By Joel Beall
Five of the top 64 players—Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott, Gary Woodland and Justin Rose—will not be in Austin next week for the WGC-Match Play.

The five names, while of the household variety, are not unexpected dropouts. Woods is sidelined for the foreseeable future as he recovers from a single-car crash in Los Angeles last month. Woodland registered a positive COVID-19 test earlier this week at the Honda Classic and remains in quarantine. Rose is dealing with back spasms, an issue that forced a mid-round WD at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and for him to miss the Players Championship. Scott is merely passing on the event, opting for rest in preparation for the Masters.

The only somewhat surprising decision among the group is Koepka, whose knee injury forced him out of the Players Championship. Though this non-participation might seem worrisome with Augusta National on the horizon, it’s also understandable that Koepka would skip the WGC-Match Play given the tournament’s possibility of playing seven matches in a five-day stretch.

Filling in will be Ian Poulter, Erik van Rooyen, Adam Long, J.T. Poston and Dylan Frittelli.

The field is broken down into 16 groups and will be filled out on Monday, with the draw happening at 11 a.m. ET. The top four No. 1 seeds are Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau.

The WGC-Match Play starts on Wednesday at Austin Country Club. As the event was cancelled last year, 2019 winner Kevin Kisner is the defending champ.

The post Koepka among five of the top 64 missing WGC-Match Play appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play pairings were announced Monday night, and though the reveal lacks the gravitas of college basketball’s selection show, the drama that lies ahead does not disappoint. (Actually, we take that back. While Golf Channel presented a more scaled-down program than in years past, the pairing of GC’s Ryan Burr—a favourite in these parts, although he seemed a little too animated for the proceedings, as if he had just chugged a keg of Red Bull before air time—and PGA Tour rules official Mark Russell—who had the enthusiasm of a man trying to remember if he had picked up his drying cleaning—was an instant classic. If you’re reading this Netflix, give these two an eight-part travel series ASAP.)

Austin Country Club is serving as Match Play host for the fourth straight season. The event revamped its format in 2015, partially leaving single-elimination in favour of 16 “pods” of four-player, round-robin competition. The players come from four categories divided by rank; the top 16 players are considered the “A” group, the next 16 classified as “B” and so forth. The players are grouped randomly by a ping-pong machine. From there, the 16 group winners advance to a single-elimination bracket, contested over four 18-hole rounds on Saturday (Sweet 16 and quarterfinals) and Sunday (semifinals and finals).

Here are the round-robin pods for the 2019 WGC-Match Play:

Group 1: Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Branden Grace, Chez Reavie

Dustin Johnson is the tournament favourite, and not just because of his torrid start to 2019 (two wins, six top-10s). DJ won the Match Play two years ago and reached the quarterfinals the season before. However, his first three days will be no cake walk. Hideki Matsuyama is slowly rounding back into his 2017 form, ranking second in strokes gained/tee-to-green and has three top-10s in last six starts. Branden Grace is having a so-so season and has only one Sweet 16 Match Play appearance, but has shown in the Presidents Cup (including the 2015 matches, flaunting a 5-0 record) that he’s no pushover. And though Chez Reavie is making just his second Match Play start, his driving accuracy (third on tour) and second-shot prowess (24th in approach) don’t offer his opponents much room for error.

• • •

Group 2: Justin Rose, Gary Woodland, Eddie Pepperell, Emiliano Grillo

There’s not much missing on Justin Rose’s curriculum vitae, making his Match Play struggles all the more perplexing. In 11 appearances, Rose has made it out of the Round of 32 just once. It won’t be easy sledging this week, either. Gary Woodland is seventh in strokes gained/tee-to-green and has two runner-ups and six top-10s this season. Given his runner-up finish at this event in 2015, Woodland is as tough a “B” player as you’ll find. Also providing a headache is Eddie Pepperell, who is coming off a T-3 at the Players and is supremely talented with his irons. As for Emiliano Grillo, the former PGA Tour Rookie of the Year appears to be a formidable foe, ranking 10th in approach and 31st in sg/off-the-tee, but until he gets right with his short game (191st around-the-green, 210th in sg/putting), he’s a threat only in the abstract.

