64 players
1 big ol’ pile of cash
Oh, and more Pete Dye!
2023 WGC – Dell Technologies Match Play Championships
Austin Country Club
Austin, Texas
Weekly Readers:
Horses for Courses – click here
Betting Stat Pack – click here
Expert Picks – click here and click here
Odds Outlook – click here
Bolton’s Bonanza
I’d tell you to follow him on Twitter but if you’re here you probably ain’t on Twitter! @RobBoltonGolf just in case!
2023 Qualifiers for PLAYERS, majors
NOW PLAYING:
The field includes 42 of 50 OWGR and 29 of the top 30 FedExCup points race competing for $20 million and $3.5 million and 550 FedExCup points for the winner.
A little Match Play after four weeks in Florida to shake things up! I like it!
I HATE the format.
It’s impossible to handicap and there are usually too many seeded upsets to count.
That won’t stop me from putting my foot in my mouth!
FOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEE!
Good luck!
| Host Course | Austin Country Club |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,108 |
| Par: | 71 (35-36). |
| Greens: | TifEagle Bermuda over seeded with Poa Trivialis; 5,500 square feet. |
| Stimpmeter: | 11.5 feet. |
| Rough: | Bermuda at two inches. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In Play | 110/5/7 |
| Architect(s): | Pete Dye (1984); Rod Whitman (2015). |
| Purse: | $20 million; $3.5 winner plus 550 FedExCup points. |
| Defending Champion: | Scottie Scheffler |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | Jason Day (2016, 2014). |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record: | Match Play |
| Course Record (last): | Match Play |
| Oldest Winner: | Bubba Watson, 38. |
| Youngest Winner: | Scottie Scheffler, 25. |
| Fact of the Week: | Event moved here for the 2016 edition. Any results before were not from this course. |
Notes:
- Field of 64
- 16 groups of four players (round robin format).
- Group winners advance to knockout rounds.
- 1 point for a win, .5 points for tie and zero points for a loss. If tied after three group matches sudden death (holes) will be played starting at No. 1 tee to establish who advances.
Last year eight of the top 16 seeds won and advanced. That’s happened once before in seven years.
Upsets happen but upset WINNERS don’t.
Think NCAA tournament. It’s not that different.
You’ll have a handful of guys win their group who make you shake your head.
You’ll have a couple win to get into the Elite Eight.
You will have four pretty established players in the final four with maybe ONE exception.
Now, all you have to do is map out which ones!
Easy as pie!
Not really. Good luck. You’ll need it.
Season Winners
2022-2023 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| Fortinet Championship | Max Homa |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Mackenzie Holmes |
| Shriners Children’s Open | Tom Kim |
| ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP | Keegan Bradley |
| CJ CUP at CONGAREE | Rory McIlroy |
| Butterfield Bermuda Championship | Seamus Power |
| Mayakoba Championship | Russell Henley |
| Cadence Bank Houston Open | Tony Finau |
| The RSM Classic | Adam Svensson (first TOUR win) |
| Sentry Tournament of Champions | Jon Rahm |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Si Woo Kim |
| The AMERICAN EXPRESS | Jon Rahm (2) |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Max Homa (2) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Justin Rose |
| WM Phoenix Open | Scottie Scheffler |
| The Genesis Invitational | Jon Rahm (3) |
| The Honda Classic | Chris Kirk |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Kurt Kitayama (first TOUR win) |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Taylor Moore (first TOUR win) |
Recent Event Winners
Italics – not entered this week
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2022 | Scottie Scheffler | Lost in the group to Tommy Fleetwood but didn’t lose in the knockout. |
| 2021 | Billy Horschel | Defeated Scheffler in the final. |
| 2020 | No Event – COVID-19 | |
| 2019 | Kevin Kisner | Rebounded after losing the 2018 final. |
| 2018 | Bubba Watson | Kevin Kisner was the runner up. |
| 2017 | Dustin Johnson | Held off a pesky young Spaniard named Jon Rahm on his debut. |
| 2016 | Jason Day (-16) | Knocked off Snedeker, Koepka, McIlroy and Oosthuizen to win for the second time in three years but the first at ACC. |
This Week – WGC Match Play
See my entire bracket by clicking here
Follow Rob’s instructions!
I’m not listing out all 16 groups but if you click my links above you’ll find some cool shit.
As for Corales, that’s listed above in Expert Picks. We probably have 20 guys between all of us to set you on your way.
I’m playing Cam Percy as my OAD in that event.
