2016 WGC-Dell Match Play

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.[1][2]

2016 WGC-Dell Match Play

Tournament information
Dates	March 23–27, 2016
Location	Austin, Texas, U.S.
Course(s)	Austin Country Club
Tour(s)	PGA Tour European Tour Japan Golf Tour
Format	Match play – 18 holes
Statistics
Par	71
Length	7,073 yards (6,468 m)
Field	64 players
Prize fund	$9,500,000 €8,374,981
Winner's share	$1,620,000 €1,428,155
Champion
Jason Day
def. Louis Oosthuizen 5 & 4

Austin

Location in the United States

Austin 

Location in Texas

Field

The field consisted of the top 64 players available from the Official World Golf Ranking on March 13.[3] However, the seedings are based on the World Ranking on March 20.[4]

Henrik Stenson (ranked 7 on March 13, personal reasons)[5] and Jim Furyk (ranked 15, wrist surgery)[5] did not compete, allowing entry for Patton Kizzire (ranked 65) and Thorbjørn Olesen (ranked 66).

Nationalities in the field

North America (26)	South America (2)	Europe (21)	Oceania (6)	Asia (5)	Africa (4)
United States (26)	Argentina (2)	England (7)	Australia (5)	India (1)	South Africa (4)
		Northern Ireland (2)	New Zealand (1)	Japan (1)
		Scotland (1)		South Korea (1)
		Wales (1)		Thailand (2)
		Ireland (1)
		Austria (1)
		Belgium (1)
		Denmark (2)
		France (1)
		Germany (1)
		Spain (2)
		Sweden (1)

Past champions in the field

Player	Country	Year won	Record	Advanced to	Finish
Jason Day	Australia	2014	7–0–0	Championship	1
Rory McIlroy	Northern Ireland	2015	4−2−1	Third-place match	4
Matt Kuchar	United States	2013	2−1−1	Round of 16	T9

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.[6]

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.[6]

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.[6]

Pool A – Top 16 seeds Seed Rank Player 1 1 Jordan Spieth 2 2 Jason Day 3 3 Rory McIlroy 4 4 Bubba Watson 5 5 Rickie Fowler 6 6 Adam Scott 7 8 Justin Rose 8 9 Dustin Johnson 9 10 Patrick Reed 10 11 Danny Willett 11 12 Branden Grace 12 13 Hideki Matsuyama 13 14 Sergio García 14 15 Zach Johnson 15 17 Brandt Snedeker 16 18 Louis Oosthuizen

Pool B Seed Rank Player 17 19 Phil Mickelson 18 20 Brooks Koepka 19 21 Charl Schwartzel 20 22 Kevin Kisner 21 23 J. B. Holmes 22 24 Jimmy Walker 23 25 Paul Casey 24 26 Shane Lowry 25 27 Marc Leishman 26 28 Kevin Na 27 29 An Byeong-hun 28 30 Matt Kuchar 29 31 Andy Sullivan 30 32 Bill Haas 31 33 Justin Thomas 32 34 Russell Knox

Pool C Seed Rank Player 33 35 Emiliano Grillo 34 36 Danny Lee 35 37 Bernd Wiesberger 36 38 Thongchai Jaidee 37 39 Kiradech Aphibarnrat 38 40 David Lingmerth 39 41 Victor Dubuisson 40 42 Billy Horschel 41 43 Chris Wood 42 44 Matthew Fitzpatrick 43 45 Søren Kjeldsen 44 46 Martin Kaymer 45 47 Ryan Moore 46 48 Smylie Kaufman 47 49 Scott Piercy 48 50 Anirban Lahiri

Pool D Seed Rank Player 49 51 Robert Streb 50 52 Jaco van Zyl 51 53 Jamie Donaldson 52 54 Rafael Cabrera-Bello 53 55 Daniel Berger 54 56 Chris Kirk 55 57 Thomas Pieters 56 58 Charley Hoffman 57 59 Fabián Gómez 58 60 Jason Dufner 59 61 Lee Westwood 60 62 Marcus Fraser 61 63 Matt Jones 62 64 Graeme McDowell 63 65 Patton Kizzire 64 66 Thorbjørn Olesen

