WGC Match Play Preview 2017

2017 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play Preview

Dates: March 22-26
Where: Austin Country Club, Austin, Texas
Par/Yards: 35-36–71/7,108
Format: Match PlayDefending Champion: Jason Day
Purse: $9, 750,000
Winners Share: $1, 660,000

Field:

• Top 64 available players from the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) as of March 13, 2017.
• These 64 players are then seeded by their ranking based on their position in the OWGR on Monday, March 20, 2017.
• Five players in the top-64 of the Official World Golf Ranking chose not to compete
  • Henrik Stenson (5), Adam Scott (8), Rickie Fowler (9), Justin Rose (13) and Adam Hadwin (51).
  • The next five available players include Jason Dufner (65), K.T. Kim (66), Joost Luiten (67), Pat Perez (68) and Si Woo Kim
    (69).

Seeding Players

• A random draw was held live on Golf Channel  as part of the Dell Technologies Match Play Live Bracket Special on Monday, March 20, at the Hotel Van Zandt in downtown Austin
• Players in the field will be seeded according to their position on the Official World Ranking as of Monday, March 20. The highest ranked player in the field is No. 1, and the lowest ranked player in the field is No. 64.
• Players are then placed into four pools of 16 players.
  •  1-16/Pool A
  • 17-32/Pool B
  • 33-48/Pool C
  • 49-64/Pool D
• The top 16 ranked players in the world will head 16 groups of four players each. The No. 1 seed is the top player in Group 1, No. 2 seed is the top player in Group 2 and so on.
• Each of the groups headed by the top 16 ranked players will have their respective groups filled out by randomly selecting them from three pools of players; Pool B (players ranked 17-32), Pool C (players ranked 33-48) and Pool D (players ranked 49-64).

Competition Format

• The 64-player Dell Technologies Match Play will utilize Group Play (or Round Robin) Matches with the field divided into 16 four-player groups.The 18-hole matches will be played to either a conclusion, or a halve, with matches not extending beyond 18 holes until Friday.
• Points are awarded to players based on results of each match as follows: Winner 1 point, Loser 0 point, Halved each player ½ point.
• The player in each group with the highest point total at the end of group play advances to the 16-player, single-elimination matches.
• In the event three or more players in a group are equal with the highest point totals, a stroke play hole-by-hole playoff on holes 1 through 18 in sequence will determine the player that advances to the 16-player, single-elimination matches.
• If only two players in the group are tied, match play will be the format used to determine the playoff winner.
• Wednesday, Round 1 – 32 matches (64 players)
• Thursday, Round 2 – 32 matches (64 players)
• Friday, Round 3 – 32 matches (64 players)
• Round 4 – Saturday morning – Eight matches (16 players) – winners advance to round 5/quarter-final matches. Matches all square after 18 holes in round 4 extended on holes 10 through 18 and repeated if necessary
• Round 5 – Saturday afternoon – Four quarter-final matches (eight players) – winners advance to round 6 /semi-final matches. Matches all square after 18 holes in round 5 are extended on holes 12 through 18 and repeated if necessary.
• Round 6 – Sunday morning – Two semi-final matches (four players) – winners advance to the Championship Match, losers advance to the Consolation Match. Matches all square after 18 holes in round 6 are extended on holes 12 through 18 and repeated if necessary.
• Round 7 – Sunday afternoon – Consolation Match (two players) and Championship Match (two players).
• Matches all square after 18 holes in rounds 7 are extended on holes 12 through 18 and repeated if necessary.

Austin Country Club

• Founded in 1899, Austin Country Club is one of the oldest existing clubs in Texas. The club’s current property is located on a challenging Pete Dye-designed golf course built in 1984 with breathtaking views of Lake Austin.
• This course is the third home for Austin Country Club.
• With its deep pot bunkers, undulating turf and dramatic fairway falls, the course includes Texas accents added by extensive use of massive limestone slabs, quarried on site, to build revetments for tees, greens and fairways.
• The front nine and the back nine of the Austin Country Club have been switched for the Dell Technologies Match Play.
• The holes that will serve as the tournament’s back-nine border on Lake Austin with spectacular views from what is known as the “lowlands nine.”
• The rest of the course is higher and more typical of the Texas Hill Country.
• The club has served as home to several of the game’s greats, including World Golf Hall of Famers Harvey Penick, Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw.

