 Thomas defeated. Wood, 2 and 1; Na defeated Fitzpatrick, 5 and 4 RD. 2 (THUR.) Thomas vs. Na, Fitzpatrick vs. Wood RD. 3 (FRI.) Thomas vs. Fitzpatrick, Na vs. Wood Justin Thomas won the first match of his career at the Dell Technologies Match Play after going 0-3 in group play in 2016, with a 2-and-1 victory over Chris Wood. The loss continue s Wood s winless streak putting his record at 0-6-0 in the event. Last year, Thomas was winless in group play losing to Victor Dubuisson, Jordan Spieth and Jamie Donaldson.
Already a three-time winner on the PGA TOUR in the 2016-2017 season, Thomas will be seeking his fourth at the Dell Technologies Match Play. Thomas first win of the season came as he defended the CIMB Classic title he claimed in 2015 in Malaysia. He added the SBS Tournament of Champions at Kapalua to his resume before winning the following week at the Sony Open in Hawaii after opening the tournament with an 11-under 59 at the par-70 Waialae CC. Thomas is seeking to play in his first Presidents Cup at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey later this year. Thomas is currently No. 2 on the U.S. Team standings behind Dustin Johnson. Kevin Na narrowly missed out on advancing from group stage last year at the Dell Technologies Match Play with wins against Smylie Kaufman and Thorbjorn Olesen in the first two rounds, before havling his third-round match with Rory McIlroy. The two then went back to the first tee for a playoff with McIlroy winning with par on the second playoff hole. GROUP 7 Jon Rahm (21) 1-0-0 1 1-0-0 Sergio Garcia (7) 0-0-1 ½ 18-16-1 Shane Lowry (53) 0-0-1 ½ 3-5-2 Kevin Chappell (38) 0-1-0 0 0-1-0 Group 7 round-by-round RD. 1 Garcia halved with. Lowry, Rahm defeated Chappell, 3 and 2 RD. 2 (THUR.) Garcia vs. Chappell, Rahm vs. Lowry RD. 3 (FRI.) Garcia vs. Rahm, Chappell vs. Lowry Rahm, who finished T3 in his World Golf Championships debut earlier this month at the Mexico Championship, takes the lead in the group with his victory over Kevin Chappell. The 22-year-old Spaniard was No. 137 in the Official World Ranking before winning the Farmers Insurance Open to advance to No. 46. Two more strong performances (T16/Waste Management Phoenix Open, T5/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am) moved him to No. 37 helping secure his position inside the top 50 and earn a spot in the field at the Mexico Championship and, subsequently into the Dell Technologies Match Play. In his fifth start of his rookie season, Rahm carded a 65 in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open to win his first career PGA TOUR title by three shots. The win was capped by a lengthy eagle putt from the back fringe on the par-5 18th hole. Rahm will face fellow Spaniard, Sergio Garcia, in the third round. GROUP 8 Alex Noren (8) 1-0-0 1 2-2-0 Bernd Wiesberger (36) 1-0-0 1 2-5-1 Francesco Molinari (25) 0-1-0 0 2-8-1 Thongchai Jaidee (57) 0-1-0 0 5-7-1 Group 8 round-by-round RD. 1 Noren vs. Jaidee, Molinari vs. Wiesberger RD. 2 (THUR.) Noren vs. Wiesberger, Molinari vs. Jaidee RD. 3 (FRI.) Noren vs. Molinari, Wiesberger vs. Jaidee GROUP 9 Brooks Koepka (20) 1-0-0 1 6-3-0 Patrick Reed (9) 0-0-1 ½ 6-3-1 Jason Dufner (59) 0-0-1 ½ 4-7-1 Kevin Kisner (34) 0-1-0 0 1-3-0 Group 9 round-by-round
