The 2016 WGC-Dell Match Play was the 18th WGC-Dell Match Play Championship, played March 23–27 at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. It was the second of four World Golf Championships in 2016. The Championship was won by Jason Day, it was his second WGC-Match Play win in three years.

Field The field consisted of the top 64 players available from the Official World Golf Ranking on March 13. However, the seedings are based on the World Ranking on March 20.

Henrik Stenson (ranked 7 on March 13, personal reasons) and Jim Furyk (ranked 15, wrist surgery) did not compete, allowing entry for Patton Kizzire (ranked 65) and Thorbjørn Olesen (ranked 66).

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 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). One player is randomly selected from each pool to complete each group.

In 2015, there were no halved matches in group play with extra holes played to determine the winner for each match if necessary. In 2016, all group play matches were 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 were broken by a sudden-death stroke play playoff, beginning on hole 1.

The winners of each group advanced to a single-elimination bracket on the weekend, with the round of 16 and quarterfinals on Saturday, and the semifinals, finals, and consolation match on Sunday.

+Pool A – Top 16 seedsSeedRankPlayer1 1 Jordan Spieth2 2 Jason Day3 3 Rory McIlroy4 4 Bubba Watson5 5 Rickie Fowler6 6 Adam Scott7 8 Justin Rose8 9 Dustin Johnson9 10 Patrick Reed10 11 Danny Willett11 12 Branden Grace12 13 Hideki Matsuyama13 14 Sergio García14 15 Zach Johnson15 17 Brandt Snedeker16 18 Louis Oosthuizen+Pool BSeedRankPlayer17 19 Phil Mickelson18 20 Brooks Koepka19 21 Charl Schwartzel20 22 Kevin Kisner21 23 J. B. Holmes22 24 Jimmy Walker23 25 Paul Casey24 26 Shane Lowry25 27 Marc Leishman26 28 Kevin Na27 29 An Byeong-hun28 30 Matt Kuchar29 31 Andy Sullivan30 32 Bill Haas31 33 Justin Thomas32 34 Russell Knox

+Pool C Seed Rank Player33 35 Emiliano Grillo34 36 Danny Lee35 37 Bernd Wiesberger36 38 Thongchai Jaidee37 39 Kiradech Aphibarnrat38 40 David Lingmerth39 41 Victor Dubuisson40 42 Billy Horschel41 43 Chris Wood42 44 Matt Fitzpatrick43 45 Søren Kjeldsen44 46 Martin Kaymer45 47 Ryan Moore46 48 Smylie Kaufman47 49 Scott Piercy48 50 Anirban Lahiri+Pool DSeedRankPlayer49 51 Robert Streb50 52 Jaco van Zyl51 53 Jamie Donaldson52 54 Rafa Cabrera-Bello53 55 Daniel Berger54 56 Chris Kirk55 57 Thomas Pieters56 58 Charley Hoffman57 59 Fabián Gómez58 60 Jason Dufner59 61 Lee Westwood60 62 Marcus Fraser61 63 Matt Jones62 64 Graeme McDowell63 65 Patton Kizzire64 66 Thorbjørn Olesen Rank – Official World Golf Ranking on March 20, 2016.

Results

Pool play Players were divided into 16 groups of four players and played round-robin matches Wednesday to Friday. Round 1 – March 23 Round 2 – March 24 Round 3 – March 25

Notes: Round 1

Of the 32 matches played, 9 were "upsets" with the lower seeded player beating the higher seeded player and 6 matches were halved. These included top seeds #5 Rickie Fowler, #8 Dustin Johnson, #11 Branden Grace, and #12 Hideki Matsuyama losing matches and #4 Bubba Watson, #6 Adam Scott, and #10 Danny Willett halving matches.

Notes: Round 2

Of the 32 matches played, 5 were upsets with the lower seeded player beating the higher seeded player and 7 matches were halved. These included top seeds #10 Danny Willett and #13 Sergio García losing matches and #5 Rickie Fowler, #7 Justin Rose, and #15 Brandt Snedeker halving matches. There were 13 players that had perfect 2–0–0 records, including the top three seeds: Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, and Rory McIlroy.

Notes: Round 3

Of the 32 matches played, 10 were upsets with the lower seeded player beating the higher seeded player and 4 matches were halved. These included top seeds #4 Bubba Watson, #6 Adam Scott, and #7 Justin Rose losing matches and #3 Rory McIlroy and #5 Rickie Fowler halving matches. Four groups went to sudden-death playoffs, each involving two players, with three ending after one hole and the fourth ending on the second hole. Six golfers advanced with perfect 3–0–0 records: #1 Jordan Spieth, #2 Jason Day, #9 Patrick Reed, #14 Zach Johnson, #16 Louis Oosthuizen, and #30 Bill Haas. Two golfers conceded their matches early, Paul Casey conceded to Jason Day after six holes due to illness and Daniel Berger conceded Matt Fitzpatrick at the start of the match due to a wrist injury suffered on the 18th hole on Thursday, when he clipped the rock wall and missed the ball while trying to hit his second shot. Eight of the top 16 seeds advanced while three of the bottom 16 seeds advanced including #63 Patton Kizzire. Eleven Americans advance to the round of 16.