How the 2016 Dell Technologies Match Play was won by Jason Day

• Last year’s final was the second time that Jason Day and Louis Oosthuizen met in a match during the Dell Technologies Match Play.
• Day defeated Oosthuizen in the Quarterfinals, 2 and 1, in 2014 and went on to win the title that year.
• In last year’s final, Oosthuizen reached the green with his 375-yard drive on the opening hole and 3-putted to win the hole as Day made a bogey.
• After conceding the third hole, where he took a penalty stroke for an unplayable lie, Oosthuizen lost the fourth to a Day birdie.
• Oosthuizen also lost the seventh hole when he 3-putted from the apron.
• Day went 3 up with a birdie at the ninth.
• At the 12th, Oosthuizen escaped with a halved hole despite rinsing his second shot in the hazard. Day closed out the match with consecutive birdies at 13 and 14 to win, 5 and 4.

Day’s path to victory last year:

• G1 defeated Graeme McDowell (62), 3 and 2;
• G2 defeated Thongchai Jaidee (36), 5 and 3
• G3 defeated Paul Casey (23), concession
• R4 defeated Brandt Snedeker (15), 3 and 2
• QF defeated Brooks Koepka (18), 3 and 2
• SF defeated Rory McIlroy (3), 1 up
• Championship: defeated Louis Oosthuizen (16), 5 and 4

More on No. 2 Jason Day (Australia)

• Since winning last year’s Dell-Technologies Match Play, Day added THE PLAYERS Championship to his resume and now owns 10 PGA TOUR victories: 2010 AT&T Byron Nelson, 2014 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, 2015 Farmers Insurance Open, RBC Canadian Open, PGA Championship, The Barclays, BMW Championship, 2016 Arnold Palmer Invitational, 2016 World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, THE PLAYERS Championship.
• Day was the third multiple winner of the Dell Technologies Match Play. Tiger Woods won the event in 2003, 2004 and 2008 while Day’s fellow Aussie Geoff Ogilvy was victorious in 2006 and 2009.
• Day 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).
• When Day claimed victory over Brooks Koepka in the Quarterfinals last year he secured a return to the No. 1 position in the Official World Golf Ranking. Day first gained the No. 1 spot following his win at the 2015 BMW Championship during the FedExCup Playoffs, which he held for one week. After regaining the No. 1 position in Austin last year, Day held the position until Dustin Johnson snatched the No. 1 spot with his victory at the 2016 Genesis Open, a period of 40 tournaments.
• Day’s 5 and 4 victory in last year’s Championship Match was the largest margin since Tiger Woods defeated Stewart Cink 8 and 7 in 2008. The Championship Match was 36 holes in 2008.
  Day is the ninth international-born player, and second Australian to win the Dell Technologies Match Play; Australia’s Jason Day (2016, 2014) and Geoff Ogilvy (2009, 2006), Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (2015) and Darren Clarke (2000), England’s Luke Donald (2011) and Ian Poulter (2010), Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (2007).
• Day is currently leading the International Team Presidents Cup standings and is looking to compete in the competition for the fourth time at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey later this year. Day owns a 4-8-3 record in the Presidents Cup.
• Day improved his record at the Dell Technologies Match Play to 21-6 with his win over Louis Oosthuizen in last year’s Championship Match. His winning percentage increased from 70 percent to 78 percent after winning all seven matches last year. He is now sixth on the list of players with most matches won.
• Player Wins
  • Tiger Woods 33
  • David Toms 24
  • Ian Poulter 23
  • Stewart Cink 22
  • Rory McIlroy 22
  • Jason Day 21
  • Matt Kuchar 20
  • Paul Casey 20
• Last year, Day became the first champion in tournament history to win with a conceded match during the week.Paul Casey conceded Friday’s R3 of Group Play to Day when he suffered an illness after six holes.

No. 1 Dustin Johnson (United States)

• Last year, Johnson was defeated in the opening round of group play by Robert Streb (3 and 2). After victories against Kiradech Aphibarnrat (5 and 4) and Jimmy Walker (2 and 1), Johnson advanced to R4 after winning a playoff with a birdie at the first hole against Aphibarnrat, as both players were tied with two points each.
• Johnson defeated Patrick Reed (3 and 2) in R4 before losing to eventual finalist Louis Oosthuizen (2 and 1) in R5.
• This week, Johnson 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.
• Johnson owns a 7-9 record in the Dell Technologies Match Play.
• 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.
• Johnson is the most recent player to win consecutive starts on the PGA TOUR – at the Genesis Open and Mexico Championship. Justin Thomas claimed the SBS Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open in Hawaii in back-to-back weeks earlier 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).
• 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.

