Here’s a quick look at each of the 32 matches scheduled for today’s (WED) first round of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Match Play at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.
JUSTIN ROSE, England (0-0) vs. MARC LEISHMAN, Australia (0-0), Group 6, 12:50 PM ET
Fresh off his win in New Orleans last week, Rose certainly is in form. Meanwhile, Leishman’s only top 10 this season came in November at the HSBC Champions. He just returned to action last week after his wife suffered a medical scare.
RYAN PALMER, USA (0-0) vs. ANIRBAN LAHIRI, India (0-0), Group 6, 1 PM ET
Palmer has been consistently good this season, with six top-20 finishes in nine PGA TOUR starts. Lahiri, making his Cadillac Match Play debut, has been great on the Asian Tour but has struggled to match that success in his four starts in the U.S.
JIMMY WALKER, USA (0-0) vs. GARY WOODLAND, USA (0-0), Group 11, 1:10 PM ET
Walker already has two wins this season but hasn’t made his presence felt in six career World Golf Championships starts. Woodland has not won a match in two previous Match Play appearances and has missed four cuts in his last seven starts.
Rory McIlroy teeing off during the pro-am ahead of today’s commencing WGC – Cadillac Match-Play Championship. (Photo – Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)
IAN POULTER, England (0-0) vs. WEBB SIMPSON, USA (0-0), Group 11, 1:20 PM ET
Poulter’s a match play dynamo not only in this event — he’s 22-12 and has advanced to the semifinals or better three times — but also in the Ryder Cup. Simpson’s match play record isn’t as stout but he does have success in San Francisco, having won the 2012 U.S. Open at nearby Olympic Club.
HENRIK STENSON, Sweden (0-0) vs. JOHN SENDEN, Australia (0-0), Group 3, 1:30 PM ET
Since winning the Cadillac Match Play in 2008, Stenson’s match record is 1-5. Still, he’s in form coming in, with seven top-4 finishes in his last 12 starts worldwide. Senden, meanwhile, has missed the cut in five of his last seven starts.
BILL HAAS, USA (0-0), USA vs. BRENDON TODD, USA (0-0), Group 3, 1:40 PM ET
Haas is just 1-4 in this event but he did win earlier this year in California at the Humana Challenge. Todd is making his first Cadillac Match Play appearance and comes off his best finish of the year, a fourth at the RBC Heritage.
MATT KUCHAR, USA (0-0) vs. BEN MARTIN, USA (0-0), Group 14, 1:50 PM ET
Kuchar’s fifth-place finish at the RBC Heritage ended a string of six straight non top-10 finishes for him; that’s an eternity in “Kooch” years. He knows how to thrive in match play, with a 17-4 record and a win in 2013. Martin, making his first WGC start, hasn’t done much since winning the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open last fall.
HUNTER MAHAN, USA (0-0) vs. STEPHEN GALLACHER, Scotland (0-0), Group 14, 2 PM ET
In 14 starts since winning The Barclays, Mahan has just two top-10s. But like Kuchar, who’s in his group, Mahan knows how to win here, with a 17-6 record and a win in 2012. Gallacher — 0-2 in his two Match Play starts — has not fared well in his few appearances on American soil.
JASON DAY, Australia (0-0) vs. CHARLEY HOFFMAN, USA (0-0), Group 7, 2:10 PM ET
Day’s the defending champ and his Match Play record is 14-3. Oh, and he won the Farmers Insurance Open in February. He’s definitely one to watch this week. Hoffman doesn’t have as much Match Play experience — just a single loss four years ago — but he did play well at the Masters.
ZACH JOHNSON, USA (0-0) vs. BRANDEN GRACE, South Africa (0-0), Group 7, 2:20 PM ET
Since the start of the calendar year, Johnson has four quiet top-10s. Although he reached the semifinals in 2006, his recent play in this event has been less impressive, with four straight losses. Grace has three wins in his last 11 starts around the world.
SERGIO GARCIA, Spain (0-0) vs. TOMMY FLEETWOOD, England (0-0), Group 10, 2:30 PM ET
Garcia reached the semfinals in 2010, his best result in 12 appearances. Garcia has made 44 starts in WGC events and is still seeking his first win. Fleetwood, meanwhile, is making his fourth WGC start and his first in the Cadillac Match Play.
