2017 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

The 2017 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play was the 19th WGC Match Play, played March 22–26 at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. It was the second of four World Golf Championships in 2017. Dustin Johnson won the final 1 up over Jon Rahm.[1][2][3]

2017 WGC-Dell Technologies
Match Play

Tournament information
Dates	March 22–26, 2017
Location	Austin, Texas, U.S. 30.343°N 97.797°W
Course(s)	Austin Country Club
Tour(s)	PGA Tour European Tour Japan Golf Tour
Format	Match play – 18 holes
Statistics
Par	71
Length	7,108 yards (6,500 m)
Field	64 players
Prize fund	$9,750,000 €9,042,850
Winner's share	$1,660,000 €1,539,603
Champion
Dustin Johnson
def. Jon Rahm 1 up
Location Map
Austin Location in Texas Austin Location in the United States

Field

The field consists of the top 64 players available from the Official World Golf Ranking on March 12.[4] However, the seedings are based on the World Rankings on March 19.

Henrik Stenson (ranked 5 on March 12, personal reasons),[5] Adam Scott (8, personal reasons),[5] Justin Rose (13, personal reasons),[5] and Adam Hadwin (51, personal reasons)[5] did not compete, allowing entry for Jason Dufner (ranked 65), Kim Kyung-tae (66), Joost Luiten (67) and Pat Perez (68). On March 17, world number nine Rickie Fowler dropped out, replaced by Kim Si-woo (69).

Nationalities in the field

North America (27)	South America (2)	Europe (22)	Oceania (2)	Asia (8)	Africa (3)
United States (27)	Argentina (1)	England (9)	Australia (2)	Japan (3)	South Africa (3)
	Venezuela (1)	Northern Ireland (1)		South Korea (4)
		Scotland (1)		Thailand (1)
		Ireland (1)
		Austria (1)
		Belgium (1)
		Denmark (1)
		Germany (1)
		Italy (1)
		Netherlands (1)
		Spain (3)
		Sweden (1)

Past champions in the field

Player	Country	Year(s) won	Record	Advanced to	Finish
Rory McIlroy	Northern Ireland	2015	1−1−1	Group play	T30
Matt Kuchar	United States	2013	1−1−1	Group play	T30
Jason Day	Australia	2014, 2016	0−3−0	Group play	T58

Format

In 2014 and earlier editions, the championship was a single elimination match play event. A new format was introduced in 2015, and the championship now starts with pool play, with 16 groups of four players playing round-robin matches, on Wednesday through Friday. The top 16 seeded players are allocated to the 16 groups, one in each group. The remaining 48 players are placed into three pools (seeds 17–32, seeds 33–48, seeds 49–64). Each group has one player randomly selected from each pool to complete the group.[6]

All group play matches are limited to 18 holes with one point awarded for a win and one-half point for a halved match. Ties for first place in a group are broken by a sudden-death stroke play playoff, beginning on hole 1.[6]

The winners of each group advance to a single-elimination bracket on the weekend, with the round of 16 and quarterfinals on Saturday, and the semi-finals, finals, and consolation match on Sunday.[6]

Pool A – Top 16 seeds Seed Rank Player 1 1 Dustin Johnson 2 2 Rory McIlroy 3 3 Jason Day 4 4 Hideki Matsuyama 5 6 Jordan Spieth 6 7 Justin Thomas 7 10 Sergio García 8 11 Alex Norén 9 12 Patrick Reed 10 14 Tyrrell Hatton 11 15 Danny Willett 12 16 Paul Casey 13 17 Bubba Watson 14 18 Phil Mickelson 15 19 Branden Grace 16 20 Matt Kuchar

Pool B Seed Rank Player 17 21 Russell Knox 18 22 Jimmy Walker 19 23 Brandt Snedeker 20 24 Brooks Koepka 21 25 Jon Rahm 22 26 Rafa Cabrera-Bello 23 27 Louis Oosthuizen 24 28 Charl Schwartzel 25 29 Francesco Molinari 26 30 Emiliano Grillo 27 31 Matthew Fitzpatrick 28 32 Marc Leishman 29 33 Tommy Fleetwood 30 34 Thomas Pieters 31 35 J. B. Holmes 32 36 Ryan Moore

