Austin Country Club, Austin, Texas
Wednesday March 23 - Sunday March 27 2016
by Michael Barwise
 |
| Photo: texasgolfmag.com |
The World Golf Championships takes us to Texas this weekend for the Dell Match Play. The tournament begins on Wednesday with 32 matches taking place on the first day of group play.
We've taken a look at some of the stand out groups:
Group 1: Jordan Spieth (USA), Jamie Donaldson (Wales), Justin Thomas (USA), Victor Dubuisson (France)
 |
| Photo: www.cbs.sports.com |
Jordan Spieth returns to his old stomping ground to see if he can kick-start his season. The former University of Texas student has struggled ever since his barn-storming win at the Tournament of Champions in January, failing to finish in the top ten in his last four tournaments. None of the group are particularly in form: Jamie Donaldson has failed to finish in the top-20 in his last five starts, while Victor Dubuisson has been struggling to adjust to his new clubs. And although Justin Thomas did finish T-3 at The Honda Classic, it was his only top-10 in his nine starts since winning the CIMB Classic.
Group 2: Jason Day (Australia), Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland), Paul Casey (England), Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand)
 |
| Photo: www.golfweek.com |
Fresh from his win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Jason Day looks strong going into an event which he won just two years ago. Although the Australian did lose all three of his group matches in the tournament last year. As did Graeme McDowell, who goes into this tournament having missed the cut in four of his last six starts on tour. Paul Casey has a good history with this event, makes it to the final on two occasions. He'll be hoping to go one better and will be buoyed by coming off the back of two consecutive top-10 finishes. Thongchai Jaidee, who won the European Open in September, is making his first start in the U.S. since last year’s PGA Championship in August.
Group 5: 5. Rickie Fowler (USA), Jason Dufner (USA), Byeong-Hun An (Korea), Scott Piercy (USA)
 |
| Photo: golftribune.com |
Last November, An went on a hot streak which produced seven top-10s in nine starts. But in his two starts on U.S. soil, he’s failed to crack the top 30. Since his T7 at the CIMB Classic last year, . But he did play well at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship, taking a share of the first-round lead before finishing T17.
Rickie Fowler is in great form at the moment, with six top-10s in his last seven starts, including a win in Abu Dhabi. Jason Dufner also has a recent win, having claimed the CareerBuilder Challenge. In two starts on US soil this year, Byeong-Hun An has failed to crack the top 30, while Scott Piercy has yet to produce a top-10 in his eight most recent starts.
Group 9: Patrick Reed (USA), Daniel Berger (USA), Phil Mickelson (USA), Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng)
 |
| Photo: www.bunkered.com |
Patrick Reed comes into this event on the back of a T-7 at Valspar, his best finish on the Florida Swing. Daniel Berger has really struggled since coming 2nd in last year's BMW Championship, making 11 starts without a top-10 finish. Someone in a little better form is Phil Mickleson. The five-time Major winner has the best scoring average on tour so far this season and has three top-5 finishes already. However this tournament hasn't been a hunting ground for Phil in the past. In 11 career starts, he's only managed to reach the quarterfinals just once. Matthew Fitzpatrick, isn't having a great time of late, failing to finish in the top-10 in his last nine starts and missing the cuts three times.
No comments:
Post a Comment