The WGC-Dell Technologies tournament is one of the most exciting tournaments of the PGA calendar because it is not your regular stroke play event, rather it’s a match play tournament.
The tournament features the Top 64 players in the world, seeded accordingly and bundled into 16 groups. They play individual round robin matches from Wednesday to Friday with the winners from each group advancing to the single-elimination matches stage which begins with the Round of 16 on Saturday to the Finals and Consolation matches on Sunday.
This year, the tournament will run from March 27, 2019 to March 31, 2019. It will be held at the Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. Let’s take a look at who the bookmakers say are the favorites to win the 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Tournament:
The Favorites
Fresh off the heels of his victory at THE PLAYERS championship last March 17th, Rory McIlroy has been installed as the odds-on-favorite to win the 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play tournament. Including THE PLAYERS, McIlroy has finished 6th place or higher in all the six tournaments he’s entered in this year. With that kind of streak, it’s obvious why he’s the favorite.
Rory won the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in 2015 so it’s not unfamiliar territory to him. He was the 6th seed last year but only finished 3rd in Group 6 and didn’t make it out of the Group stages. But given how he’s been playing in 2019, no question McIlroy is a sound choice as favorite here.
Dustin Johnson has reclaimed the world #1 ranking and is just a month removed from winning the WGC-Mexico. DJ also placed 5th in THE PLAYERS championship the last time out and has three Top 5 finishes in five tournaments entered in 2019. DJ won this tournament in 2017 and was the #1 seed here last year but failed to make it out of Group 1. As they say, when in doubt, go with the #1 player in the world. So why not Dustin Johnson?
Place Your WGC-Dell Tech Match Play Bet Here
Justin Thomas hasn’t been up to par in his last two tournaments, finishing T30 in the Honda Classic and T35 in THE PLAYERS championship. But Thomas started 2019 three Top 3 finishes in his first three tournaments played and was 9th in the recent WGC-Mexico. He entered this tournament as the 2nd seed last year and went all the way to the semi-finals stage, ultimately losing to Alex Noren in the battle for third place.
Brooks Koepka also hasn’t played well in his last two tournaments. The 28 year old from Florida State University was a T56 at THE PLAYERS championship and a CUT in the 2019 Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by Mastercard. Koepka’s best outing in 2019 was his 2nd place finish at the Honda Classic. He missed last season’s WGC-Dell Technologies match play tournament with a wrist injury.
Jason Day finished 7th at THE PLAYERS championship just recently and has placed inside the Top 10 in his last three tournaments played. Day was the winner here in 2016 and 2014 but failed to make it to the Top 16 in last year’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play after being named as the 8th seed.
Here are the odds to win the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play 2019 tournament. Odds taken from William Hill as of 3/23/19:
Players | Odds |
---|---|
Rory McIlroy | +1000 |
Dustin Johnson | +1000 |
Justin Thomas | +1200 |
Brooks Koepka | +1600 |
Jason Day | +1800 |
Jon Rahm | +1800 |
Rickie Fowler | +1800 |
Tiger Woods | +2000 |
Justin Rose | +2000 |
Bryson DeChambeau | +2200 |
Xander Schauffele | +2200 |
Tommy Fleetwood | +2500 |
Jordan Spieth | +2500 |
Patrick Reed | +2800 |
Bubba Watson | +2800 |
Who Wins?
There’s a strong case for Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson to win this tournament . For McIlroy, it’s his current form which may be the best in the game right now on a month to month basis. As for DJ, he is almost always the favorite in any tournament he joins. That’s a given because he is after all, world #1. As they say, when in doubt, go with the best player available and in golf’s case, that player is Dustin Johnson.
I'll take a deuce on this hole any day. @theplayerschamp pic.twitter.com/B2NBumvMKz
— Dustin Johnson (@DJohnsonPGA) March 16, 2019
But my personal pick to win this tournament is Jason Day. Not only does he have at least +800 in plus money over Rory and DJ, he is also a two-time winner of the WGC-Dell Technologies match play tournament. Likewise, he has the best matchplay percentage record among the favorites. Check out the matchplay records for the Top 4 favorites:
- Rory McIlroy 29-16-3 (60.4%)
- Dustin Johnson 18-14-1 (54.54%)
- Justin Thomas 7-8 (46.66%)
- Brook Koepka 9-5-1 (60%)
Here are two notable records I found:
- Tiger 50-17-2 (72.46%)
- Jason Day 24-11 (68.5%)
Aside from his two wins here and matchplay record, Day’s current form is also very good so I’m picking Jason Day to win the 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies match play championship.
Place Your WGC-Dell Tech Match Play Bet Here
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