No. 3 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland)

• The 2015 Dell Technologies Match Play win marked Rory McIlroy’s 10th PGA TOUR victory. Two weeks later, McIlroy claimed the Wells Fargo Championship for his 11th TOUR win. McIlroy added two victories in 2016 to  ring his PGA TOUR win total to 13 – the Dell Technologies Championship and the TOUR Championship.
• At the season-ending event, where he was victorious in a playoff over Ryan Moore and Kevin Chappell, his victory allowed him to overtake Dustin Johnson and become the FedExCup champion last season.
• 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.
• The four-time major 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).
• McIlroy’s 22 wins from 30 matches at the Dell Technologies Match Play equals a 73% winning average.
• At 25 years, 11 months, 29 days, McIlroy is the youngest winner of the Dell Technologies Match Play and the seventh youngest in the history of the World Golf Championships series:
  • Patrick Reed 2014 Cadillac Championship 23 years, 7 months, 4 days
  • Tiger Woods 1999 Bridgestone Invitational 23 years, 7 months, 30 days
  • Tiger Woods 1999 Cadillac Championship 23 years, 10 months, 8 days
  • Tiger Woods 2000 Bridgestone Invitational 24 years, 7 months, 28 days
  • H. Matsuyama 2016 HSBC Champions 24 years, 8 months, 5 days
  • Tiger Woods 2001 Bridgestone Invitational 25 years, 7 months, 27 days
  • Rory McIlroy 2015 Dell Match Play 25 years, 11 months, 29 days
  • Jason Day 2014 Dell Match Play 26 years, 1 month, 28 days

No. 4 Hideki Matsuyama (Japan)

• Despite winning two matches last year, Hideki Matsuyama lost his opening match to Rafa Cabrera-Bello (1 up) and failed to advance out of Group Play. Cabrera Bello went on to defeat Rory McIlroy in the Consolation Match.
• Matsuyama will make his fourth start at the Dell Technologies Match Play seeking to advance beyond R3 for the second time. In 2015, he lost to eventual champion Rory McIlroy (6 and 5) in R4.
• Since the end of the 2015-16 PGA TOUR season, Japan’s Hideki 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.
• During this time period 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 is currently one point behind leader Justin Thomas in the FedExCup standings heading into the Dell Technologies Match Play.
• Matsuyama has a 3-4-2 record in two Presidents Cup appearances (2013, 2015) for the International Team.

No. 5 Jordan Spieth (United States)

• This year will be Spieth’s fourth appearance at the Dell Technologies Match Play. In 2014, Spieth defeated Pablo Larrazabal (2-up), Thomas Bjorn (5 and 4) and Matt Kuchar (2 and 1) before losing to Ernie Els (4 and 2) in the Quarterfinals.
• In 2015, Spieth failed to advance out of Group Play despite wins against Mikko Ilonen (4 and 2) and Matt Every (4 and 3). Spieth lost to Lee Westwood, 2-up, allowing Westwood to advance to the next round where he lost to Danny Willett.
• Last year, Spieth defeated Jamie Donaldson (3 and 2), Victor Dubuisson (5 and 4) and Justin Thomas (3 and 2) in Group Play, before losing to eventual finalist Louis Oosthuizen (4 and 2) in R4.
• 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.
• In two appearances each at the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, Spieth has one singles victory in four total singles matches, defeating Graeme McDowell (2 and 1) at the 2014 Ryder Cup.
• Spieth lost to Henrik Stenson (3 and 2) at last year’s Ryder Cup. He was defeated by Graham DeLaet (1 up) in the 2013 Presidents Cup and again by Marc Leishman (1 up) in 2015.
• Spieth played several rounds at the Austin Country Club while a member of the University of Texas golf team.

Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa)

• Last year marked the first time in his seventh Dell Technologies Match Play appearance that Louis Oosthuizen reached the Championship Match. He lost in the Quarterfinals the previous two years – to Jason Day, 2 and 1, in 2014 and Jim Furyk, 4 and 2, in 2015.
• Oosthuizen’s record is 15-7 in the Dell Technologies Match Play.Oosthuizen went 4-0-1 in his five Presidents Cup matches in the International Team’s 15.5 – 14.5 loss to the
• U.S. Team in South Korea in 2015. He has a 5-3-2 overall record in the Presidents Cup, having also played in 2013 at Muirfield Village.
• Oosthuizen is seeking his second PGA TOUR victory, but his first in the United States. Oosthuizen won his only PGA TOUR title, The Open Championship, at St. Andrews in 2010.
• Oosthuizen has 21 top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR in 122 starts, with the most recent coming at the 2017 Waste Management Phoenix Open (3rd).