RD. 1 Reed halved with Dufner, Koepka defeated Kisner, 6 and 5 RD. 2 (THUR.) Reed vs. Kisner, Koepka vs. Dufner RD. 3 (FRI.) Reed vs. Koepka, Kisner vs. Dufner In a group full of Americans, Patrick Reed, a Houston-area resident, halved his match against Jason Dufner. Reed took a 2- up lead on the 11 th hole after four birdies on holes 6, 8, 10 and 11. Dufner fought back with a birdie of his own on the 17 th hole to square the match and the two players shared pars on the final hole to each secure a half point. Reed, who became known as Captain America after stunning performances at the last two Ryder Cup competitions, has a 6-1-2 record in the biennial competition. He also owns five PGA TOUR titles and a 1-2-1 record in his lone Presidents Cup appearance in 2015. Brooks Koepka entered the Dell Technologies Match Play having missed four of his last six cuts on the PGA TOUR and hasn t finished better than T42 since his runner-up finish in Las Vegas in November. His first-round opponent, Kevin Kisner, has made six consecutive cuts including five top-25 finishes as well a runner-up finish at last week s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. Despite recent form, Koepka defeated Kisner, 6 and 5. Koepka advanced through the group stage and into the quaterfinals in last year s Dell Technologies Match Play before losing to Jason Day, 3 and 2. GROUP 10 Tyrrell Hatton (10) 1-0-0 1 1-0-0 Rafa Cabrera Bello (22) 1-0-0 1 7-3-1 Jeunghun Wang (40) 0-1-0 0 0-1-0 Charles Howell III (61) 0-1-0 0 5-9-0 Group 10 round-by-round RD. 1 Hatton defeated Howell, 2 and 1, Cabrera Bello defeated Wang, 4 and 3 RD. 2 (THUR.) Hatton vs. Wang, Cabrera Bello vs. Howell RD. 3 (FRI.) Hatton vs. Cabrera Bello, Wang vs. Howell No. 10 seed Tyrrell Hatton of England, won his first career match at the Dell Technologies Match Play with a 2-and-1 victory over Charles Howell III. In four starts this season on the PGA TOUR, Hatton has the following finishes: Event World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions The Honda Classic World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship Arnold Palmer Invitational Finish T23 T4 T10 T4 With the finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Hatton went from 217 to 340 non-member FedExCup points and has joined the PGA TOUR as a special temporary membership for the remainder of the 2016-2017 PGA TOUR season. GROUP 11 Russell Knox (17) 1-0-0 1 2-1-1 K.T. Kim (64) 1-0-0 1 1-2-0 Bill Haas (42) 0-1-0 0 6-7-0 Danny Willett (11) 0-1-0 0 7-3-1 Group 11 round-by-round RD. 1 Kim defeated Willett, 4 and 2, Knox defeated Haas, 3 and 2 RD. 2 (THUR.) Willett vs. Haas, Knox vs. Kim RD. 3 (FRI.) Willett vs. Knox, Haas vs. Kim
GROUP 12 Paul Casey (12) 1-0-0 1 21-12-1 Charl Schwartzel (24) 1-0-0 1 12-8-0 Byeong Hun An (45) 0-1-0 0 1-2-2 Joost Luiten (60) 0-1-0 0 2-3-0 Group 12 round-by-round RD. 1- Casey defeated Luiten, 2 and 1; Schwartzel defeated An, 6 and 5 RD. 2 (THUR.) Casey vs. An, Schwartzel vs. Luiten RD. 3 (FRI.) Casey vs. Schwartzel, An vs. Luiten Charl Schwartzel defeated Byeong Hun An, 6 and 5 despite being 1-down through four holes. The win was the largest margin of victory in Wednesday s first round. Looking ahead to day 3, Casey defeated Charl Schwartzel 3 and 1 in round 4 in 2015. Casey was