OAD
Last Week – Valspar Championship
MY CHOICE: Justin Rose – T36
Englishman didn’t fire but there was no way in hell I was wasting Spieth or Thomas this week.
| Already Burned |
| Sungjae Im – Maui |
| Tom Kim – Sony |
| Tom Hoge – AMEX |
| Viktor Hovland – Pebble |
| Xander Schauffele – WMPO |
| Max Homa – Riviera |
| Shane Lowry – Honda |
| Tyrrell Hatton – API |
| Akshay Bhatia – PRO |
| Jason Day – THE PLAYERS |
This Week – WGC – Dell Technologies Match Play Championship
MY CHOICE: Scottie Scheffler
I’ve seen this movie before.
Home game, playing great, massive prize pool.
Let’s get lucky!
Last Week – Valspar Championship
No love on this page anywhere. I had Taylor Moore and Patton Kizzire in my weekly home game. Sad!
Chalk (via BetMGM)
Justin Thomas (+1000): The top is gonna pop off at some point. Hard to fathom he’s only posted one top 10 in 2023 and it hasn’t happened in his last three events. Result T10 was better than the optics. Just one round in the 60s and that was 69 in Round 1. Churning.
Jordan Spieth (+1200): Ok, he’s back for the first time since MC in 2018. The 2015 champ was in the conversation at Bay Hill and posted 66 in Round 3 last week. Annnnnnnnnnd should have won this week. Late gaffe cost him solo second as well. Brutal T3.
Matt Fitzpatrick (+1600): Here’s an angle: the Englishman’s MC last week gave him 36 less holes of frustration so he should be ready for this week in Tampa. T6 Fairways, T1 GIR and only three bogeys last year here. Ding. Dong. MC.
Sam Burns (+1600): Zero evidence the last three weeks that three in a row is on the cards. Didn’t register in the top 25 of Fairways or Top 40 GIR last week. Hard to argue that he likes it here. I’ll remind you the last two years have been the two easiest events in history. Too much jet wash for me. Congrats on your turkey, Sam! Solo sixth on a lovely back door 67 on Sunday. He was 5-under for the event and 4-under on Sunday. 6th-WIN-WIN isn’t bad tho!
Adam Hadwin (+2200): Cut making Canadian, like most above him in this field, had his best result of 2023 at WMPO (T10). Backed up his MC at Bay Hill with T13 last week as he hit it great. How do you say “horse for course” in Canadian, Paul? The ol’ 69-76 MC.
Justin Rose (+2200): Aging like fine wine, the Pebble champ pocketed another top 10 last week. SMOKED it tee to green last week. Lean. T36 as his ball-striking cooled after the big week at TPC Sawgrass. Old guys…
Tommy Fleetwood (+2500): Best finish is T20 in 2023 at Riviera. Tough, US Open style set up should get his attention. One of three with all four rounds 70 or better for T3. Attention got.
Top 10/Top 20/Top 40
Denny McCarthy (+3300): Never MC in three here including T9 in 2019 when the conditions weren’t perfect. T19 and another solid showing.
Justin Suh (+3300): Duh. T45 but another cut made and another learning experience.
Wyndham Clark (+3500): Plenty of ammo and is hot, 10 straight on TOUR. Bang. Solo fifth.
Ben Griffin (+5000): Can’t hit it any worse than he did last week. Won’t forget how to putt Bermuda tho. T45 as he was T71 GIR. Led the field in Putting.
Brandon Wu (+5000): Can’t ignore T19 last week or T14 at Honda. Should have, MC.
Victor Perez (+5500): Always interested to see how Euros pop over and adjust immediately. He’s in the field next week for Match Play. Another T45! That’s amazing! 12 birdies, 11 bogeys and a triple.
Ben An (+6600): New dad is playing great. Six straight. GUESS WHAT? T45! Seven straight.
Ludvig Aberg (+8000): Seems to enjoy a bit of tough course. T61 as he’s 3-3 this season. Not bad, kid!
Ryan Gerard (+8000): Trying to join Akshay on the STM train. Pressure? We’ll see. Made the cut on the number but T71 (last) after 74-77. Needs a top 55 in Corales to breakthrough! Go on lad!
Long Shots
Use ’em wherever you see fit! All players listed are +10000 or worse and are for a reason or two!
Akshay Bhatia (+10000): There he is! Super tee to green and doesn’t mind a bit of weather in the forecast. Missed on the number
Eric Cole (+10000): Ride the wave. Missed on the number.
Trey Mullinax (+10000): Has the tools tee to green. MC not on the number.
Michael Kim (+12500): 5TH-MC-T11 last three on TOUR. You guessed it, T45!
Zach Johnson (+12500): Should thrive and has before here. Beat two players, MC.
Harry Hall (+15000): 5 of 6 and three straight. Not even close, MC.
Luke Donald (+20000): Wouldn’t be surprised to see another top 20. 77-72 faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtttttttttttttttttttt MC.
Tano Goya (+20000): 5 straight and the best of the bunch was T11 PRO last time out. MC.
Cameron Percy (+30000): T12 at Honda on a tough layout. T16. Boom. Found one!
Glass Houses 