With the swing through Florida in the rearview mirror the PGA Tour heads to Texas for this week’s World Golf Championships Dell Technologies Match Play. This is the only tournament that deviates from traditional stroke-play and lasts five days instead of four. The field of 64 players is divided into 16 groups of four with round-robin play over the first three days starting on Wednesday. The winners from each bracket will advance to the weekend’s round of 16. After that, single-elimination knockout matches take place through the final round until a champion is crowned. Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is the outright favorite and also massive chalk in his first-round matchup with Davis Riley. Odds listed below are for Wednesday’s opening round matchups with odds for the next two rounds posted later. Be sure to visit BookMaker.eu for a complete list of matchup betting odds when you’re ready to place a wager.
WGC Dell Technologies Match Play Matchup Odds
Matthew Fitzpatrick -150 vs. J.J. Spaun +125
Sahith Theegala -110 vs. Min Woo Lee -110
Xander Schauffele -178 vs. Cam Davis +147
Tom Hoge -144 vs. Aaron Wise +120
Tyrrell Hatton -179 vs. Ben Griffin +148
Russell Henley -138 vs. Lucas Herbert +115
Rory McIlroy -209 vs. Scott Stallings +172
Keegan Bradley -110 vs. Denny McCarthy -110
Tony Finau -178 vs. Christiaan Bezuidenhout +147
Kurt Kitayama -127 vs. Adrian Meronk +106
Will Zalatoris -159 vs. Andrew Putnam +132
Ryan Fox -105 vs. Harris English -115
Cameron Young -188 vs. Davis Thompson +155
Sepp Straka +112 vs. Corey Conners -134
Jon Rahm -169 vs. Rickie Fowler +140
Billy Horschel +106 vs. Keith Mitchell -127
Jordan Spieth -188 vs. MacKenzie Hughes +155
Shane Lowry -127 vs. Taylor Montgomery +106
Max Homa -188 vs. Justin Suh +155
Hideki Matsuyama -169 vs. Kevin Kisner +140
Sam Burns -138 vs. Adam Hadwin +115
Seamus Power -110 vs. Adam Scott -110
Patrick Cantlay -188 vs. Nick Taylor +155
Brian Harman -120 vs. K.H. Lee +100
Collin Morikawa -179 vs. Victor Perez +148
Jason Day -150 vs. Adam Svensson +125
Viktor Hovland -150 vs. Matt Kuchar +125
Chris Kirk +100 vs. Si Woo Kim -120
Sungjae Im -169 vs. Maverick McNealy +140
Tommy Fleetwood -144 vs. J.T. Poston +120
Scottie Scheffler -235 vs. Davis Riley +193
Tom Kim -134 vs. Alex Noren +112
Need to Know
The match-play and round-robin format over the first three days is not only a change from the norm for players it’s also different from a betting standpoint. Odds will be posted for and you can wager on each of the three round-robin matches. Each player will go head-to-head with the others in his group with the winner advancing to the round of 16. Austin Country Club serves as host for the seventh and final time with no agreement currently in place to continue the tournament so expect players to go out with a bang. The demanding course stretches to over 7,100 yards at par 71 with two distinct layouts. The front nine rolls through the Texas hills while the back nine play alongside the Colorado River and Lake Austin. Key areas for success are tee-to-green accuracy and a strong short game. The ability to play the wind is also helpful.
WGC Dell Technologies Match Play – Round 1 Matchup Picks
Harris English -115 vs. Ryan Fox
I’m going out on a limb with some of these matchup picks. It would be easy to back the favorites, but with Scheffler and McIlroy both in the -200 range there’s little value. I’m backing English in this matchup since he wasn’t going to be here if not for his T2 at Bay Hill so he’s playing with house money. He also looks to be rounding into form after struggling initially following hip surgery last year. He’s a proven winner and with nothing to lose expect English to go all out.
Billy Horschel +106 vs. Keith Mitchell
This is a longshot pick since Horschel has struggled recently with MCs in two straight and three of his last four starts. However, the match play format is a different animal since you’re playing one opponent instead of the field. And Horschel excelled as the No. 32 seed two years ago beating Scheffler 2&1 in the final. The two have gone different directions since then, but Austin CC is a special place for Horschel and a fast start is necessary.
Taylor Montgomery +106 vs. Shane Lowry
Lowry is the favorite in this matchup given his career highlights. However, he’s never advanced out of the group stage and was just 1-2 last year entering on a run of strong form. This is a different setup for Montgomery, who debuts in the match play, but he’s been a solid player all season and won me some coin in earlier matchups. He’s played a lot of golf hitting a wall last month with back to back MCs but he recovered with decent outings the last two starts giving me confidence to back him once again.
Matt Kuchar +125 vs. Viktor Hovland
Being the oldest player in the field may have been a factor in setting the price with Kuchar a big underdog in his opening matchup. You can’t overlook the success he’s had at this event navigating Austin CC almost flawlessly to a solo third and runner-up his last two trips. And his career match play record is among the best in the field making Kooch a value pick at this price.
Kevin Kisner +140 vs. Hideki Matsuyama
There is something to be said about a golfer’s match play record. And much like Kuchar, Kisner has one of the best in the field with his 22 wins at Austin the most of anyone in the field. But Kisner has been working on changes to his game and things have spiraled with four MCs and a 75th entering the week. That’s why you can buy one of the best in this format at plus odds.
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