The field of 64 has been revealed and the match-ups are set. It’s time for the real March Madness to begin!
Join our WGC-Match Play bracket here, the winner MAY receive a prize! (It’s best to be using a desktop computer, but if you aren’t, here is a direct link to our bracket)
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Here are all of the groups via PGA Tour.
Group 1
1. DUSTIN JOHNSON (14-12) – Making his 11th appearance and his third straight as the top seed. Won the Championship in 2017, beating Jon Rahm 1 up.
24. HIDEKI MATSUYAMA (7-7-1) – Has failed to come out of group play since 2015 where he was beaten in the final 16 by eventual champion Rory McIlroy.
40. BRANDEN GRACE (6-8-1) – Has only advanced past Group Stage once in his last four starts in this event (2015 when he lost to Tommy Fleetwood in the Round of 16).
55. CHEZ REAVIE (1-1-1) – Debutant last year took down Jon Rahm but still couldn’t get out of his group.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Johnson vs. Reavie; Matsuyama vs. Grace
Thursday: Johnson vs. Grace; Matsuyama vs. Reavie
Friday: Johnson vs. Matsuyama; Grace vs. Reavie
Group 2
2. JUSTIN ROSE (10-11-1) – Returns after two-year absence for 12th start in event. Quarterfinals back in 2007 remains best result.
22. GARY WOODLAND (8-6-1) – Was the runner-up in 2015 to Rory McIlroy when the event was at Harding Park but has failed to get out of the group stage in two tries at Austin CC.
34. EDDIE PEPPERELL (0-0) – Making his first Match Play appearance.
53. EMILIANO GRILLO (1-4-1) – Won his first career Match Play match in 2016, and hasn’t won since then.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Rose vs. Grillo; Woodland vs. Pepperell
Thursday: Rose vs. Pepperell; Woodland vs. Grillo
Friday: Rose vs. Woodland; Pepperell vs. Grillo
Group 3
3. BROOKS KOEPKA (8-4) – Returns after a year off. Quarterfinalist in 2016, final 16 in 2017 before wrist injury kept him out in 2018.
27. ALEX NOREN (11-4-0) – Third place last year and a quarterfinalist the year before. Has 10-2 record at Austin CC.
36. HAO TONG LI (0-3-0) – China’s great hope drew a tough group last year and was wiped out without making it to the 17th tee in any match.
60. TOM LEWIS (0-0) – Making first Match Play appearance.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Koepka vs. Lewis; Noren vs. Li
Thursday: Koepka vs. Li; Noren vs. Lewis
Friday: Koepka vs. Noren; Li vs. Lewis
Group 4
4. RORY MCILROY (24-11-2) – Recently crowned PLAYERS Champion was runner-up in 2012, won in 2015, was a semifinalist in 2016 … but failed to get out of Group Play the last two seasons.
32. MATTHEW FITZPATRICK (4-5-0) – Has played in all three Match Play events in Austin but failed to get past the Group Stage.
47. JUSTIN HARDING (0-0) – The South African is making his first Match Play appearance.
64. LUKE LIST (0-3-0) – Last man into the field needs mighty improvement on last year where he was whitewashed.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: McIlroy vs. List; Fitzpatrick vs. Harding
Thursday: McIlroy vs. Harding; Fitzpatrick vs. List
Friday: McIlroy vs Fitzpatrick; Harding vs. List
Group 5
5. JUSTIN THOMAS ( 6-7-0) – After two uninspiring starts, found his groove last year to make it to the semifinals before losing to the eventual champion Bubba Watson.
31. KEEGAN BRADLEY (1-7-2) – Won his first-ever match in his event in 2012, beating Geoff Ogilvy, and hasn’t won since then.
