PGA Tour Brunch | WGC Dell Tech Match Play and Corales Puntacana Previews
@PGATourBrunch Preview of Corales and Dell Technologies Match Play
AUSTIN - How about some EXTRA golf this weekend with the World Golf Championship Dell Technologies Match Play starting today and the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic tomorrow?
In Texas, with tee-off in less than an hour from this posting, Kevin Kisner and Matt Kuchar have each won 16 matches since the tournament moved to Austin Country Club in 2016, tied for the most of any player in that span. Kisner, the 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play champion, is the No. 29 seed and is grouped with Justin Thomas, Marc Leishman and Luke List.
Matt Kuchar not in field this week.
Sergio Garcia (28-22-1) has played in 51 matches, the most in tournament history, and is the 43rd seed (Group 2).
In the Dominican Republic, This event marks the first of a four-year extension for the Dominican Republic’s only PGA Tour event. The event was played twice in the 2020-21 PGA Tour Season after the 2020 tournament was postponed to September due to COVID-19, marking the first of three events to be contested twice in 2020-21.
All of the past winners at the Corales Puntacana Championship, including both champions when the event was played on the Korn Ferry Tour (Dominic Bozzelli in 2016, and Nate Lashley in 2017 are back at Corales Golf Course in search of a second victory in the event.
Among the highlights of the field this weekend, the 2020 Corales Puntacana Championship winner Hudson Swafford is the only player in the field that has won on the PGA Tour this season (The American Express). He can become the fifth multiple winner of the season with a victory. If Swafford wins (or another player that has won this season wins the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play), it would be the fourth consecutive week on Tour with a champion that had already won this season.
WGC Dell Technologies Match Play:
THE FORMAT: 64 players, grouped into 16 groups of four players each for rounds 1, 2 and 3, held Wednesday to Friday. Groups will be determined Monday morning by the Advance Rules Official and then revealed on PGA TOUR Digital Platforms on Monday, March 21 at 11:00 a.m. CT.
During group play, players play 18-hole matches against each of the other players in their group. Matches are played to either a conclusion or a tie. Matches tied after 18 holes are not extended. Points awarded to players based on results of each match as follows:
Winner - 1 point
Loser - 0 points
Tied - 1/2 point per player
• In the event two or more players in a group are equal with the highest point totals, a stroke-play hole-by-hole playoff will determine the player that advances to the 16-player, single elimination matches.
• The purse distribution for the event will be similar to past years, but payments for the players who do not advance beyond group play will be based on the player’s record within the pool play round.
WGC Dell Technologies Match Play
COURSE: Austin Country Club, Austin, Texas
ARCHITECT: Pete Dye
YARDS/PAR: 7,108 yards/Par 71
PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $12,000,000/$2,100,000
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Billy Horschel
PAST RESULTS: (link)
PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)
FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 550
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @DellMatchPlay
WGC MATCH PLAY TV COVERAGE: Today through March 25, preliminary round play is scheduled for coverage from 2:00pm to 8:00pm (ET) on Golf Channel. On Saturday coverage is set for 10:00am to 2:00pm (ET) on Golf Channel and 2:00pm to 6:00pm (ET) on NBC. Sunday, coverage is set for 10:30am to 3:00pm (ET) on Golf Channel and 3:00pm to 7:00pm (ET) on NBC.
WGC PGA TOUR LIVE STREAMING on ESPN+: Today through March 25, Streaming coverage will be featured on ESPN-Plus with Main Feed, Featured Hole and Featured Groups from 10:30am to 8:00pm (ET). Sunday, March 26, streaming on ESPN+ from 8:30am to 2:00pm (ET).
WGC PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: SiriusXM Radio will have live radio coverage today through Friday with broadcasts originating from Austin from 2:00pm to 8:00pm (ET). Saturday will have coverage from 10:00am to 6:00pm (ET) and Sunday coverage runs from 11:00am to 7:00pm (ET). PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92 or online via PGATourCom.
How to Watch/Stream the PGA Tour Live: (ESPNCom)
How to Watch: In case of changes, visit: (PGATourCom)
How to Watch Corales Puntacana: (PGATourCom)
The Basics:
Tournament website: Dell Technologies Match Play Championships
WGC Match Play Tee Times - Dell Tech Match Play Tee Times start today with matches beginning at 10:20am (ET) and go to 4:01pm (ET).
Weather: Today’s forecast in Austin, Texas is for sunny skies, turning partly cloudy with 66-70-degree temperature and 0% chance of rain. Winds at 8-to-9 mph. Sunny skies are predicted for all weekend.
PGA Tour Brunch will post by 10:00am (ET) on Thursday.