JAMIE DONALDSON, Wales (0-0) vs. BERND WIESBERGER, Austria (0-0), Group 10, 2:40 PM ET
Donaldson, who clinched the Ryder Cup for Europe last year, has lost both of his previous Cadillac Match Play matches. He’s missed the cut in three of his last four PGA TOUR starts. Wiesberger had been red-hot earlier this season in Europe, but since coming to America for his last five starts, he’s cooled off.
JORDAN SPIETH, USA (0-0), vs. MIKKO ILONEN, Finland (0-0), Group 2, 2:50 PM ET
The Masters champ reached the quarterfinals in his first Match Play start last year, and he’s certainly in form going into this week. Ilonen made the field when Phil Mickelson withdrew and he hasn’t posted a top-10 in his last 11 starts. Still, he has match play experience, having won the Volvo World Match Play Championship last year.
LEE WESTWOOD, England (0-0) vs. MATT EVERY, USA (0-0), Group 2, 3 PM ET
This event hasn’t always been kind to Westwood, who’s 11-15, with four of those wins coming in 2012 when he reached the semifinals. In his last 29 starts, Every has just two top-10s — his two wins at Bay Hill. This is his first Match Play start.
PATRICK REED, USA (0-0) vs. ANDY SULLIVAN, England (0-0), Group 15, 3:10 PM ET
Reed showed his fire at the Ryder Cup last year and should make some noise this week in his second Match Play start. Sullivan won the Joburg Open on the European team, his second win in six starts, but has struggled to maintain that form.
RYAN MOORE, USA (0-0) vs. DANNY WILLETT, England (0-0), Group 15, 3:20 PM ET
Moore joins Matt Kuchar as the only past U.S. Amateur champs in the field this week, but he doesn’t have much success in this event. Willett, winner of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, is making his Cadillac Match Play debut.
JIM FURYK, USA (0-0) vs. GEORGE COETZEE, South Africa (0-0), Group 5, 3:30 PM ET
Furyk should be confident after ending a victory drought of nearly five years at the RBC Heritage in his last start. Coetzee is also a recent winner, picking up his second European Tour title at the Tshwane Open in his native South Africa last month and tying for third in his next start.
MARTIN KAYMER, Germany (0-0) vs. THONGCHAI JAIDEE, Thailand, Group 5, 3:40 PM ET
The reigning PLAYERS and U.S. Open champ has little to show for 2015. He posted a pair of top-four finishes in the Middle East in January but hasn’t finished higher than 31st since. Jaidee hasn’t missed a cut this year and has two top-10 finishes, including a tie for second at the True Thailand Classic.
J.B. HOLMES, USA (0-0) vs. MARC WARREN, Scotland (0-0), Group 12, 3:50 PM ET
Holmes has played extremely well this season, winning the Shell Houston Open in a playoff and finishing second twice, including once more in sudden death. Warren, who ended a seven-year European Tour victory drought last year, hasn’t finished worse than 25th in his last five starts. The Scot also went within a whisker of qualifying for this year’s Masters with a gutsy showing in the Valero Texas Open.
BROOKS KOEPKA, USA, (0-0) vs. RUSSELL HENLEY, USA (0-0), Group 12, 4 PM ET
Koepka, one of the biggest hitters on TOUR, picked up his first win at the Waste Management Phoenix Open earlier this year, but has battled a rib injury of late and hasn’t finished higher than 17th since that debut victory. Henley, a two-time TOUR winner with three top-10s this season, is making his second match play start.
BUBBA WATSON, USA (0-0) vs. MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ, Spain, Group 4, 4:10 PM ET
Forget that tie for 38th in his second title defense at the Masters. Watson hasn’t finished worse than 14th in five other TOUR starts this year, including a trio of top-threes, two of which came in World Golf Championships. Jimenez, the ageless Spaniard, lost in the first round last year. He has one win on the Champions Tour in 2015.
LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN, South Africa (0-0) vs. KEEGAN BRADLEY, USA, Group 4, 4:20 PM ET
Bradley, who thrives in match play, has two top-five finishes in his last seven TOUR starts and is looking for his first win in nearly three years. A major champion like Bradley, Oosthuizen has three top-10s on TOUR this year, including a T7 in his last start at the RBC Heritage.