33. MATT WALLACE (0-0) – Making first Match Play appearance.
50. LUCAS BJERREGAARD (0-0) – Making first Match Play appearance.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Thomas vs. Bjerregaard; Bradley vs. Wallace
Thursday: Thomas vs. Wallace; Bradley vs. Bjerregaard
Friday: Thomas vs. Bradley; Wallace vs. Bjerregaard
Group 6
6. BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU (0-0) – Making his first Match Play start.
17. MARC LEISHMAN (5-8-2) – Made it to final 16 twice in five previous tries.
39. KIRADECH APHIBARNRAT (6-3-0) – Reached the Quarterfinals last year, losing to Bubba Watson 5 and 3.
59. RUSSELL KNOX (2-3-1) – Hoping for third time lucky after failing to get out of group stage on previous two attempts.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: DeChambeau vs. Knox; Leishman vs. Aphibarnrat
Thursday: DeChambeau vs. Aphibarnrat; Leishman vs. Knox
Friday: DeChambeau vs. Leishman; Alphibarnrat vs. Knox
Group 7
7. FRANCESCO MOLINARI (4-11-0) – The reigning Open Champion has never come out of the Group Stage so will look to his 5-0 Ryder Cup heroics for inspiration.
21. WEBB SIMPSON (8-8-1) – Quarterfinalist in 2013 but hasn’t come out of group play since it began in 2015.
45. THORBJORN OLESEN (2-4-0) – Returns for first time since 2016 where he failed to get out of the group stage.
63. SATOSHI KODAIRA (0-3-0) – Battled hard on debut last season but lost all three matches.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Molinari vs. Kodaira; Simpson vs. Olesen
Thursday: Molinari vs. Olesen; Simpson vs. Kodaira
Friday: Molinari vs. Simpson; Olesen vs. Kodaira
Group 8
8. JON RAHM (6-3-1) – Reached the Championship match on debut in 2017, only to be bested by Dustin Johnson. Failed to win a group match last year.
23. MATT KUCHAR (24-9-3) – The 2013 champion also made the final four in 2011 and the quarterfinals in 2012.
43. J.B. HOLMES (6-7-2) – Advanced past Group Stage once – in 2015, when he lost to Jim Furyk in the Round of 16.
54. SI WOO KIM (3-2-2) – Advanced to the Round of 16 last year, losing to Justin Thomas 6 and 5.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Rahm vs. Kim; Kuchar vs. Holmes
Thursday: Rahm vs. Holmes; Kuchar vs. Kim
Friday: Rahm vs. Kuchar; Holmes vs. Kim
Group 9
9. XANDER SCHAUFFELE (2-1-0) – Taken out by loss to Sergio Garcia on debut last year after winning first two starts. Has multiple TOUR wins since.
29. RAFA CABRERA BELLO (9-6-1) – Reached the Semifinals in 2016 but hasn’t advanced past the Group Stage in the last two years.
35. TYRRELL HATTON (4-3-0) – Won a Group stage tiebreaker last year against Brendan Steele before losing to Cameron Smith in the Round of 16.
62. LEE WESTWOOD (17-19) – Match Play veteran in his 18th start at the event. Was a semifinalist in 2012.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Schauffele vs. Westwood; Cabrera Bello vs. Hatton
Thursday: Schauffele vs. Hatton; Cabrera Bello vs. Westwood
Friday: Schauffele vs. Cabrera Bello; Hatton vs. Westwood
Group 10
10. PAUL CASEY (25-14-1) – Sunday’s winner of the Valspar Championship lost in the finals in 2009 (to Geoff Ogilvy) and 2010 (to Ian Poulter). Advanced to Sweet 16 in 2017.
25. CAMERON SMITH (3-1-1) – Quarterfinalist on debut last year. Match Play guru as a junior in Australia.
42. CHARLES HOWELL III (10-11-0) – Has reached the Round of 16 in each of the past two years, losing to Jon Rahm in 2017 and Kiradech Aphibarnat in 2018.
58. ABRAHAM ANCER (0-0) – Making first Match Play appearance.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Casey vs. Ancer; Smith vs. Howell
Thursday: Casey vs. Howell; Smith vs. Ancer
Friday: Casey vs. Smith; Howell vs. Ancer
Group 11
11. TOMMY FLEETWOOD (6-5-0) – In three previous starts, he advanced past the Group Stage just once, in 2015 when he lost to fellow Englishman Danny Willett in the Quarterfinals.
19. LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN (19-10-0) – Runner up at Austin CC to Jason Day in 2016. Quarterfinalist two other occasions.
