WGC Match Play Preview, Picks & Analysis

BILLY HORSCHEL had just enough left in the tank to win the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play last year with help from Scottie Scheffler in a tough end to the longest week in golf.

Horschel made only one birdie in the championship match, chipping in from 40 feet on the fifth hole, and left the mistakes to the 24-year-old Scheffler in winning 2&1.

Horschel, who had never reached the weekend in four previous appearances at this World Golf Championships event, won six out of the seven matches over 122 holes he played at Austin Country Club. He won for the sixth time on the PGA Tour, and his fifth individual title.

"It was one of those days where I didn't play very good," Horschel said, still able to smile because of the outcome. "I was just grinding it out."

It ended a great run for Scheffler, a Texas graduate who had to beat three former Match Play champions and two players from the top 10 in the world to reach the championship match.

He pulled a tee shot on the par-5 sixth that required him to take a penalty drop away from the boundary fence. He pulled his approach on the par-5 12th into the water. He hooked another drive off the two-story hospitality tent left of the 15th fairway. Through it all, he managed to stay in the match.

Scheffler made par and halved the hole after the penalty drop on No. 5. Even after hitting into the water on the 12th, he had a 10-foot par putt to win the hole after Horschel hit a wedge into the bunker. Scheffler missed to stay 2 down.

Horschel hit another wedge into a back bunker on par-5 16th. This time, Horschel got up-and-down to save par and halve the hole, and he won the match when Scheffler missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th.

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

Matt Kuchar won the consolation match over Victor Perez of France. Kuchar, trying to tie Tiger Woods' record with a fourth appearance in the championship match, didn't make a putt longer than 3 feet, 6 inches in his semi-final loss to Scheffler.

Perez wasn't much better. He lost three holes on the back nine to Horschel by making bogey or worse. The wind had a lot to do with that, with gusts raging through the trees in the morning and still causing problems in the afternoon. The championship match didn't feature a birdie after Horschel's chip-in on the fifth hole.

Scheffler, who made 15 birdies in 31 holes to beat Ian Poulter and Jon Rahm on the Saturday, had only four birdies in his two matches on the final day.

Having won his second PGA Tour title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Scheffler will be looking to go one better in this year’s tournament. He is a player who makes lots of birdies so this format will suit him. 

Speaking of birdies, nobody averages more per round than Norway’s Viktor Hovland. The 24-year-old makes 5.76 birdies per round, but that is only part of the story. He has become one of the most consistent golfers on the planet, with three PGA Tour and two DP World Tour wins to his name. Oh, and he also won the Hero World Challenge just for good measure.

It says much about Hovland that after missing the cut at the Waste Management Phoenix Open he bounced straight back to finish in a tie for fourth place at the Genesis Invitational.

Justin Thomas has been quietly going about his business without setting the world on fire. Just check this out: he finished tied 18th at the CJ Cup, third at Mayakoba, tied fifth at both the Hero World Challenge and Tournament of Champions, tied 20th at the Farmers Insurance Open, tied eighth at Phoenix Open and sixth at the Genesis. He also contended at the Valspar Championship. During that run he failed to break par just twice. By his own high standards last year was not a classic. He had to deal with the death of his beloved grandfather and has a new bagman in Jim Bones Mackay, who spent so many years by the side of Phil Mickelson.

Tournament Winners

It was won in 2015 by Rory McIlroy, in 2016 by Jason Day, in 2017 by Dustin Johnson, in 2018 by Bubba Watson, in 2019 by Kevin Kisner and in 2021 by Billy Horschel. There was no tournament in 2020.

The Course

Austin Country Club was first established in 1899 before moving to its present site in 1984. It is a par 72 measuring 7,064 yards and was designed by Pete Dye, so you know that it is going to feature lots of water hazards and bunkers, as well as devilishly-fast putting surfaces.

Form Guide

Justin Thomas has been a model of consistency this season. He is a deceptively big hitter with a wondrous short game and makes birdies for fun. It is a surprise that he has never won this event. Scottie Scheffler won the Phoenix Open, his maiden PGA Tour success. Like Thomas, he has also enjoyed plenty of top-10 finishes and will believe he can go one better this year than he did 12 months ago. And it would take a brave man to bet against Viktor Hovland being there or thereabouts yet again.

To Win:

Justin Thomas. Playing well

Each Way:

Viktor Hovland. A contender every time he plays

Each Way:

Scottie Scheffler. A birdie machine