+ Group 1 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Spieth 3 & 2 Donaldson Dubuisson 3 & 2 Thomas2 Spieth 5 & 4 Dubuisson Donaldson 2 up Thomas3 Spieth 3 & 2 Thomas Donaldson 1 up Dubuisson Seed Player W L H Points Finish 1 Jordan Spieth 3 0 0 3 1 51 Jamie Donaldson 2 1 0 2 2 39 Victor Dubuisson 1 2 0 1 3 31 Justin Thomas 0 3 0 0 4 + Group 2 Round Winner Score Loser1 Day 3 & 2 McDowell Jaidee 2 & 1 Casey2 Day 5 & 3 JaideeCasey vs McDowell – halved3 Day Conceded CaseyJaidee vs McDowell – halved Seed Player W L H Points Finish 2 Jason Day 3 0 0 3 1 36 Thongchai Jaidee 1 1 1 1.5 2 62 Graeme McDowell 0 1 2 1 3 23 Paul Casey 0 2 1 0.5 4 Casey conceded his match with Day after six holes(the match was all-square) due to illness.

+ Group 3 Round Winner Score Loser 1 McIlroy 1 up Olesen Na 2 & 1 Kaufman2 McIlroy 3 & 1 Kaufman Na 3 & 2 Olesen3 McIlroy vs Na – halved Olesen 2 & 1 Kaufman Seed Player W L H Points Finish 3 Rory McIlroy 2 0 1 2.5 1 26 Kevin Na 2 0 1 2.5 2 64 Thorbjørn Olesen 1 2 0 1 3 46 Smylie Kaufman 0 3 0 0 4 McIlroy advanced in sudden-death playoff over Na – 2 holes+ Group 4 Round Winner Score Loser1 Watson vs Kizzire – halved Grillo 3 & 2 Holmes 2 Watson 2 up GrilloHolmes vs Kizzire – halved3 Holmes 1 up Watson Kizzire 2 up Grillo Seed Player W L H Points Finish 63 Patton Kizzire 1 0 2 2 1 4 Bubba Watson 1 1 1 1.5 T2 21 J. B. Holmes 1 1 1 1.5 33 Emiliano Grillo 1 2 0 1 4

+ Group 5 Round Winner Score Loser1 Dufner 2 & 1 FowlerAn vs Piercy – halved2 Fowler vs Piercy – halved An 2 up Dufner3 Fowler vs An – halved Piercy 1 up Dufner Seed Player W L H Points Finish 27 An Byeong-hun 1 0 2 2 1 47 Scott Piercy 1 0 2 2 2 58 Jason Dufner 1 2 0 1 T3 5 Rickie Fowler 0 1 2 1 An advanced in sudden-death playoff over Piercy – 1 hole+ Group 6 Round Winner Score Loser1 Scott vs Pieters – halved Haas 2 & 1 Wood2 Scott 3 & 2 Wood Haas 4 & 2 Pieters3 Haas 1 up Scott Pieters 3 & 2 Wood Seed Player W L H Points Finish 30 Bill Haas 3 0 0 3 1 6 Adam Scott 1 1 1 1.5 T2 55 Thomas Pieters 1 1 1 1.5 41 Chris Wood 0 3 0 0 4

+ Group 7 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Rose 2 up GómezKuchar 6 & 5 Lahiri2 Rose vs Lahiri – halvedKuchar vs Gomez – halved3 Kuchar 3 & 2 Rose Lahiri 4 & 2 Gómez Seed Player W L H Points Finish 28 Matt Kuchar 2 0 1 2.5 1 7 Justin Rose 1 1 1 1.5 T2 48 Anirban Lahiri 1 1 1 1.5 57 Fabián Gómez 0 2 1 0.5 4+ Group 8 Round Winner Score Loser1 Streb 3 & 2 D Johnson Aphibarnrat 2 & 1 Walker2 D Johnson 5 & 4 Aphibarnrat Walker 4 & 3 Streb3 D Johnson 2 & 1 Walker Aphibarnrat 1 up Streb Seed Player W L H Points Finish 8 Dustin Johnson 2 1 0 2 1 37 Kiradech Aphibarnrat 2 1 0 2 2 22 Jimmy Walker 1 2 0 1 T3 49 Robert Streb 1 2 0 1 D Johnson advanced in sudden-death playoffover Aphibarnrat – 1 hole

+ Group 9 Round Winner Score Loser1 Reed 1 up Berger Mickelson 5 & 4 Fitzpatrick2 Reed 4 & 3 Fitzpatrick Mickelson 1 up Berger3 Reed 5 & 4 Mickelson Fitzpatrick Conceded Berger Seed Player W L H Points Finish 9 Patrick Reed 3 0 0 3 1 17 Phil Mickelson 2 1 0 2 2 42 Matt Fitzpatrick 1 2 0 1 3 53 Daniel Berger 0 3 0 0 4 Berger conceded his match to Fitzpatrick due to a wrist injury.+ Group 10 Round Winner Score Loser1 Willett vs Van Zyl – halvedKoepka 3 & 2 Horschel2 Horschel 3 & 2 WillettKoepka 5 & 4 Van Zyl3 Willett 4 & 3 Koepka Van Zyl 3 & 1 Horschel Seed Player W L H Points Finish 18 Brooks Koepka 2 1 0 2 1 10 Danny Willett 1 1 1 1.5 T2 50 Jaco van Zyl 1 1 1 1.5 40 Billy Horschel 1 2 0 1 4