Dell Technologies Match Play - Field, Tee Times & Bracket:
The Field: (link)
Update: Sam Burns (out) / Maverick McNealy (in)
Tee Times: (link)
The Bracket Challenge: (link)
Odds for Dell Technologies WGC Match Play:
Source: CBS Sportsline
Jon Rahm 14/1
Justin Thomas 14/1
Viktor Hovland 16/1
Scottie Scheffler 18/1
Collin Morikawa 20/1
Patrick Cantlay 22/1
Dustin Johnson 22/1
Billy Horschel 25/1
Brooks Koepka 28/1
Xander Schauffele 28/1
Daniel Berger 28/1
Bryson DeChambeau 28/1
Louis Oosthuizen 28/1
Tyrrell Hatton 30/1
Joaquin Niemann 33/1
Shane Lowry 33/1
Paul Casey 33/1
Jordan Spieth 33/1
Matt Fitzpatrick 40/1
Sungjae Im 40/1
Adam Scott 50/1
Russell Henley 50/1
Will Zalatoris 50/1
Abraham Ancer 50/1
Tommy Fleetwood 50/1
Brian Harman 50/1
Talor Gooch 50/1
Tony Finau 50/1
Kevin Kisner 50/1
Corey Conners 50/1
Max Homa 50/1
Sergio Garcia 50/1
Alex Noren 60/1
Webb Simpson 66/1
Bubba Watson 66/1
Maverick McNealy 66/1
Jason Kokrak 66/1
Patrick Reed 66/1
Marc Leishman 66/1
Robert Macintyre 66/1
Thomas Pieters 80/1
Si-Woo Kim 80/1
Tom Hoge 80/1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 80/1
Sepp Straka 80/1
Keith Mitchell 80/1
Justin Rose 100/1
Keegan Bradley 100/1
Cameron Young 100/1
Ian Poulter 100/1
Harold Varner 100/1
Lee Westwood 100/1
Kevin Na 125/1
Erik Van Rooyen 125/1
Cameron Tringale 125/1
Seamus Power 125/1
Lucas Herbert 125/1
Matthew Wolff 125/1
Sebastian Munoz 125/1
Luke List 125/1
Mackenzie Hughes 150/1
Min Woo Lee 150/1
Richard Bland 200/1
Takumi Kanaya 250/1
Corales Puntacana Championship Odds:
Source: CBS Sportsline
Joel Dahmen 16-1
Jhonattan Vegas 20-1
Sahith Theegala 25-1
Nick Taylor 25-1
Alex Smalley 25-1
Mark Hubbard 28-1
Matthias Schwab 30-1
Greyson Sigg 30-1
Nate Lashley 35-1
Emiliano Grillo 35-1
Adam Svensson 35-1
Austin Smotherman 35-1
David Lipsky 40-1
Doc Redman 40-1
Thomas Detry 40-1
Brice Garnett 40-1
Aaron Rai 40-1
Rasmus Hojgaard 45-1
Peter Uihlein 45-1
Patrick Rodgers 45-1
Nicolai Hojgaard 45-1
Kram Hickok 45-1
Graeme McDowell 45-1
Brian Stuard 45-1
Chad Ramey 50-1
Danny Willett 60-1
Wyndham Clark 60-1
Vincent Whaley 60-1
Stephan Jaeger 60-1
Rafa Cabrera Bello 65-1
Nick Hardy 65-1
Martin Kaymer 65-1
Kurt Kitayama 65-1
John Huh 65-1
Hudson Swafford 65-1
Haotong Li 65-1
Dylan Wu 65-1
Sean O'Hair 70-1
Hank Lebioda 75-1
Victor Perez 75-1
Jonathan Byrd 75-1
Hayden Buckley 80-1
Cameron Percy 80-1
Callum Tarren 80-1
Sung Kang 80-1
Chase Seiffert 80-1
Ben Kohles 80-1
Roger Sloan 80-1
Vaughn Taylor 80-1
Tyler Duncan 90-1
Ryan Armour 100-1
Tommy Gainey 100-1
Seth Reeves 100-1
Patrick Flavin 100-1
Kelly Kraft 100-1
Curtis Thompson 100-1
Andrew Novak 100-1
Trey Mullinax 100-1
Brandon Wu 100-1
Scott Brown 100-1
Adam Schenk 100-1
What They’re Saying:
Bryson Details Injuries Before return at Match Play (ESPNCom)
Five Matches to Watch Today (Golf Week/USA Today)
Power Rankings Corales Puntacana (PGATourCom)
FedExCup Standings (PGATourCom)
Golf Industry, Sports Gambling, Daily Fantasy News
Will WGC Move Away from Austin? (Golf Week/USA Today)
Expert Picks at Austin - (PGATourCom)
WGC Odds, Expert Picks, (Golf Week/USA Today)
Expert Picks at the Corales Puntacana - (PGATourCom)
On This Day in Golf History:
March 23, 1997 - Three shots behind with eight holes to go, Phil Mickelson makes an Arnold Palmer-like charge to cap off a final round (650 and win the Bay Hill Invitational, hosted by the late Palmer. Mickelson’s three shot win over Stuart Appleby was the 10th career win for “Lefty” and it earned him a $270,000 winner’s check. - Courtesy of Randy Walker, Author of On This Day in Golf History, available via Amazon.com and by clicking HERE
Parting Putt:
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