Rafa Cabrera-Bello (Spain)

• Last year, Rafa Cabrera-Bello defeated Rory McIlroy 3 and 2 in the Consolation Match with a decisive birdie at the par-5 16th after hitting the green with his second shot. He took Special Temporary Membership of the PGA TOUR following his finish in Austin.
• Before last year’s 3rd-place finish, Cabrera-Bello had played three matches in the Dell Technologies Match Play.
• With his third-place finish in Austin last year, his best in 35 career starts on the PGA TOUR, Cabrera-Bello earned a spot in the Masters where he posted a T17. In the weeks between these two events he finished fourth at the Shell Houston Open.
• Cabrera-Bello made his first Ryder Cup appearance at Hazeltine last year, going 2-0-1 while defeating PGA Championship winner Jimmy Walker 3 and 2 in his Sunday singles match.

Justin Thomas (United States).

• Last year was Justin Thomas’ debut in the Dell Technologies Match Play and one he’d like to improve upon this year after suffering three losses in Group Play. Thomas lost to Victor Dubuisson (3 and 2) in R1, Jamie Donaldson (2 up) in R2 and Jordan Spieth (3 and 2) in R3.
• Already a three-time winner on the PGA TOUR in the 2016-2017 season, Justin 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.
• At the recent World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship Thomas holed a 3-foot par putt on the final hole to take a one-point lead (1,737 points) in the FedExCup standings. Starting that week, Thomas was 70 points back of leader Hideki Matsuyama in second place in the FedExCup standings.

Matt Kuchar (United States)

• When Matt Kuchar, the 1997 U.S. Amateur champion, won the 2013 Dell Technologies Match Play with a 2 and 1 margin over Hunter Mahan, he joined Tiger Woods as the only players to have both championships on their resume.
• Woods owns three of each – the U.S. Amateur in 1994, ’95 and ’96 and the Dell Technologies Match Play in 2003, ’04 and ’13.
• Five U.S. Amateur champions, including Kuchar, are in this year’s field seeking to replicate the double he achieved in 1997 (Matthew Fitzpatrick/2013, Byeong-Hun An/2009, Ryan Moore/2004, Matt Kuchar/1997 and Phil Mickelson/1990).

Phil Mickelson (United States)

• In 12 appearances at the Dell Technologies Match Play, Mickelson has advanced beyond R3 just once, in 2004, losing to Davis Love III, 1-up in the Quarterfinals. Last year, he lost to Patrick Reed (5 and 4) after wins against Matthew Fitzpatrick (5 and 4) and Daniel Berger (1 up) and did not advance out of Group Play.

Tommy Fleetwood (England)

• Two-time European Tour winner Tommy Fleetwood, who claimed his most recent title earlier this year at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, was runner-up to Dustin Johnson at the recent Mexico Championship marking his best showing on the PGA TOUR. His previous-best finish in 13 career starts on the PGA TOUR came at the 2015 Dell Technologies Match Play (T5) when he lost to countryman Danny Willett in the Quarterfinals.
• With his runner-up finish in Mexico, Fleetwood collected 315 non-member FedExCup points, and now needs an additional 4 points to match the points earned by the player at No. 150 in last season’s FedExCup standings (319 by Greg Owen) to become eligible for Special Temporary Membership to the PGA TOUR.
• Fleetwood, 26, leads the current Race to Dubai Ranking on the European Tour with 1,550,988 points.

Patrick Reed (United States)

• Patrick Reed, a San Antonio native, is a player who thrives on the match play format.
• After wins against Daniel Berger (1 up) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (4 and 3) last year, Reed defeated Phil Mickelson (5 and 4) to advance to R4 where he lost to Dustin Johnson (3 and 2).
  Reed’s record in three starts at the Dell Technologies Match Play is 6-3.
• 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.

Jhonattan Vegas (Venezuela)

Jhonattan Vegas knew very little English when he first arrived in Texas from Venezuela to live with his coach, Franci Betancourt, who was a three-time World Cup participant for Venezuela, in 1966, 1968 and 1975. His golf game and his English improved dramatically while he and his brother Julio played for the University of Texas.

• This will be Vegas’ sixth start in a World Golf Championships event, but first in the Dell Technologies Match Play after qualifying as No. 58 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
• Last month, after making The Honda Classic cut on the number at even-par 140, he rebounded with weekend scores of 69-64 to finish T4. His 64 on Sunday was the lowest score of the final round and included his second career ace.
• The hole-in-one came at PGA National’s 15th hole and was only the second one ever in tournament play at the first hole of the “Bear Trap.”
• The following week he finished T38 at the Mexico Championship to seal his position in the Dell Technologies Match Play for the first time.
• Last year, after winning his second TOUR event at the RBC Canadian Open, he advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs for the third time in his career, making it to the TOUR Championship for the first time in the No. 29 position on the FedExCup standings.
• He finished T24 at East Lake to end his season No. 29 in the FedExCup standings.