Pool C Seed Rank Player 33 37 Gary Woodland 34 38 Kevin Kisner 35 39 Daniel Berger 36 40 Bernd Wiesberger 37 41 Yuta Ikeda 38 42 Kevin Chappell 39 43 Scott Piercy 40 45 Wang Jeung-hun 41 46 Martin Kaymer 42 47 Bill Haas 43 49 Lee Westwood 44 50 Zach Johnson 45 51 An Byeong-hun 46 52 Kevin Na 47 53 Ross Fisher 48 54 William McGirt

Pool D Seed Rank Player 49 55 Chris Wood 50 56 Brendan Steele 51 57 Jim Furyk 52 58 Andy Sullivan 53 59 Shane Lowry 54 60 Hideto Tanihara 55 61 Jhonattan Vegas 56 62 Pat Perez 57 63 Thongchai Jaidee 58 64 Webb Simpson 59 65 Jason Dufner 60 66 Joost Luiten 61 67 Charles Howell III 62 68 Søren Kjeldsen 63 69 Kim Si-woo 64 70 Kim Kyung-tae

Rank – Official World Golf Ranking on March 19, 2017.

Results

Pool play

Players were divided into 16 groups of four players and played round-robin matches Wednesday to Friday.

• Round 1 – March 22
• Round 2 – March 23
• Round 3 – March 24

Notes: Round 1

Of the 32 matches played, 10 were "upsets" with the lower seeded player beating the higher seeded player and 5 matches were halved. These included top seeds #2 Rory McIlroy, #5 Jordan Spieth, and #11 Danny Willett losing matches, #3 Jason Day conceding his match and withdrawing from the tournament and #4 Hideki Matsuyama, #7 Sergio García, #9 Patrick Reed, and #16 Matt Kuchar halving matches.[7]

Notes: Round 2

Of the 32 matches played, 15 were upsets with the lower seeded player beating the higher seeded player and 2 matches were halved. These included top seeds #4 Hideki Matsuyama, #6 Justin Thomas, #9 Patrick Reed, #15 Branden Grace and #16 Matt Kuchar losing matches and #3 Jason Day conceding his match. Gary Woodland withdrew from the tournament for personal reasons, conceding his second- and third-round matches and Francesco Molinari withdrew after the second round with a wrist injury, conceding his third-round match. There were 14 players that had perfect 2–0–0 records, including the top seed, Dustin Johnson.[8]

Notes: Round 3

Of the 32 matches played, 14 were upsets with the lower seeded player beating the higher seeded player and 3 matches were halved. These included top seeds #3 Jason Day (concession), #4 Hideki Matsuyama, #6 Justin Thomas, #7 Sergio García, #9 Patrick Reed, #10 Tyrrell Hatton, and #15 Danny Willett losing matches and #2 Rory McIlroy, #5 Jordan Spieth, and #13 Bubba Watson halving matches. Five groups went to sudden-death playoffs, three involving two players and two involving three players. The playoffs went from one to six holes. Eight golfers advanced with perfect 3–0–0 records: #1 Dustin Johnson, #8 Alex Norén, #12 Paul Casey, #14 Phil Mickelson, #20 Brooks Koepka, #21 Jon Rahm, #48 William McGirt, and #62 Søren Kjeldsen. Five of the top 16 seeds advanced while three of the bottom 16 seeds advanced. Nine Americans advance to the round of 16.[9]

Group 1 Round Winner Score Loser 1 D Johnson 5 & 3 Simpson Kaymer 3 & 2 Walker 2 D Johnson 3 & 2 Kaymer Walker 3 & 2 Simpson 3 D Johnson 5 & 3 Walker Kaymer 3 & 2 Simpson Seed Player W L H Points Finish 1 Dustin Johnson 3 0 0 3 1 46 Martin Kaymer 2 1 0 2 2 22 Jimmy Walker 1 2 0 1 3 58 Webb Simpson 0 3 0 0 4