RICKIE FOWLER, USA (0-0) vs. HARRIS ENGLISH, USA, Group 13, 4:30 PM ET
Fowler has had an indifferent 2014-15 season, tying for third at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in November but nothing lower than two ties for 12th since. English, a two-time TOUR champ, contended for his third several times early in the year, losing in a playoff at the Farmers Insurance Open and tying for third at the Sony Open.
GRAEME McDOWELL, Northern Ireland (0-0) vs. SHANE LOWRY, Ireland (0-0), Group 13, 4:40 PM ET
These two know each other well. McDowell has reached the quarterfinals in each of the last two Cadillac Match Plays but he hasn’t finished higher than a tie for 26th in stroke play in 2015. Lowry has played seven events on this side of the Atlantic in a quest to get his TOUR card. His best finish came at the Farmers Insurance Open where he tied for seventh. However keen observers will remember Lowry knocked out Rory McIlroy in the first round a few years back.
DUSTIN JOHNSON, USA (0-0) vs. MATT JONES, Australia (0-0), Group 8, 4:50 PM ET
Match play hasn’t been kind to Johnson, who only advanced past the first round once in six previous starts. But he comes in playing extremely well with five top-10s, including a win at the Cadillac Championship in eight starts. Jones, who finished third at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, should be well rested — this is his first start since missing the cut at the Shell Houston Open.
VICTOR DUBIUSSON, France (0-0) vs. CHARL SCHWARTZEL, South Africa (0-0), Group 8, 5 p.m. ET
Dubuisson was the magic man last year, extracating himself from predicament after predicament in advancing to the championship match. He’s been relatively quiet this season, though, with a tie for fourth in Abu Dhabi his best finish. Schwartzel has had a relatively disappointing year — in six starts worldwide since his two European Tour top-10s in January, the South African’s best finish is a tie for 38th at the Masters.
ADAM SCOTT, Australia (0-0) vs. FRANCESCO MOLINARI, France (0-0), Group 9, 5:10 PM ET
Scott’s best finishes have come in the first two World Golf Championships where he tied for 12th at the HSBC Champions and fourth at the Cadillac Championship. Meanwhile, Molinari’s first season as a full member of the PGA TOUR has been a mixed bag with three top-25 finishes, including a tie for 10th at the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation.
CHRIS KIRK, USA (0-0) vs. PAUL CASEY, England, Group 9, 5:20 PM ET
Kirk, who is playing in his second Cadillac Match Play, was one of the odd men out last year when Tom Watson made his Ryder Cup picks. He’s had three top-10s this season, most recently a tie for eighth at the Valero Texas Open. Casey, a two-time runner-up in this event, returns with confidence. He has a playoff loss and a tie for third among his four top-10s this season.
RORY McILROY, Northern Ireland (0-0) vs. JASON DUFNER, USA (0-0), Group 1, 5:30 PM ET
McIlroy, the world No. 1 and top seed this year, comes to San Francisco looking for his first TOUR win since he captured the last two majors of 2014. But he has one win and a runner-up finish in the Middle East in 2015, as well as three finishes of 11th or better in four starts in the States. He has reached the championship match once in six Cadillac Match Play starts. Dufner, on the other hand, could jump start his season with a strong run this week — his last top-10 came way back at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in November.
BILLY HORSCHEL, USA (0-0) vs. BRANDT SNEDEKER, USA (0-0), Group 1, 5:40 PM ET
This match features the reigning FedExCup champ in Horschel against the 2012 winner in Snedeker. Of the two, Snedeker has had more success in 2014-15 with four top-10s, including a win at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Horschel’s lone top-10 came at the Valero Texas Open where he tied for third but he can be explosive.
HIDEKI MATSUYAMA, Japan (0-0) vs. Alexander Levy, France (0-0), Group 16, 5:50 PM ET
Matsuyama’s steady tee-to-green game should serve him well this week. He finished solo fifth in his last start at the Masters, one of five top-five finishes during the 2014-15 campaign. Levy enters his first Cadillac Match Play on the heels of a tie for third Sunday at the Volvo China Open, his only top-10 and just his second top-20 finish of the season.
KEVIN NA, USA (0-0) vs. JOOST LUITEN, The Netherlands (0-0), Group 16, 6 PM ET
Na has quietly been playing very well this year with top-20s in his last five events, including a tie for 12th at the Masters in his last start. Luiten’s best finish on either side of the Atlantic this year has been a tie for 11th at The Honda Classic.
* Thanks to www.pgatour.com