Thomas Pieters (Belgium)

• Last year, Thomas Pieters played his way into his first Dell Technologies Match Play with a third-place finish in the Thailand Open to move into the top-64 before the deadline. Although he halved his opening match with Adam Scott, Pieters did not advance out of Group Play. He returns to this year’s event as the No. 29 player in
  the Official World Golf Ranking.
• Pieters earned his best finish in a World Golf Championships event with a T5 at the recent Mexico Championship, where with rounds of 68-69-68-68, he was the only player in the field with four sub-70 rounds.
• In three previous World Golf Championships starts his best showing was T14 at this season’s HSBC Champions.
• Pieters, 25, was selected by Darren Clarke to compete on last year’s Ryder Cup team, where his 4-1 in his five matches became the best record by a European rookie in Ryder Cup history.

World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play Notes

• Dustin Johnson, with three titles, is the only American winner of the last nine World Golf Championships events;
  • Dustin Johnson (United States), 2015 Mexico Championship
  • Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), 2015 Dell Technologies Match Play
  • Shane Lowry (Ireland), 2015 Bridgestone Invitational
  • Russell Knox (Scotland), 2015 HSBC Champions
  • Adam Scott (Australia), 2016 Mexico Championship
  • Jason Day (Australia), 2016 Dell Technologies Match Play
  • Dustin Johnson (United States), 2016 Bridgestone Invitational
  • Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), 2016 HSBC Champions
  • Dustin Johnson (United States), 2017 Mexico Championship
• There are 20 countries represented in the 64-player field with the United States leading the way with 27 players in the field. England will be represented by nine players, while South Korea has four. Japan, Spain and South Africa each have three players. The most countries represented in the event was 20 in 2014.
• 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. The three highest-seeded players to win the Dell Match Play are Kevin Sutherland (No. 62 in 2002), Steve Stricker (No. 55 in 2001) and Geoff Ogilvy (No. 52 in 2006).
• The longest match in the finals of the Dell Technologies Match Play lasted 38 holes (scheduled 36-hole final) when Jeff Maggert defeated Andrew Magee at the La Costa Resort & Spa in 1999.
• When an 18-hole final was on the schedule (beginning in 2011), the longest match went 23 holes in 2014 when Jason Day defeated Victor Dubuisson at The Golf Club at Dove Mountain. Tiger Woods owns the record for the largest winning margin in the final (scheduled 36 holes) with his 8 and 7 win over Stewart Cink at The Gallery at Dove Mountain in 2008. Jason Day’s 5 and 4 victory in last year’s Championship Match was the largest margin since Woods defeated Cink.
• Kevin Sutherland (2002) from the United States, Henrik Stenson (2007) from Sweden and Ian Poulter (2010) from England are the three players who made the Dell Technologies Match Play their maiden PGA TOUR victory.

Community Impact

• The Dell Technologies Match Play is broadcast to almost 1 billion households in 227 countries and territories in 24 languages outside of the United States.
• Proceeds from the Dell Technologies Match Play will benefit The First Tee and Austin-based charities Austin Parks Foundation, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Austin Area, The First Tee of Greater Austin, Helping Hand Home for Children and Keep Austin Beautiful.
• Dell is dedicated to using the charitable proceeds from the tournament to encourage improved health, wellness, resiliency and academic achievement that will have a measurable and lasting impact on the community’s youth.
• The Dell Technologies Match Play has generated more than $16 million for charity since its inception, part of the nearly $60 million raised for global charities since the advent of the World Golf Championships in 1999.

Walter Hagen Cup

• Each year the Walter Hagen Cup is awarded to the champion of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play.
• The winner of each of the World Golf Championships is awarded a Wedgwood trophy named after a great international figure in the game.
• Hideki Matsuyama currently holds the Old Tom Morris Cup for his 2016 HSBC Champions victory.
• Dustin Johnson has the Gary Player Cup in his possession after winning the 2016 Bridgestone Invitational. Johnson also received the Gene Sarazen Cup as the winner of the 2017 Mexico Championship.
• Hagen was golf’s first full-time touring professional. He won 40 times on the PGA TOUR, including 11 times in major championships. It is appropriate that the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play trophy bears his name as he was perhaps the greatest match player in history. He won five PGA Championships in match play, including four consecutive from 1924-1927. He once won 22 straight 36-hole matches in the PGA and 32 out of 33 matches between the first round in 1921 and the fourth round of 1928. In six Ryder Cup matches, his record was 7-1-1. Hagen, an inaugural member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, also won two U.S. Opens and four British Opens.

VIA PGA TOUR