eliminated in the first round in each of his first four starts at this event (2003-2006). Since then, he has advanced to at leas the third round in all but one year and has reached the championship match twice, finishing runner-up to Geoff Ogilvy in 2009 and Ian Poulter in 2010. GROUP 13 Bubba Watson (13) 1-0-0 1 13-7-1 Thomas Pieters (30) 1-0-0 1 2-1-1 Scot Piercy (39) 0-1-0 0 3-3-2 Jhonattan Vegas (55) 0-1-0 0 0-1-0 Group 13 round-by-round RD. 1 Watson defeated Vegas, 1-up; Pieters defeated Piercy, 3 and 2 RD. 2 (THUR.) Watson vs. Piercy, Pieters vs. Vegas RD. 3 (FRI.) Watson vs. Pierters, Piercy vs. Vegas Playing in the Dell Technologies Match Play for the seventh consecutive year, Bubba Watson continued his streak of never losing a first-round match with a 1-up victory over former University of Texas Longhorn Jhonattan Vegas. Watson s best finish at this event came in his first appearance in 2011 when he lost in the consolation match to Matt Kuchar and finished 4 th. GROUP 14 Phil Mickelson (14) 1-0-0 1 19-12-0 Daniel Berger (35) 1-0-0 1 1-3-0 J.B. Holmes (31) 0-1-0 0 6-6-1 Si Woo Kim (63) 0-1-0 0 0-1-0 Group 14 round-by-round RD. 1 Mickelson defeated Kim, 5 and 2; Berger defeated Holmes, 7 and 5 RD. 2 (THUR.) Mickelson vs. Berger, Holmes vs. Kim RD. 3 (FRI.) Mickelson vs. Holmes, Berger vs. Kim Phil Mickelson, playing in the 50 th World Golf Championships event of his career, and Daniel Berger, each handled their first-round opponents with Mickelson defeating K.T. Kim, 5 and 2, and Berger defeating J.B. Holmes, 7 and 5. Mickelson defeated Daniel Berger 1-up in the second round last year in a match where Berger injured his left wrist on the final hole. The two will face each other on Thursday in the second round. GROUP 15 Branden Grace (15) 1-0-0 1 5-5-0 William McGirt (48) 1-0-0 1 1-0-0 Brandt Snedeker (19) 0-1-0 0 5-8-1 Andy Sullivan (52) 0-1-0 0 3-4-0
Group 15 round-by-round RD. 1 Grace defeated Sullivan, 4 and 2; McGirt defeated Snedeker, 2-up RD. 2 (THUR.) Grace vs. McGirt, Snedeker vs. Sullivan RD. 3 (FRI.) Grace vs. Snedeker, McGirt vs. Sullivan No. 15 seed Branden Grace defeated Andy Sullivan, 4-and-2, in the first match of the tournament. Grace never trailed in the match and only lost one hole (No. 8). His scorecard showed five birdies and one bogey. Grace lost his first-round match in each of the last two years, but returned to win his second and third-round matches each time. In 2015, his 2-1 group-play record was enough to advance to the round of 16 where he lost to Tommy Fleetwood, 2 and 1. Last year, Grace finished group play in a tie with Chris Kirk and lost the playoff on the first hole. William McGirt birdied the 18 th hole to win his match against Brandt Snedeker, 2-up. McGirt bogeyed the second hole to go 1-down, but played the remaining 16 holes in 4-under-par. McGirt will face Grace in the second round. GROUP 16 Tommy Fleetwood (29) 1-0-0 1 4-2-0 Matt Kuchar (16) 0-0-1 ½ 20-7-2 Brendan Steele (50) 0-0-1 ½ 0-0-1 Zach Johnson (44) 0-1-0 0 12-13-0 Group 16 round-by-round RD. 1 Kuchar halved with Steele, Fleetwood defeated Johnson, 1-up RD. 2 (THUR.) Kuchar vs. Johnson, Fleetwood vs. Steele RD. 3 (FRI.) Kuchar vs. Fleetwood, Johnson vs. Steele Please visit www.pgatourmedia.com for further information.