Group 2 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Kjeldsen 2 & 1 McIlroy Woodland 3 & 2 Grillo 2 McIlroy Conceded Woodland Kjeldsen 4 & 3 Grillo 3 McIlroy vs Grillo – halved Kjeldsen Conceded Woodland Seed Player W L H Points Finish 62 Søren Kjeldsen 3 0 0 3 1 2 Rory McIlroy 1 1 1 1.5 2 33 Gary Woodland 1 2 0 1 3 26 Emiliano Grillo 0 2 1 0.5 4 Woodland withdrew from the tournament prior to the second round, conceding matches to McIlroy and Kjeldsen.[10]

Group 3 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Perez Conceded Day Leishman 3 & 2 Westwood 1 Westwood Conceded Day Perez 2 & 1 Leishman 3 Leishman Conceded Day Westwood 2 & 1 Perez Seed Player W L H Points Finish 28 Marc Leishman 2 1 0 2 1 43 Lee Westwood 2 1 0 2 T2 56 Pat Perez 2 1 0 2 T2 3 Jason Day 0 3 0 0 4 Day conceded his match with Perez after 6 holes (Perez 3 up) and withdrew from the tournament.[11] Leishman advanced in sudden-death playoff over Perez and Westwood – 2 holes.

Group 4 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Matsuyama vs Furyk – halved Oosthuizen 4 & 3 Fisher 2 Fisher 2 & 1 Matsuyama Furyk 3 & 2 Oosthuizen 3 Oosthuizen 6 & 4 Matsuyama Fisher 4 & 2 Furyk Seed Player W L H Points Finish 47 Ross Fisher 2 1 0 2 1 23 Louis Oosthuizen 2 1 0 2 2 51 Jim Furyk 1 1 1 1.5 3 4 Hideki Matsuyama 0 2 1 0.5 4 Fisher advanced in sudden-death playoff over Oosthuizen – 2 holes

Group 5 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Tanihara 4 & 2 Spieth Moore vs Ikeda – halved 2 Spieth 4 & 2 Ikeda Moore vs Tanihara – halved 3 Spieth vs Moore – halved Tanihara 3 & 1 Ikeda Seed Player W L H Points Finish 54 Hideto Tanihara 2 0 1 2.5 1 5 Jordan Spieth 1 1 1 1.5 T2 32 Ryan Moore 0 0 3 1.5 T2 41 Yuta Ikeda 0 2 1 0.5 4

Group 6 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Thomas 2 & 1 Wood Na 5 & 4 Fitzpatrick 2 Na 4 & 2 Thomas Fitzpatrick 4 & 2 Wood 3 Fitzpatrick 2 & 1 Thomas Wood 2 & 1 Na Seed Player W L H Points Finish 46 Kevin Na 2 1 0 2 1 27 Matthew Fitzpatrick 2 1 0 2 2 6 Justin Thomas 1 2 0 1 T3 49 Chris Wood 1 2 0 1 T3 Na advanced in sudden-death playoff over Fitzpatrick – 1 hole.

Group 7 Round Winner Score Loser 1 García vs Lowry – halved Rahm 3 & 2 Chappell 2 García 4 & 3 Chappell Rahm 2 & 1 Lowry 3 Rahm 6 & 4 García Chappell 1 up Lowry Seed Player W L H Points Finish 21 Jon Rahm 3 0 0 3 1 7 Sergio García 1 1 1 1.5 2 38 Kevin Chappell 1 2 0 1 3 53 Shane Lowry 0 2 1 0.5 4

Group 8 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Norén 3 & 2 Jaidee Wiesberger 2 up Molinari 2 Norén 3 & 2 Wiesberger Jaidee 5 & 3 Molinari 3 Norén Conceded Molinari Wiesberger 1 up Jaidee Seed Player W L H Points Finish 8 Alex Norén 3 0 0 3 1 36 Bernd Wiesberger 2 1 0 2 2 57 Thongchai Jaidee 1 2 0 1 3 25 Francesco Molinari 0 3 0 0 4 Molinari withdrew from the tournament after the second round with a wrist injury, conceding his third-round match to Norén.[8]