One thing we can guarantee from this group: Eddie P writing an eloquent-yet-biting essay on the overrated nature of Austin barbecue. Frankly, we’re overdue for another English-American dust-up.

• • •

Warren Little/Getty Images

Group 3: Brooks Koepka, Alex Noren, Haotong Li, Tom Lewis

Are we going to get the three-majors-in-last-six-tries Brooks Koepka, or the “I have no feels because of this unspecified weight loss,” one-top-20-in-six-starts Koepka?

Koepka’s retributive mindset is one conducive to Match Play, with a quarterfinal run in 2016 and Sweet 16 in 2017. And, as evidenced by winners in Bubba Watson, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Austin C.C. can be a bit of a bomber’s paradise. Also helping matters for Koepka is a mostly favourable draw. Alex Noren finished third at last year’s Match Play but hasn’t cracked the top 40 in five tour starts this season, while Haotong Li—who went 0-3 at the ‘18 Match Play—has missed two consecutive cuts. Even Tom Lewis, whose Euro Tour breakout at the end of 2018 jumped him from 436th in the OWGR to his current standing in the top 64, is coming in cold. In short, the perfect platform for Koepka to get right before Augusta.

• • •

Group 4: Rory McIlroy, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Justin Harding, Luke List

The Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee called this a brutal draw; we respectfully argue otherwise. Statistically speaking, Rory McIlroy (first in strokes gained, six consecutive top-six finishes and a resounding victory at the Players) is operating on a plane eerily similar to his historic 2014 campaign. And, as a former Match Play champ, it doesn’t appear McIlroy will be particularly tested early on.

Matthew Fitzpatrick is a talent that continues to be labelled a fledgeling star, but that hype has not translated to results—at least on the PGA Tour, where courses tend to be longer than their European counterparts. That includes this event: in all three appearances at Match Play, Fitzpatrick has been eliminated in the round-robin stage. At 33, Justin Harding has enjoyed a mid-career epiphany; ranked outside the top 700 at the start of 2018, the South African has five worldwide wins in the past 15 months, including earlier this month at the Qatar Masters. Conversely, with Harding making his WGC debut, to bank on him making a spirited run this week seems like a stretch. The list is short of players more potent with the big stick than Luke List (third in distance, fifth in sg/off-the-tee), and he just posted a T-10 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. However, List, the last man into this year’s Match Play field, has yet to do anything of merit in a major or WGC outing.

Essentially, this is Rory’s to lose.

• • •

Michael Reaves

Group 5: Justin Thomas, Keegan Bradley, Matt Wallace, Lucas Bjerregaard

The impressive starts of McIlroy and Johnson have somewhat cast a shadow on Justin Thomas. All the 2017 PGA champ has done is turn in five top-10s in nine starts this year (to say nothing of raging a war against the USGA). Thomas was a semifinalist in Austin in 2018, and look for his ability to go low (first in tour in birdies, 10th in eagles) to spur another long stay.

In Thomas’ way is Keegan Bradley, who continues to have a career renaissance. Bradley ranks fifth in approach and 22nd in sg/tee-to-green, but he has not advanced to the Sweet 16 in five Match Play appearances. If he hopes to make the weekend, Bradley will need to keep his flighty flat stick (209th in sg/putting) at bay. Rounding out the group are Matt Wallace and Lucas Bjerregaard. Wallace won three times in Europe last season and boasts a runner-up in Dubai and a T-6 at Bay Hill this season, while Bjerregaard quietly posted respectable showings at the Honda Classic (T-12) and Players (T-30) heading into Match Play.

• • •

Group 6: Bryson DeChambeau, Marc Leishman, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Russell Knox

A study in contrasts in Group 6. Bryson DeChambeau is one of the more excitable players in the sport. Over three days, he’ll face: Marc Leishman, the most unflappable, happy-go-lucky player on tour; Kiradech Aphibarnrat, a cat so cool that he belongs in an Elmore Leonard novel; and Russell Knox, who celebrated an albatross at the Valspar with the gusto of parallel parking.