+ Group 11 Round Winner Score Loser1 Kirk 3 & 1 GraceKnox vs Lingmerth – halved2 Grace 4 & 3 Lingmerth Knox 2 & 1 Kirk3 Grace 5 & 4 Knox Kirk 3 & 2 Lingmerth Seed Player W L H Points Finish 54 Chris Kirk 2 1 0 2 1 11 Branden Grace 2 1 0 2 2 32 Russell Knox 1 1 1 1.5 3 38 David Lingmerth 0 2 1 0.5 4 Kirk advanced in sudden-death playoff over Grace – 1 hole+ Group 12 Round Winner Score Loser1 Cabrera-Bello 1 up Matsuyama Kisner 2 & 1 Kjeldsen2 Matsuyama 4 & 2 Kjeldsen Cabrera-Bello 4 & 3 Kisner 3 Matsuyama 3 & 2 KisnerKjeldsen vs Cabrera-Bello – halved Seed Player W L H Points Finish 52 Rafa Cabrera-Bello 2 0 1 2.5 1 12 Hideki Matsuyama 2 1 0 2 2 20 Kevin Kisner 1 2 0 1 3 43 Søren Kjeldsen 0 2 1 0.5 4

+ Group 13 Round Winner Score Loser1 García 1 up WestwoodLeishman vs Moore – halved2 Moore 1 up García Westwood 1 up Leishman3 García 5 & 4 Leishman Moore 3 & 1 Westwood Seed Player W L H Points Finish 45 Ryan Moore 2 0 1 2.5 1 13 Sergio García 2 1 0 2 2 59 Lee Westwood 1 2 0 1 3 25 Marc Leishman 0 2 1 0.5 4 + Group 14 Round Winner Score Loser1 Z Johnson 4 & 3 Fraser Kaymer 1 up Lowry2 Z Johnson 8 & 6 KaymerLowry vs Fraser – halved3 Z Johnson 4 & 3 Lowry Kaymer 4 & 3 Fraser Seed Player W L H Points Finish 14 Zach Johnson 3 0 0 3 1 44 Martin Kaymer 2 1 0 2 2 24 Shane Lowry 0 2 1 0.5 T3 60 Marcus Fraser 0 2 1 0.5

+ Group 15 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Snedeker 2 & 1 Hoffman Schwartzel 1 up Lee2 Snedeker vs Lee – halved Schwartzel 3 & 2 Hoffman3 Snedeker 5 & 3 Schwartzel Hoffman 4 & 2 Lee Seed Player W L H Points Finish 15 Brandt Snedeker 2 0 1 2.5 1 19 Charl Schwartzel 2 1 0 2 2 56 Charley Hoffman 1 2 0 1 3 34 Danny Lee 0 2 1 0.5 4 + Group 16 Round Winner Score Loser1 Oosthuizen 2 & 1 Jones Sullivan 3 & 2 Wiesberger2 Oosthuizen 2 & 1 Wiesberger Sullivan 3 & 1 Jones3 Oosthuizen 4 & 2 SullivanWiesberger vs Jones – halved Seed Player W L H Points Finish 16 Louis Oosthuizen 3 0 0 3 1 29 Andy Sullivan 2 1 0 2 2 35 Bernd Wiesberger 0 2 1 0.5 T3 61 Matt Jones 0 2 1 0.5

Final 16 bracket

Notes: Round of 16

There were three upsets: #1 Jordan Spieth lost to #16 Louis Oosthuizen, 4 & 2; #52 Rafa Cabrera-Bello won when #27 An Byeong-hun conceded the match after 12 holes due to a neck injury (Cabrera-Bello was leading 4 up); #54 Chris Kirk defeated #30 Bill Haas, 2 & 1. Three of the top-8 seeds remained. Spieth's loss means that Day regains the world number one position.

Quarterfinals

There were two upsets: #16 Oosthuizen defeated #8 Dustin Johnson, 2 & 1, and #52 Cabrera-Bello defeated #45 Ryan Moore, 2 & 1. None of the 11 Americans in the round of 16 made the semifinals.

Prize money breakdown Place Description US ($)1 Champion 1,620,0002 Runner-up 1,180,0003 Third place 660,0004 Fourth place 530,000T5 Losing quarter-finalists x 4 290,000T9 Losing round of 16 x 8 152,00017 Those with 2.5 points in pool play x 1 112,000T18 Those with 2 points in pool play x 10 90,900T28 Those with 1.5 points in pool play x 10 74,500T38 Those with 1 point in pool play x 13 63,000T51 Those with 0.5 points in pool play x 10 52,000T61 Those with 0 points in pool play x 4 47,750 Total 9,500,000 Source:

References

External links

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