Group 9 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Reed vs Dufner – halved Koepka 6 & 5 Kisner 2 Kisner 1 up Reed Koepka 6 & 5 Dufner 3 Koepka 1 up Reed Kisner 2 & 1 Dufner Seed Player W L H Points Finish 20 Brooks Koepka 3 0 0 3 1 34 Kevin Kisner 2 1 0 2 2 9 Patrick Reed 0 2 1 0.5 T3 59 Jason Dufner 0 2 1 0.5 T3

Group 10 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Hatton 2 & 1 Howell Cabrera-Bello 4 & 3 Wang 2 Hatton 2 up Wang Howell 1 up Cabrera-Bello 3 Cabrera-Bello 2 & 1 Hatton Howell 2 & 1 Wang Seed Player W L H Points Finish 61 Charles Howell III 2 1 0 2 1 10 Tyrrell Hatton 2 1 0 2 T2 22 Rafa Cabrera-Bello 2 1 0 2 T2 40 Wang Jeung-hun 0 3 0 0 4 Howell advanced in sudden-death playoff over Hatton and Cabrera-Bello– 6 holes.

Group 11 Round Winner Score Loser 1 KT Kim 4 & 2 Willett Knox 3 & 2 Haas 2 Haas 6 & 5 Willett KT Kim 3 & 1 Knox 3 Willett 4 & 2 Knox Haas 4 & 2 KT Kim Seed Player W L H Points Finish 42 Bill Haas 2 1 0 2 1 64 Kim Kyung-tae 2 1 0 2 2 11 Danny Willett 1 2 0 1 T3 17 Russell Knox 1 2 0 1 T3 Haas advanced in sudden-death playoff over Kim – 6 holes.

Group 12 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Casey 2 & 1 Luiten Schwartzel 6 & 5 An 2 Casey 1 up An Schwartzel 4 & 3 Luiten 3 Casey 4 & 3 Schwartzel Luiten 1 up An Seed Player W L H Points Finish 12 Paul Casey 3 0 0 3 1 24 Charl Schwartzel 2 1 0 2 2 60 Joost Luiten 1 2 0 1 3 45 An Byeong-hun 0 3 0 0 4

Group 13 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Watson 1 up Vegas Pieters 3 & 2 Piercy 2 Watson 4 & 3 Piercy Vegas 3 & 1 Pieters 3 Watson vs Pieters – halved Vegas 3 & 1 Piercy Seed Player W L H Points Finish 13 Bubba Watson 2 0 1 2.5 1 55 Jhonattan Vegas 2 1 0 2 2 30 Thomas Pieters 1 1 1 1.5 3 39 Scott Piercy 0 3 0 0 4

Group 14 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Mickelson 5 & 3 SW Kim Berger 7 & 5 Holmes 2 Mickelson 5 & 4 Berger Holmes vs SW Kim – halved 3 Mickelson 6 & 5 Holmes SW Kim 1 up Berger Seed Player W L H Points Finish 14 Phil Mickelson 3 0 0 3 1 63 Kim Si-woo 1 1 1 1.5 2 35 Daniel Berger 1 2 0 1 3 31 J. B. Holmes 0 2 1 0.5 4

Group 15 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Grace 4 & 2 Sullivan McGirt 2 up Snedeker 2 McGirt 2 & 1 Grace Snedeker 2 & 1 Sullivan 3 Snedeker 5 & 4 Grace McGirt 1 up Sullivan Seed Player W L H Points Finish 48 William McGirt 3 0 0 3 1 19 Brandt Snedeker 2 1 0 2 2 15 Branden Grace 1 2 0 1 3 52 Andy Sullivan 0 3 0 0 4

Group 16 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Kuchar vs Steele – halved Fleetwood 1 up Z Johnson 2 Z Johnson 2 up Kuchar Steele 1 up Fleetwood 3 Kuchar 4 & 2 Fleetwood Z Johnson 1 up Steele Seed Player W L H Points Finish 44 Zach Johnson 2 1 0 2 1 16 Matt Kuchar 1 1 1 1.5 T2 50 Brendan Steele 1 1 1 1.5 T2 29 Tommy Fleetwood 1 2 0 1 4