DeChambeau was on a special type of heater from the end of last season to the start of this one, but the flames have started to die. If the Mad Scientist wants to re-ignite that fire in Texas, he’ll have to keep his composure against a stoic lineup.

• • •

David Cannon/Getty Images

Group 7: Francesco Molinari, Webb Simpson, Thorbjorn Olesen, Satoshi Kodaira

Kids, do not play a drinking game centred around broadcast mentions of Francesco Molinari’s Ryder Cup performance. You will die.

Interestingly, Molinari has not advanced to the Sweet 16 in eight Match Play starts. Luckily for the recent Bay Hill winner, he shouldn’t be sweating too much in the round robin. Webb Simpson is 31st in strokes gained and does have a quarterfinals appearance at Match Play, but has struggled in his two previous starts in Austin. Olesen has not advanced to the weekend in three Match Play starts and enters this year having failed to break the top 40 in five of his last six outings. Similarly, Satoshi Kodaira was a quick Match Play exit last year and has been one of the worst players on tour in 2019 (205th in strokes gained). Would be a major upset if Molinari doesn’t reach Saturday.

• • •

Group 8: Jon Rahm, Matt Kuchar, J.B. Holmes, Si Woo Kim

That Jon Rahm, who has eight top-12 finishes in his last nine starts, is No. 8 in the world underlines how fierce and deep the sport’s upper echelon is at the moment. Much will be made about the Spaniard’s new outlook to control his temper and how that battle could be a detriment to his game. Just remember that he gave DJ a hell of a scare in the championship match two years ago.

Not that we’re automatically advancing Rahm to Saturday. His chief obstacle is Matt Kuchar, sneakily one of the best Match Player competitors in golf. In his last eight appearances, Kuchar has made the Sweet 16 six times, highlighted by a win in 2013 and a third-place finish in 2011. Fifth in accuracy and first in greens in regulation percentage, Kuchar appeared primed for another memorable Match Play push. Also don’t sleep on Si Woo Kim, who won his pod last season as a “D” player. J.B. Holmes’ distance could cause fits, but his inconsistency (T-48/MC/T-26/MC/Win/MC/MC) shouldn’t make him long for the week.

• • •

Masterpress

Group 9: Xander Schauffele, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Tyrrell Hatton, Lee Westwood

Call this the assassin pod. These guys never get much publicity, from fans or media … and without fail, they are always lurking on the leader board come the weekend.

Xander Schauffele went a respectable 2-1 in his Match Play debut last year, and with two victories under his belt and ranking fourth in strokes gained in 2019, the X-Man’s game is in a good position to build off that first foray. For those looking for dark horses, keep tabs on Rafa Cabrera Bello. Though he’s yet to win on the PGA Tour, he has 15 top-10s in just 79 career starts. Tyrrell Hatton won his pod last year, although his form is not exactly at its peak with three missed cuts in his last five starts. In a somewhat peculiar note, Lee Westwood, in order to preserve his OWGR standing, played just once in the last six weeks. Making his 18th career appearance at the event, don’t be shocked if rust is an upshot of Westwood’s gambit.

• • •

Group 10: Paul Casey, Cam Smith, Charles Howell III, Abraham Ancer

Hard not to like Paul Casey’s chances. Repeated at the Valspar Championship last weekend, is 12th in sg/tee-to-green and has two runner-ups at this event. The putting, as usual, could be his downfall (183rd in sg/putting), but clearly his hot streak—Casey also finished second at Pebble Beach and T-3 in Mexico—hasn’t been hampered by it.

Conversely, it’s easy to be tempted by Cameron Smith’s lights-out short game (20th around the green, 19th in putting), but he’s simply giving up too much with the driver (187th in sg/off-the-tee) to be a factor for seven straight matches. Though his game isn’t “sexy,” Charles Howell III has made it out of the round robin the last two years, and with eight top-25s—including a win—in 12 starts this season, the vet certainly won’t be an easy out. Abraham Ancer is on the verge of his first tour win, and though he’s a long shot to get it this week, he is as dangerous as a “D” player as you’ll find in the field.

