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	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
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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).

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 Matt 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 Rafa 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 Matt 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 Matt 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 Rafa 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

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

Rafa Cabrera-Bello

27

An Byeong-hun

52

Rafa Cabrera-Bello

Conc

52

Rafa 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

Third place

18

Brooks Koepka

1up

18

Brooks Koepka

3

Rory McIlroy

2

Jason Day

3&2

52

Rafa Cabrera-Bello

3&2

2

Jason Day

3&2

15

Brandt Snedeker

Notes: Round of 16

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

Prize money breakdown

Place	Description	US ($)
1	Champion	1,620,000
2	Runner-up	1,180,000
3	Third place	660,000
4	Fourth place	530,000
T5	Losing quarter-finalists x 4	290,000
T9	Losing round of 16 x 8	152,000
17	Those with 2.5 points in pool play x 1	112,000
T18	Those with 2 points in pool play x 10	90,900
T28	Those with 1.5 points in pool play x 10	74,500
T38	Those with 1 point in pool play x 13	63,000
T51	Those with 0.5 points in pool play x 10	52,000
T61	Those with 0 points in pool play x 4	47,750
	Total	9,500,000

• Source:^[12]