Final 16 bracket

Players by pool: A=5, B=3, C=5, D=3

First round March 25 – morning

Quarter-finals March 25 – afternoon

Semi-finals March 26 – morning

Final March 26 – afternoon

1

Dustin Johnson

5&4

44

Zach Johnson

1

Dustin Johnson

3&2

8

Alex Norén

8

Alex Norén

3&1

20

Brooks Koepka

1

Dustin Johnson

1up

54

Hideto Tanihara

47

Ross Fisher

4&3

13

Bubba Watson

47

Ross Fisher

54

Hideto Tanihara

4&2

54

Hideto Tanihara

2&1

12

Paul Casey

1

Dustin Johnson

1up

21

Jon Rahm

62

Søren Kjeldsen

5&4

48

William McGirt

62

Søren Kjeldsen

21

Jon Rahm

7&5

21

Jon Rahm

6&4

61

Charles Howell III

21

Jon Rahm

3&2

42

Bill Haas

28

Marc Leishman

14

Phil Mickelson

4&3

Third place

14

Phil Mickelson

42

Bill Haas

2&1

46

Kevin Na

54

Hideto Tanihara

42

Bill Haas

1up

42

Bill Haas

2&1

Breakdown by country

Country	64	R16	QF	SF	F	Ch
United States	27	9	3	2	1	1
Spain	3	1	1	1	1
Japan	3	1	1	1
England	9	2	1
Denmark	1	1	1
Sweden	1	1	1
Australia	2	1
South Korea	4
South Africa	3
Argentina	1
Austria	1
Belgium	1
Germany	1
Ireland	1
Italy	1
Netherlands	1
Northern Ireland	1
Scotland	1
Thailand	1
Venezuela	1

Prize money and FedEx Cup/OWGR points breakdown

Place	Description	US ($)	Euro (€)	Points	OWGR
1	Champion	1,660,000	1,539,603	550	74
2	Runner-up	1,045,000	969,208	315	44.4
3	Third place	678,000	628,826	200	29.6
4	Fourth place	545,000	505,472	140	22.2
T5	Losing quarterfinalists x 4	298,000	276,387	101	14.43
T9	Losing round of 16 x 8	158,000	146,541	68.25	8.65
T17	Those with 2 points in pool play x 13	93,308	86,540	44.34	4.55
T30	Those with 1.5 points in pool play x 9	74,000	68,633	25.56	3.04
T39	Those with 1 point in pool play x 12	63,500	58,894	13.74	2.26
T51	Those with 0.5 points in pool play x 7	54,071	50,150	7.51	1.55
T58	Those with 0 points in pool play x 7	49,500	45,910	5.44	1.21
	Total	9,750,000	9,042,850

References

1. Casey, Phil (March 27, 2017). "Dustin Johnson wins World Match Play title to claim tournament hat-trick ahead of the Masters". The Independent. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
2. Murray, Ewan (March 26, 2017). "Dustin Johnson defeats Jon Rahm to win WGC Match Play". The Guardian. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
3. DiMeglio, Steve (March 26, 2017). "Dustin Johnson stays hot, holds on to edge Jon Rahm for Match Play triumph". USA Today. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
4. "Week 10 – 2017" (PDF). Official World Golf Ranking. March 12, 2017.
5. Lavner, Ryan (March 12, 2017). "Dufner, Perez in line for WGC-Match Play spots". Golf Channel. Archived from the original on March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
6. "Format Overview and Glossary". PGA Tour. February 11, 2016. Archived from the original on February 28, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
7. "Dustin Johnson makes 5 birdies en route to first-round Match Play win". ESPN. March 22, 2017.
8. "Soren Kjeldsen, Alex Noren win groups in wild day at Match Play". ESPN. Associated Press. March 24, 2017.
9. "Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson reach knockout stage of Match Play". ESPN. March 24, 2017.
10. "Gary Woodland withdraws from Match Play for personal reasons". ESPN. March 23, 2017.
11. Sobel, Jason (March 22, 2017). "Jason Day withdraws from Match Play to be with ailing mother". ESPN.

External links

• Official website
• Coverage on the European Tour's official site
• Austin Country Club