• • •

Sam Greenwood

Group 11: Tommy Fleetwood, Louis Oosthuizen, Kyle Stanley, Ben An

You’ll hear the “Group of Death” cliche ad nauseam towards the following quad (more on this in a moment), and it’s not necessarily wrong. But good gravy, Group 11 is a gauntlet of ball-strikers.

Both Fleetwood and Stanley have reached the quarterfinals of this event, with Shrek making the Sweet 16 (including a runner-up in 2016) four of the past five seasons. The wildcard is An. The 27-year-old ranks 11th in sg/off-the-tee, second in sg/around the green and sixth in tee-to-green. So why does he have just one top-10 in eight starts? Might have something to do with his work on the greens, where he ranks 204th in sg/putting. Though that makes him an unlikely pick to reach Sunday, his other talents will make him a nightmare match-up. Plus he’s got the incentive of being 51st in the World Ranking and needing to play just well enough to move into the top 50 by week’s end to get a late Masters invite.

• • •

Group 12: Jason Day, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson, Jim Furyk

Okay, we’ll give it up. When the worst player is Henrik Stenson, a former Match Play champ and a guy you definitely don’t want to play car-car-house against no matter the strokes were given, that’s a pretty damn good group.

Since his win at Pebble, Mickelson has looked lost (T-37/T-39/MC/MC), and despite his reputation at the Ryder and Presidents Cup, match play is not his forte, reaching the quarterfinals just twice in his career. Of course, the man defies conventionality on a daily basis, so don’t be surprised at a weekend run. Also defying expectations: Jim Furyk. The Ryder Cup captain backed up his sterling performance at the Players with a T-18 at the Valspar. A high finish this week will get Furyk into the Masters; never bet against a man with an Augusta National invite on the line.

But the primary focus of this group is Jason Day. The Aussie is a two-time champ at the Match Play, with another third-place finish to boot. Recent strong displays (T-8 at Sawgrass, T-4 at Pebble and T-5 at Torrey Pines) also help his case. Yet Day comes with a big caveat, as worries remain on the health of his back. In one sense, he was able to withstand the rigours of the Players Championship; in that same breath, seven rounds in five days is a big ask.

• • •

Donald Miralle

Group 13: Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Brandt Snedeker, Aaron Wise

Tiger Woods has won the WGC-Match Play three times. He’s also reached Saturday just once since 2004 and is making his first appearance since 2013. Though he doesn’t have the results as he did in the lead-up to last year’s Masters, Woods is playing well this season, ranking sixth in strokes gained and third in GIR percentage. Making it to Sunday may be a bridge too far, but Tiger’s current form is good enough to reach weekend play.

That ambition would be easier if Patrick Cantlay wasn’t involved. The former No. 1 amateur is 11th in strokes gained, has four top-10s in eight starts and went 2-1 in his Match Play debut last season. Brandt Snedeker is also coming in pistols blazing with a T-5 at the Players. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Aaron Wise. In the midst of a sophomore slump, the former NCAA champ from the University of Oregon has missed four of his last six cuts. Not exactly the ideal form for one making their first Match Play start, against one of the two greatest golfers of all-time, no less.

• • •

Group 14: Tony Finau, Ian Poulter, Kevin Kisner, Keith Mitchell

Kevin Kisner reached the Match Play finals last season. Keith Mitchell has a win and T-6 in two of his last three starts. Ian Poulter might be the most dreaded match play opponent in the sport. So, yeah, congrats on that “A” status, Tony Finau.

• • •

Masterpress

Group 15: Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Billy Horschel, Kevin Na

We were a group away from Speith-vs-Reed. What could have been.

Spieth has been a mixed bag at the Match Play, reaching the quarterfinals in his debut in 2014 but making it out of the round robin just once in three tries. However, this group does present an opportunity for Spieth to right the ship before the Masters. Bubba Watson is the defending champ, but Watson remarked he doesn’t like playing in this event on Sunday, so who knows which Bubba will show up to Austin. Billy Horschel hasn’t been bad by any means; would also be a stretch to say he’s had a good 2019 (151st tee-to-green, 71st in strokes gained). And the last time Kevin Na finished inside the top 30 of an event was in the fall.