Rank – Official World Golf Ranking on March 20, 2016.[4]

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.[7]

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.[8]

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 Matthew 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.[9][10]

Group 1 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Spieth 3 & 2 Donaldson Dubuisson 3 & 2 Thomas 2 Spieth 5 & 4 Dubuisson Donaldson 2 up Thomas 3 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 Loser 1 Day 3 & 2 McDowell Jaidee 2 & 1 Casey 2 Day 5 & 3 Jaidee Casey vs McDowell – halved 3 Day Conceded Casey Jaidee 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 Kaufman 2 McIlroy 3 & 1 Kaufman Na 3 & 2 Olesen 3 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 Loser 1 Watson vs Kizzire – halved Grillo 3 & 2 Holmes 2 Watson 2 up Grillo Holmes vs Kizzire – halved 3 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 Loser 1 Dufner 2 & 1 Fowler An vs Piercy – halved 2 Fowler vs Piercy – halved An 2 up Dufner 3 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 Loser 1 Scott vs Pieters – halved Haas 2 & 1 Wood 2 Scott 3 & 2 Wood Haas 4 & 2 Pieters 3 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 Gómez Kuchar 6 & 5 Lahiri 2 Rose vs Lahiri – halved Kuchar vs Gomez – halved 3 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 Loser 1 Streb 3 & 2 D Johnson Aphibarnrat 2 & 1 Walker 2 D Johnson 5 & 4 Aphibarnrat Walker 4 & 3 Streb 3 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 playoff over Aphibarnrat – 1 hole

Group 9 Round Winner Score Loser 1 Reed 1 up Berger Mickelson 5 & 4 Fitzpatrick 2 Reed 4 & 3 Fitzpatrick Mickelson 1 up Berger 3 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 Matthew 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 Loser 1 Willett vs Van Zyl – halved Koepka 3 & 2 Horschel 2 Horschel 3 & 2 Willett Koepka 5 & 4 Van Zyl 3 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 Loser 1 Kirk 3 & 1 Grace Knox vs Lingmerth – halved 2 Grace 4 & 3 Lingmerth Knox 2 & 1 Kirk 3 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 Loser 1 Cabrera-Bello 1 up Matsuyama Kisner 2 & 1 Kjeldsen 2 Matsuyama 4 & 2 Kjeldsen Cabrera-Bello 4 & 3 Kisner 3 Matsuyama 3 & 2 Kisner Kjeldsen vs Cabrera-Bello – halved Seed Player W L H Points Finish 52 Rafael 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 Loser 1 García 1 up Westwood Leishman vs Moore – halved 2 Moore 1 up García Westwood 1 up Leishman 3 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 Loser 1 Z Johnson 4 & 3 Fraser Kaymer 1 up Lowry 2 Z Johnson 8 & 6 Kaymer Lowry vs Fraser – halved 3 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 Lee 2 Snedeker vs Lee – halved Schwartzel 3 & 2 Hoffman 3 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 Loser 1 Oosthuizen 2 & 1 Jones Sullivan 3 & 2 Wiesberger 2 Oosthuizen 2 & 1 Wiesberger Sullivan 3 & 1 Jones 3 Oosthuizen 4 & 2 Sullivan Wiesberger 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

