With the Florida swing over, the PGA Tour heads to Texas for the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club. The second World Golf Championship on the season schedule, this is the only one that deviates from traditional stroke-play format. 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. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson opened as the betting favorite and there will be odds posted for each of the three round-robin matches. 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 Round 1 Match Play Matchup Odds at BookMaker.eu
Rory McIlroy -170 vs. Ian Poulter +135
Cameron Smith -145 vs. Lanto Griffin +115
Xander Schauffele -235 vs. Andy Sullivan +183
Scottie Scheffler -115 vs. Jason Day -115
Daniel Berger -165 vs. Erik Van Rooyen +131
Harris English -135 vs. Brendon Todd +105
Jon Rahm -260 vs. Sebastian Munoz +201
Ryan Palmer -115 vs. Shane Lowry -115
Patrick Cantlay -145 vs. Brian Harman +115
Hideki Matsuyama -140 vs. Carlos Ortiz +110
Patrick Reed -160 vs. Bubba Watson +127
Joaquin Niemann -135 vs. Christiaan Bezuidenhout +105
Matthew Fitzpatrick -125 vs. Jordan Spieth -105
Matthew Wolff +124 vs. Corey Conners -155
Justin Thomas -215 vs. Matt Kuchar +168
Louis Oosthuizen -140 vs. Kevin Kisner +110
Tony Finau -200 vs. Dylan Frittelli +158
Jason Kokrak -110 vs. Will Zalatoris -120
Bryson Dechambeau -215 vs. Antoine Rozner +168
Tommy Fleetwood -140 vs. Si Woo Kim +110
Viktor Hovland -185 vs. Kevin Streelman +146
Abraham Ancer -160 vs. Bernd Wiesberger +127
Collin Morikawa -180 vs. JT Poston +143
Billy Horschel -120 vs. Max Homa -110
Webb Simpson -170 vs. Talor Gooch +135
Paul Casey -175 vs. Mackenzie Hughes +139
Tyrrell Hatton -175 vs. Matt Wallace +139
Lee Westwood +105 vs. Sergio Garcia -135
Sungjae Im -140 vs. Russell Henley +110
Victor Perez +100 vs. Marc Leishman -130
Dustin Johnson -215 vs. Adam Long +168
Kevin Na -125 vs. Robert MacIntyre -105
Need To Know
The match play and round-robin format over the first three days open a number of different betting options. Odds will be posted for each of the three round-robin matches that take place over the first three days of the tournament. Each player will go head-to-head with the others in his group with the winner advancing to the round of 16. The layout at Austin CC is breathtaking. It’s as if the field will be playing two separate courses the way it’s broken up. The front nine rolls through the Texas hills while the back nine play alongside the Colorado River and Lake Austin. Players shouldn’t get too caught up in the course, though. The format requires more attention to ones opponent and his own game. The key areas in taming this track are tee-to-green accuracy and a strong short game. The ability to play the wind is also a factor.
WGC Dell Technologies Round 1 Match Play Matchup Picks
Lee Westwood +105 vs. Sergio Garcia
It’s hard finding value in some of these matchups with favorite odds hovering around -200. That’s too steep for my liking. You could go with the faves and up your winning percentage, but it doesn’t do much for your bottom line. With that said I’m taking a hard look at Westwood in his first round scrap with Garcia because of his price and his recent play. He ran out of gas at the Honda Classic but that just gave him a few extra days of rest after a pair of runner-up showings in his previous two starts.
Rory McIlroy -170 vs. Ian Poulter
It’s would be easy to get down on McIlroy after his MC at THE PLAYERS, his second in four starts. In between he’s been solid and he’s still one of the best out there. He grabbed a T6 at the WGC Workday and a closing 76 moved him into a T10 at the API. Still, he’s had success at this event and he thrives in the match-play environment. The price is steep but I like Rory to prevail.
Scottie Scheffler -115 vs. Jason Day
It’s a time of transition for Day, who recently changed to a new swing coach and is working with new sticks. One of those is a big enough challenge, but both at roughly the same time cause a lot of concern. So in this matchup why not lean on a guy who has played Austin CC before and moved up the ranks as the Tour Rookie of the Year? Scheffler has the tools to win the group and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him advance to the elimination round.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +105 vs. Joaquin Niemann
If you’re looking for an international player to make some noise this week Bezuidenhout is as good a pick as any. He had a monster close to the European Tour season with back-to-back wins in his native South Africa and is coming off a solid seventh at the API a few weeks ago, his best finish on the PGA Tour. He followed that with a T41 at THE PLAYERS where he was solid if not spectacular.
Kevin Kisner +110 vs. Louis Oosthuizen
It’s always worth looking at a player who has a successful match play background. Kisner falls into that category as the last player to win this event downing Matt Kuchar in 2019. He also played for the trophy the year before bowing to Bubba Watson in the final. Recent form doesn’t suggest a Kisner win, but past history is a strong reason to back him at plus odds.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker.eu. The WGC Dell Technologies Match Play is scheduled for March 24-28, 2021 and can be seen on Golf Channel and NBC.