Again, match play is a fickle, fickle beast. Yet, for a man in desperate need of a confidence boost, Spieth received as good a draw as he could hope.

• • •

Group 16: Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Shane Lowry, Andrew Putnam

Andrew Putnam had a nice beginning to 2019 but enters with missed cuts in three of his last four starts. Ditto Shane Lowry, who hasn’t had a tour top-10 since 2017 (although he did win in Abu Dhabi this winter). Patrick Reed is such a mess that he just changed swing coaches. Not a group firing on all cylinders.

The saving grace is Sergio Garcia. The 2017 Masters champ made news for the wrong reasons this year, but since his public dust-up, Garcia posted a T-6 at the WGC-Mexico, a T-9 at the Honda and a decent showing at the Players (T-22). There aren’t many WGC-Match Play highlights in Garcia’s career (advanced past the Sweet 16 only once) but his pod gives him a chance to do so this week.

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By Joel Beall
Golf’s version of March Madness returns this week with the WGC-Match Play. Unlike its basketball counterpart, however, a defeat won’t necessarily send a competitor packing.

For the first 16 years of its existence, the Match Play mirrored the bracket format of the NCAA Tournament: 64 entrants broken up into quadrants, with each match-up carrying a loser-leaves-town finality. But this layout was restructured in 2015 to round-robin pods. Each player in the group faces the other three in an 18-hole match, with the round-robin winner advancing to the Sweet 16.

From the PGA Tour’s perspective, what facilitated the change was two-fold. That each player now gets a minimum three rounds makes the investment, in the field’s collective eyes, worthwhile. Moreover, a round-robin format increases the odds of marquee names reaching the weekend, thus making the event more marketable to television audiences.

Conversely, critics now maintain that the pod system detracts from true match play spirit, and a handful of players still grumble about the format. “I understand why they’ve done it,” Henrik Stenson, a former Match Play winner, said in 2016. “They want more players to stay longer. Match play is always more intense. A match is like Sunday in contention. Three rounds of that and not advancing takes a lot out of you.”

Should the tour revert to the one-and-done format, or press forward with this hybrid configuration? Two of Golf Digest’s own, digital editor Sam Weinman and staff writer Joel Beall, speak for each side of the debate.

Bring back the chaos

One of the worst things you can say about the golf calendar is that tournament weeks have a tendency to blend together, but the old WGC Match Play was at least a deviation from the norm. On Wednesday of that week, it was 32 matches between the 64 best players in the world, half of whom would shake hands with their opponent and check out of their hotels before they even could make a dent in the mini-bar.

It was chaotic, unpredictable, and utterly impractical. It was also one of the best days of the year.

The argument against the single-elimination format, which the tour abandoned in favour of pool play in 2015, was that the Match Play risked becoming progressively less interesting as the weeks went on. Which is true if you believed the tournament’s fortunes hinged solely on having name brands in contention. But in hedging against upsets that would jettison marquee stars early in the week, the tour also sacrificed the event’s distinguishing feature. It made Wednesday, now just the first of three days of play pool, decidedly less compelling. And it only nominally increased the chances of your favourite player getting to stick around for the weekend.

Match play is a wild beast in which the best player doesn’t always win. That’s true after one round, but it can be just as true after six. At least in the old days, the Match Play was willing to embrace that reality head on.— Sam Weinman

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Stick with the round robin

Golf has no heart for the underdog. Fans enjoy a fiery run from a longshot, but ultimately, they want a household name to triumph.

The tour is a business, and being in business means knowing your audience. The winners since the round robin’s implementation—Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Bubba Watson—indicates the tour’s been successful on this front.

Win-or-go-home is an alluring prospect, yet one that works better as a concept rather than methodology. The old Wednesdays were exciting but also overwhelming; it was tough to keep track of what was going on. Worse, the competition would lose its mojo by Friday. Yes, due to the lack of big names involved; aside from the Masters and maybe the U.S. and British Opens, what golf tournament’s marketability—or any sporting event for that matter—isn’t predicated off star power? The pod system keeps everyone in the proceedings—fans included—for at least two days, and the last few years showed there aren’t as many meaningless Friday matches as feared.