41. KYLE STANLEY (4-3-0) – In just his second Match Play appearance, and first in six years, Stanley made it to the quarterfinals last year.
49. BYEONG-HUN AN (1-4-2) – Won Group Stage in 2016 but conceded Sweet 16 match to Rafa Cabrera-Bello after suffering a neck injury.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Fleetwood vs. An; Oosthuizen vs. Stanley
Thursday: Fleetwood vs. Stanley; Oosthuizen vs. An
Friday: Fleetwood vs. Oosthuizen; Stanley vs. An
Group 12
12. JASON DAY (22-11-0) – Won the championship in in 2014 (in Arizona) and 2016 when Austin first hosted the Match Play.
20. PHIL MICKELSON (24-14-0) – In his 15th appearance at the event but best results are twice being a quarterfinalist.
37. HENRIK STENSON (14-9) – Former champion (2007) and third place finisher (2008) returns for the first time since 2015. First crack at Austin CC.
52. JIM FURYK (19-18-1) – Making his 18th Match Play start; best result was in 2015 when e lost to Rory McIlroy in the Semifinals.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Day vs. Furyk; Mickelson vs. Stenson
Thursday: Day vs. Stenson; Mickelson vs. Furyk
Friday: Day vs. Mickelson; Stenson vs. Furyk
Group 13
13. TIGER WOODS (33-10) – Match Play champion in 2003, 2004 and 2008. Last start in this event was 2013, so he’s never played at Austin CC or in this Group Play format.
18. PATRICK CANTLAY (2-1-0) – Lost to Cameron Smith in his opener last year before winning his next two matches.
44. BRANDT SNEDEKER (7-8-1) – Returns after a year off from the event. Has only come out of Group stage once in last three tries.
61. AARON WISE (0-0) – Making first Match Play appearance.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Woods vs. Wise; Cantlay vs. Snedeker
Thursday: Woods vs. Snedeker; Cantlay vs. Wise
Friday: Woods vs. Cantlay; Snedeker vs. Wise
Group 14
14. TONY FINAU (2-1-0) – Won his first two matches last year before losing to Group winner Alex Noren.
30. IAN POULTER (27-15-0) – The match play maestro is in his 14th appearance. Won the tournament in 2010, made the final four two other times and was a quarterfinalist last year.
48. KEVIN KISNER (8-4-1) – Reached the Championship last year, losing to Bubba Watson 7 and 6.
56. KEITH MITCHELL (0-0) – Making his first Match Play appearance.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Finau vs. Mitchell; Poulter vs. Kisner
Thursday: Finau vs. Kisner; Poulter vs. Mitchell
Friday: Finau vs. Poulter; Kisner vs. Mitchell
Group 15
15. BUBBA WATSON (20-8-3) – Defending champion was also semi-finalist in 2011. Beat Kevin Kisner 7 and 6 in final last year.
28. JORDAN SPIETH (11-5-1) – Quarterfinalist on debut in 2014 but has only come out of group stage once in last four years.
38. BILLY HORSCHEL (4-4) – Hasn’t advance past Group Stage in his two appearances since the new format was introduced.
57. KEVIN NA (5-8-2) – Come out of Group Play just once (2017) in last four years – via a tiebreaker – only to lose at next hurdle.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Watson vs. Na; Spieth vs. Horschel
Thursday: Watson vs. Horschel; Spieth vs. Na
Friday: Watson vs. Spieth; Horschel vs. Na
Group 16
16. PATRICK REED (9-6-1) – Captain America has won his group twice in last four years, only to lose at next hurdle.
26. SERGIO GARCIA (22-18-1) – Making his 17th Match Play start, his best run was in 2010 when he reached the Semifinals.
46. SHANE LOWRY (3-7-2) – After being the upset winner over top seed Rory McIlroy back in 2013 has struggled. Failed to get out of Group Play in three previous tries.
51. ANDREW PUTNAM (0-0) – Making first Match Play appearance.
MATCH SCHEDULE
Wednesday: Reed vs. Putnam; Garcia vs. Lowry
Thursday: Reed vs. Lowry; Garcia vs. Putnam
Friday: Reed vs. Garcia; Lowry vs. Putnam