Players by pool: A=8, B=4, C=1, D=3

Round of 16 March 26 – morning

Quarterfinals March 26 – afternoon

Semifinals March 27 – morning

Final March 27 – afternoon

1

Jordan Spieth

16

Louis Oosthuizen

4&2

16

Louis Oosthuizen

2&1

8

Dustin Johnson

8

Dustin Johnson

3&2

9

Patrick Reed

16

Louis Oosthuizen

4&3

52

Rafael Cabrera-Bello

27

An Byeong-hun

52

Rafael Cabrera-Bello

Conc

52

Rafael Cabrera-Bello

2&1

45

Ryan Moore

63

Patton Kizzire

45

Ryan Moore

4&3

16

Louis Oosthuizen

2

Jason Day

5&4

30

Bill Haas

54

Chris Kirk

2&1

54

Chris Kirk

3

Rory McIlroy

4&3

3

Rory McIlroy

1up

14

Zach Johnson

3

Rory McIlroy

2

Jason Day

1up

28

Matt Kuchar

18

Brooks Koepka

1up

Third place

18

Brooks Koepka

2

Jason Day

3&2

2

Jason Day

3&2

3

Rory McIlroy

15

Brandt Snedeker

52

Rafael Cabrera-Bello

3&2

Notes: Round of 16

There were three upsets: #1 Jordan Spieth lost to #16 Louis Oosthuizen, 4 & 2; #52 Rafael 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.[11] 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.[11]

Breakdown by country

Country	64	R16	QF	SF	F	Ch
Australia	5	1	1	1	1	1
South Africa	4	1	1	1	1
Northern Ireland	2	1	1	1
Spain	2	1	1	1
United States	26	11	4
South Korea	1	1
England	7
Argentina	2
Denmark	2
Thailand	2
Austria	1
Belgium	1
France	1
Germany	1
India	1
Ireland	1
Japan	1
New Zealand	1
Scotland	1
Sweden	1
Wales	1

Prize money and FedEx Cup/OWGR points breakdown

Place	Description	US ($)	Euro (€)	Points	OWGR
1	Champion	1,620,000	1,428,155	550	76
2	Runner-up	1,018,000	897,446	315	45.6
3	Third place	660,000	581,841	200	30.4
4	Fourth place	530,000	467,236	140	22.8
T5	Losing quarterfinalists x 4	290,000	255,657	101	14.82
T9	Losing round of 16 x 8	152,000	133,999	68.25	8.88
17	Those with 2.5 points in pool play	112,000	98,736	55	6.46
T18	Those with 2 points in pool play x 10	90,900	80,135	48.5	4.71
T28	Those with 1.5 points in pool play x 10	74,500	65,677	38.5	3.24
T38	Those with 1 point in pool play x 13	63,000	55,539	27	2.36
T51	Those with 0.5 points in pool play x 10	52,000	45,842	15.5	1.49
T61	Those with 0 points in pool play x 4	47,750	42,095	8.5	0
	Total	9,500,000	8,374,981	3,620

Source:[12]
($1.134331 = 1 Euro)

References

1. Murray, Ewan (March 28, 2016). "Jason Day defeats Louis Oosthuizen to win WGC Match Play". The Guardian. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
2. Corrigan, James (March 28, 2016). "Jason Day defeats Louis Oosthuizen to win WGC Match Play final". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
3. "Week 11 – 2016" (PDF). Official World Golf Ranking. March 13, 2016.
4. "Week 12 – 2016" (PDF). Official World Golf Ranking. March 20, 2016.
5. "Henrik Stenson skipping Dell Match Play due to scheduling". ESPN. Associated Press. March 2, 2016.
6. "Format Overview and Glossary". PGA Tour. February 11, 2016. Archived from the original on February 28, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
7. "Jordan Spieth outlasts Jamie Donaldson to open Match Play". ESPN. March 24, 2016.
8. "Jordan Spieth avoids match-play drama, nears round of 16". ESPN. Associated Press. March 24, 2016.
9. "Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Jordan Spieth advance at Match Play". ESPN. Associated Press. March 25, 2016.
10. "Paul Casey, Daniel Berger withdraw from Dell Match Play". ESPN. March 25, 2016.
11. "Louis Oosthuizen ousts Jordan Spieth at WGC-Match Play". ESPN. Associated Press. March 26, 2016.
12. "WGC-Dell Match Play: Past Results". PGA Tour. Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2016.

External links

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