At this level, 18 holes are too arbitrary. That’s why the U.S. Amateur and old PGA Championships, two of the more prestigious match-play tournaments, have or had stroke play and cuts to narrow the fields.

At its core, a tournament should determine who played the best that week. Inherently, match play will always fall short of stroke competition, but the round robin at least improves the aim.— Joel Beal

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By Joel Beall
Bubba Watson returns to Austin looking to repeat his WGC-Match Play title. But while Watson is the Match Play’s defending champ, he is not its proponent.

Watson made a spirited run on Sunday at the Valspar Championship, turning in the low round of the day at the Copperhead Course to finish in a tie for fourth, his fourth top 20 in his last six starts. However, it doesn’t sound like the two-time Masters champ is convinced the strong play will carry to Texas.

Primarily, because he’s not a fan of the event.

“I vote every year not to have Match Play because I feel like I have a better chance in 72 holes than I do in individual (matches),” Watson said at Innisbrook. “Because we have seen every year a guy shoot in the 60s and lose, and then we see a guy shoot in the 70s and win. And it’s like, wait a second, how fair is this?”

It’s a sentiment shared by tour officials, implementing a round-robin format in 2015, in part, to reduce some of the idiosyncrasies of match play.

Despite that conviction, Watson’s enjoyed a successful Match Play career. He’s reached the Sweet 16 stage five times and the final four twice, and last year defeated Justin Thomas in the semi-finals last year and clobbered Kevin Kisner 7&6 in the championship.

Nevertheless, the 40-year-old isn’t keen on his prospects this week, instead focusing on the rest of the season.

“Don’t get me wrong, if I win Match Play again, it would be a miracle. But it would be awesome, I would accept it,” Watson said. “But we’re just looking forward, six months from now and see if we have improved. And if that means throwing in a win here or there, great. But we’re just trying to improve and get more consistent so we have chances on Sundays instead of last place.”

Watson enters the WGC-Match Play as the No. 15 seed, meaning he will be the “A” player in his pod. The pairings will be announced on Monday night, with the first matches held on Wednesday.

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By Joel Beall
Lee Westwood’s played just once in the last six weeks, a T-33 at the WGC-Mexico Championship in late February. And it’s a schedule or strategy, that’s produced dividends.

On Monday, tournament officials announced the field for next week’s WGC-Match Play, a field predicated off the top 64 players in the Official Golf World Ranking. Westwood, who jumped from 119th in the world to 64th after winning the Nedbank at the end of 2018, was able to hold onto the last spot.

The 45-year-old Westwood will be making his 18th appearance at the Match Play event, although the tournament has not treated him kindly. He’s advanced to the Round of 16 just twice, his best showing a fourth-place finish in 2012.

Also qualifying for the event was Jim Furyk. The former U.S. Open champ vaulted 110 spots to No. 57 thanks to his turn-the-clock performance at TPC Sawgrass. Furyk, who failed to qualify in two of the last three seasons, has a runner-up and two fourth-place finishes in Match Play.

Abraham Ancer, Russell Knox and Tom Lewis were other players on the bubble that gained entry while Satoshi Kodaira—who’s missed five of his last seven cuts—fell from No. 61 to No. 65.

Tiger Woods, who had indicated he would wait and see how he felt after the Players Championship, also committed to playing in the event. Though Woods is a three-time Match Play winner, he’s not played in the event since 2013, and not advanced past the Round of 32 since 2008.

Though the qualification period has ended, seedings based on pods (the Match Play’s first three days are a round-robin elimination) will wait until the completion of this week’s events. Should any qualified player drop out (Adam Scott had previously indicated he plans on skipping the WGCs), Kodaira is the first alternate, followed by Luke List.

The WGC-Match Play returns to Austin C.C. for the fourth straight year. Bubba Watson is the defending champ.

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By Christopher Powers
With the rate he’s winning tournaments, it’s hard to find a venue on the PGA Tour schedule where Justin Thomas doesn’t feel good about his chances. But Quail Hollow is starting to stand out amongst the crowd, already the site of his first major win and now the site of one of his most-clutch moments yet. He could add to that mystique by taking over the No. 1 world ranking at the Charlotte, N.C. track this week, and he doesn’t even have to finish in the top 10 to do so.

