2023 Dell Match Play Early Picks: Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth Have Edge in Texas
Via Sam Greenwood/Getty Images. Pictured: Jordan Spieth of the United States plays his shot from the eighth tee during the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship on THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 12, 2023 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Fresh off a winner from last week's first look after Taylor Moore came through with the win at the Valspar, we will try to go back-to-back at the final Dell Match Play from Austin Country Club.
This will be the final edition of this event, and it's one I'll be sad to see go away because while it is tough from a betting standpoint, it has always been exciting to follow. It was always something I looked forward to as the format brought a different interest for one week a year, but I digress.
The pool and pods won't be drawn until Monday morning as each of the top-16 seeds will start each pod with a draw for the remainder of the three slots before getting to a group of 64. Each player will play every other member of their pod, with the best records in group play leading to a final 16 that will play head-to-head in single elimination until the championship.
I'm going to focus on form and some course or match play history as we won't know who has a good or bad draw until midday Monday. There are certainly players who have shown they just don't fit the course or format and others who simply excel at it, and those are the guys I'll have my focus on going into Monday.
First Look
Scottie Scheffler
Maybe it's a cop out to highlight the best and hottest player in the world, but this is an event and course that has fit his game every year he has played it. This was the course where he kept his roll going as he came back from his 2021 loss in the final to Billy Horschel.
Scheffler has a very similar year going this time around and this is a course he may know better than any other on TOUR. He has become the man to beat every time he tees it up and, even more so around this course at Austin Country Club.
Jordan Spieth
I won't go solely with the Longhorn angle this week, but these first two have to be on everyone's short list. Sure, Spieth has come up short in each of the past couple of tournaments where he has contended, but all of the signs are there for him to breakthrough at some point. I would not be surprised to see him gather his first win of 2023 in a place that means so much to him.
I would also argue that his game is possibly more suited for this type of a match-play event, where his errant shots aren't as penalizing as they can be in stroke play. Spieth has been much better with his ball striking in two of the past three weeks and with his short game, that can be a dagger to any opponent's confidence in a match-play set up.
Tyrrell Hatton
The only player playing better golf than Tyrrell Hatton over the past couple of weeks is Scheffler, the World No. 1. The Englishman did his best to post a number to beat Scheffler two weeks ago at The Players, but it simply wasn't enough.
Still, Hatton catches my eye as a player to watch out for going into this week's match play as Hatton got out of group play last year before losing to Seamus Power in the Round of 16.
The way Hatton has been striking the ball tee-to-green over the past few weeks has me believing he can make a deeper run this year, and he's certainly on my radar for when odds open Monday.
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