Dell Technologies Match Play 2023 Tips

Are you ready for something a little bit different? This week’s designated PGA Tour event is the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play, which will see 64 of the top 77 ranked players in the world face off.

Offering a purse of $20 million, this tournament will be hosted, as always, at Austin Country Club, which provides the perfect risk and reward set-up for an event of this ilk.

World number one Scottie Scheffler took home first prize last year, and he’s favourite to defend his crown (10) in his own neck of the woods. Let’s get into the nitty gritty.

The Format

Eight of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking make up the front of the market. It’s interesting to note that top-seeded players do not necessarily perform well in this type of format where luck and variance plays a huge part during the week.

64 players will make up the bracket, which features 16 groups of four. They will compete in a round-robin format - the top-ranked players are given easier draws on paper - and the winner of each group will advance into the Round of 16, where the knockouts commence.

This year, the group stage records of players who don’t advance to the knockouts will determine their prize money. 550 FedEx Cup points await the winner alongside a huge cheque.

The Course

Austin Country Club in Texas is a Pete Dye-designed track - it’s a Par 71 and measures 7,108 yards in length. It’s a parklands style course with trouble (Lake Austin!) awaiting the errant.

The course is usually in pristine condition and plenty of par breakers will be made. There has been a diverse mix of winners here over a seven-year tenure, which shows that most players can perform here.

The Contenders

Patrick Cantlay (20 to win) is the type of mentality monster that players want to avoid in this format. He didn’t make the knockouts last year but he owns a strong match play pedigree, as proven by his wins in his last Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup singles outings against Shane Lowry and Adam Scott respectively.

Third and fourth-place finishes at the Genesis Open and the Arnold Palmer Invitational were backed up by a top-20 at The Players Championship for the American, who is clearly rounding into top form. Cantlay has been given a nice-looking group stage draw as he faces Brian Harman, KH Lee and Nick Taylor.

Cameron Young (38 to win) has a similarly feisty competitive nature that is needed for match play, and his consistency with the driver and hot flat stick - he ranks 12th in strokes gained off the tee, and seventh in birdie conversion rate - will theoretically make him a strong opponent for anyone in this format.

The Wake Forest alumni hasn’t quite hit top gear yet, but he finished second in the Saudi International and recorded a top-ten at Bay Hill. Young has a great opportunity to progress after being drawn against Sepp Straka, an out-of-form Corey Conners, and rookie Davis Thompson.

Following his quarter-final finish last year, I’ll also back Will Zalatoris (40 to win) at a bigger price. That was just his second outing at Austin Country Club, yet he impressed by claiming two points from the group phase and dispatched Kevin Na after extra holes in the Round of 16.

Zalatoris looked to be coming back to form after injury when he posted a fourth-place finish at the Genesis and the return to this venue should help the 26-year-old, who can impose his ball-striking game on the other contenders.

Finally, Joo-Hyung (Tom) Kim (60 to win) stands out among the outsiders as he has already proven himself to be a strong contender in the match play arena after wowing with his President’s Cup performance last year. He proved a fine competitor in the doubles as well as the singles, where he was narrowly beaten by Max Homa.

Kim is already a two-time PGA Tour winner and he narrowly missed out on victory in the Scottish Open, too. The Korean is just simmering right now, but Austin CC is a strong fit for the man ranked fourth in driving accuracy.