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.

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

Henrik Stenson (ranked 5 on March 12, personal reasons), Adam Scott (8, personal reasons), Justin Rose (13, personal reasons), and Adam Hadwin (51, personal reasons) 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).

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.

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.

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.

+Pool A – Top 16 seedsSeedRankPlayer1 1 Dustin Johnson2 2 Rory McIlroy3 3 Jason Day4 4 Hideki Matsuyama5 6 Jordan Spieth6 7 Justin Thomas7 10 Sergio García8 11 Alex Norén9 12 Patrick Reed10 14 Tyrrell Hatton11 15 Danny Willett12 16 Paul Casey13 17 Bubba Watson14 18 Phil Mickelson15 19 Branden Grace16 20 Matt Kuchar+Pool BSeedRankPlayer17 21 Russell Knox18 22 Jimmy Walker19 23 Brandt Snedeker20 24 Brooks Koepka21 25 Jon Rahm22 26 Rafa Cabrera-Bello23 27 Louis Oosthuizen24 28 Charl Schwartzel25 29 Francesco Molinari26 30 Emiliano Grillo27 31 Matt Fitzpatrick28 32 Marc Leishman29 33 Tommy Fleetwood30 34 Thomas Pieters31 35 J. B. Holmes32 36 Ryan Moore

+Pool C SeedRankPlayer33 37 Gary Woodland 34 38 Kevin Kisner35 39 Daniel Berger36 40 Bernd Wiesberger37 41 Yuta Ikeda38 42 Kevin Chappell39 43 Scott Piercy40 45 Wang Jeung-hun41 46 Martin Kaymer42 47 Bill Haas43 49 Lee Westwood44 50 Zach Johnson45 51 An Byeong-hun46 52 Kevin Na47 53 Ross Fisher48 54 William McGirt+Pool DSeedRankPlayer49 55 Chris Wood50 56 Brendan Steele51 57 Jim Furyk52 58 Andy Sullivan53 59 Shane Lowry54 60 Hideto Tanihara55 61 Jhonattan Vegas56 62 Pat Perez57 63 Thongchai Jaidee58 64 Webb Simpson59 65 Jason Dufner60 66 Joost Luiten61 67 Charles Howell III62 68 Søren Kjeldsen63 69 Kim Si-woo64 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.

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.

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.

+ Group 1 Round Winner Score Loser1 D Johnson 5 & 3 Simpson Kaymer 3 & 2 Walker2 D Johnson 3 & 2 Kaymer Walker 3 & 2 Simpson3 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 Loser1 Kjeldsen 2 & 1 McIlroy Woodland 3 & 2 Grillo2 McIlroy Conceded Woodland Kjeldsen 4 & 3 Grillo3 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.

+ Group 3 Round Winner Score Loser1 Perez Conceded Day Leishman 3 & 2 Westwood2 Westwood Conceded Day Perez 2 & 1 Leishman3 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. Leishman advanced in sudden-death playoffover Perez and Westwood – 2 holes. + Group 4 Round Winner Score Loser1 Matsuyama vs Furyk – halved Oosthuizen 4 & 3 Fisher2 Fisher 2 & 1 Matsuyama Furyk 3 & 2 Oosthuizen3 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 Loser1 Tanihara 4 & 2 SpiethMoore vs Ikeda – halved2 Spieth 4 & 2 IkedaMoore vs Tanihara – halved3 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 Loser1 Thomas 2 & 1 Wood Na 5 & 4 Fitzpatrick2 Na 4 & 2 Thomas Fitzpatrick 4 & 2 Wood3 Fitzpatrick 2 & 1 Thomas Wood 2 & 1 Na Seed Player W L H Points Finish 46 Kevin Na 2 1 0 2 1 27 Matt 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 Loser1 García vs Lowry – halved Rahm 3 & 2 Chappell2 García 4 & 3 Chappell Rahm 2 & 1 Lowry3 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 Loser1 Norén 3 & 2 Jaidee Wiesberger 2 up Molinari2 Norén 3 & 2 Wiesberger Jaidee 5 & 3 Molinari3 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 roundwith a wrist injury, conceding his third-round match to Norén.

+ Group 9 Round Winner Score Loser1 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 Loser1 Hatton 2 & 1 Howell Cabrera-Bello 4 & 3 Wang2 Hatton 2 up Wang Howell 1 up Cabrera-Bello3 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 playoffover Hatton and Cabrera-Bello– 6 holes.

+ Group 11 Round Winner Score Loser1 KT Kim 4 & 2 Willett Knox 3 & 2 Haas2 Haas 6 & 5 Willett KT Kim 3 & 1 Knox3 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 Loser1 Casey 2 & 1 Luiten Schwartzel 6 & 5 An2 Casey 1 up An Schwartzel 4 & 3 Luiten3 Casey 4 & 3 Schwartzel Luiten1 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 Loser1 Watson 1 up Vegas Pieters 3 & 2 Piercy2 Watson 4 & 3 Piercy Vegas 3 & 1 Pieters3 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 Loser1 Mickelson 5 & 3 SW Kim Berger 7 & 5 Holmes2 Mickelson 5 & 4 BergerHolmes 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 Loser1 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 Loser1 Kuchar vs Steele – halved Fleetwood 1 up Z Johnson2 Z Johnson 2 up Kuchar Steele 1 up Fleetwood3 Kuchar 4 & 2 Fleetwood Z Johnson 1 up Steele Seed Player W L H Points Finish44 Zach Johnson 2 1 0 2 1 16 Matt Kuchar 1 1 1 1.5 T250 Brendan Steele 1 1 1 1.5 T2 29 Tommy Fleetwood 1 2 0 1 4

Final 16 bracket

Prize money breakdown Place Description US ($)1 Champion 1,660,0002 Runner-up 1,045,0003 Third place 678,0004 Fourth place 545,000T5 Losing quarter-finalists x 4 298,000T9 Losing round of 16 x 8 158,000T17 Those with 2 points in pool play x 13 93,308T30 Those with 1.5 points in pool play x 9 74,000T39 Those with 1 point in pool play x 12 63,500T51 Those with 0.5 points in pool play x 7 54,071T58 Those with 0 points in pool play x 7 49,500 Total 9,750,000 Source:

References

External links

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