No, a simple solo 12th finish (or better) at the Wells Fargo Championship will jump Thomas into the top spot over Dustin Johnson, who is not in this week’s field. Thomas’ limited starts at Quail Hollow suggest that’s certainly in the realm of possibility. In addition to his PGA Championship victory, the eight-time PGA Tour winner tied for seventh in the 2015 Wells Fargo, carding rounds of 69, 73, 65 and 70 to finish at 11 under. In 2016, the last time the Wells Fargo was played at Quail Hollow, Thomas missed the cut, but his performance in the season’s final major erased that memory.

Thomas picked up right where he left off in 2017 this season, claiming two victories at the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges and the Honda Classic, and nearly adding a third at the WGC-Mexico Championship, where he lost to Phil Mickelson in a playoff. Since then, he’s made three starts, finishing fourth at the WGC-Match Play, T-17 at the Masters and missing the cut last week at the Zurich Classic alongside teammate Bud Cauley.

While a 12th or better finish seems like a layup for the world No. 2, especially at a place where he’s had success, it could be a tall order thanks to the strong field. Fourteen of the top 25 players in the world are set to tee it up, including past champions like Rickie Fowler and two-time winner Rory McIlroy, who carded a third-round 61 at Quail Hollow in 2015 en route to a seven-stroke victory. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose are in the field as well.

It will also be interesting to see how Thomas plays knowing he can become No. 1, having had two opportunities to do it already and coming up just short both times. At the WGC-Match Play, Thomas admitted the No. 1 ranking was on his mind during his semifinal match against Bubba Watson, which he lost 3-and-2. At the Masters, he needed at least a solo fifth and some help from Johnson to take over No. 1, but he finished T-17.

Thomas tees off at 12:40 p.m. ET on Thursday alongside defending Wells Fargo champion Brian Harman and Fowler, the 2012 champion.

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By Joel Beall
Autographs can be a divisive issue for athletes. Arnold Palmer believed signing for fans was a responsibility; others treat the exercise like a trip to the proctologist. In the golf world, Phil Mickelson leans towards the former end of the spectrum. But no matter how many Herbie Hancocks he gives to the masses, there will always be a host of fans who miss out and feel slighted. And, at last one of those times, the slighted featured a three-time major champion.

Speaking in Austin on Tuesday before the WGC-Match Play, Jordan Spieth was asked if he ever got stiffed for an autograph as a kid. The 24-year-old’s answer did not disappoint.

“There was a time that I was out, I think at the Byron Nelson with my dad and Phil Mickelson and Davis Love III were on the putting green. And i was yelling at them, as I now get annoyed while I’m practicing when I’m getting yelled at, and they were talking and they said, ‘One second.’

“And when they finished, Phil was pulled off in a different direction and Davis came and signed for me. And I thought for the longest time that Phil just blew me off. And Davis was the nicest guy. And Phil, I didn’t care for as much for a little while because of that.”

Good job, Phil. You doused the warmth of a poor child’s heart with that icy demeanour.

Spieth elaborated that, looking back, Mickelson was likely honoring a sponsor or media obligation. Of course, when Spieth mentioned the story to Phil, he was given a very Phil-like response.

“I knew who you were, and I didn’t want to go over there and sign it,” Spieth relayed.

Keep this interaction in mind if the duo find themselves batting on the back nine at Augusta National in two weeks.

The post Jordan Spieth once believed Phil Mickelson blew him off for an autograph appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

And to cap it off, Tanihara gave us this highlight-reel shot on the seventh hole during his consolation match with Bill Haas.

As good as it gets. #DellMatchPlay pic.twitter.com/eibmjhPogZ

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) March 26, 2017

The 38-year-old star from Japan is known for his skills with the putter — but they weren’t needed on this hole.

Not pictured is Tanihara giving gallery members a high-five on his way to the hole. We love it — he’s becoming a fan favorite in Austin. — Stephen Hennessey

Ed’s note: For the record, Tanihara was beaten 2&1 by Haas in the playoff for third.

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