WGC-Cadillac Match Play preview and draw in full

The WGC Match Play is always an event I look forward to for a number of reasons.

It features the best players in the world, it breaks the relentless monotony of 72-hole stroke play and it is completely unpredictable.

Despite a slight format change this year, unfortunately the tournament does lose a bit of momentum as it reaches a climax but it always throws up plenty of drama and excitement along the way.

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Attempting to pick a winner is very difficult and every match can go either way. That is the beauty of match play.

Sometimes a player can play brilliantly and lose or just par his way to a comfortable victory.

So when attempting to pick a winner, the only place to really look is match play form (but even that can sometimes go out of the window…)

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In the field we have the following previous winners: Jason Day, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson.

Former finalists in the field include: Victor Dubuisson, Paul Casey, Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy.

Note that all these players have either Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup pedigree.
I’ll challenge anyone to successfully pick out a winner in each of the first round matches" Others with decent Ryder Cup records include Justin Rose, Lee Westwood, Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia, Jimmy Walker and Patrick Reed.

When looking at the Volvo World Match Play we have Poulter, McDowell, Westwood and Casey as former champions but last year’s winner, Mikko Ilonen upset the odds beating Stenson 3&1 in the final.

If your a gambling man, my advice would be to hedge your bets. I’ll challenge anyone to successfully pick out a winner in each of the first round matches as I guarantee there will be at least a couple of upsets.

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THE GROUPS AND DRAW IN FULL

Group 1: Rory McIlroy, Billy Horschel, Brandt Snedeker, Jason Dufner 

Group 2: Jordan Spieth, Lee Westwood, Matt Every, Mikko Ilonen

Group 3: Henrik Stenson, Bill Haas, Brendon Todd, John Senden 

Group 4: Bubba Watson, Louis Oosthuizen, Keegan Bradley, Miguel Angel Jimenez 

Group 5: Jim Furyk, Martin Kaymer, Thongchai Jaidee, George Coetzee 

Group 6: Justin Rose, Ryan Palmer, Anirban Lahiri, Marc Leishman 

Group 7: Jason Day, Zach Johnson, Branden Grace, Charley Hoffman 

Group 8: Dustin Johnson, Victor Dubuisson, Charl Schwartzel, Matt Jones 

Group 9: Adam Scott, Chris Kirk, Paul Casey, Francesco Molinari 

Group 10: Sergio Garcia, Jamie Donaldson, Bernd Wiesberger,Tommy Fleetwood 

Group 11: Jimmy Walker, Ian Poulter, Webb Simpson, Gary Woodland

Group 12: JB Holmes, Brooks Koepka, Russell Henley, Marc Warren 

Group 13: Rickie Fowler, Graeme McDowell, Shane Lowry, Harris English 

Group 14: Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Stephen Gallacher, Ben Martin

Group 15: Patrick Reed, Ryan Moore, Danny Willett, Andy Sullivan 

Group 16: Hideki Matsuyama, Kevin Na, Joost Luiten, Alexander Levy 

ROUND 1

Round 1, Wednesday McIlroy v Dufner, Horschel v Snedeker

Round 1, Wednesday – Spieth v Ilonen, Westwood v Every

Round 1, Wednesday – Stenson v Senden, Haas v Todd

Round 1, Wednesday – Watson v Jimenez, Oosthuizen v Bradley

Round 1, Wednesday – Furyk v Coetzee, Kaymer v Jaidee

Round 1, Wednesday – Rose v Leishman, Palmer v Lahiri

Round 1, Wednesday – Day v Hoffman, Johnson v Grace

Round 1, Wednesday – Johnson v Jones, Dubuisson v Schwartzel

Round 1, Wednesday – Garcia v Fleetwood, Donaldson v Wiesberger

Round 1, Wednesday – Scott v Molinari, Kirk v Casey

Round 1, Wednesday – Walker v Woodland, Poulter v Simpson

Round 1, Wednesday – Holmes v Warren, Koepka v Henley

Round 1, Wednesday – Fowler v English, McDowell v Lowry

Round 1, Wednesday – Reed v Sullivan, Moore v Willett

Round 1, Wednesday – Matsuyama v Levy, Na v Luiten

ROUND 2

Round 2, Thursday – McIlroy v Snedeker, Horschel v Dufner

Round 2, Thursday – Spieth v Every, Westwood v Ilonen

Round 2, Thursday – Stenson v Todd, Haas v Senden

Round 2, Thursday – Watson v Bradley, Oosthuizen v Jimenez

Round 2, Thursday – Furyk v Jaidee, Kaymer v Coetzee

Round 2, Thursday – Rose v Lahiri, Palmer v Leishman

Round 2, Thursday – Day v Grace, Johnson v Hoffman

Round 2, Thursday – Johnson v Schwartzel, Dubuisson v Jones

Round 2, Thursday – Scott v Casey, Kirk v Molinari

Round 2, Thursday – Garcia v Wiesberger, Donaldson v Fleetwood

Round 2, Thursday – Walker v Simpson, Poulter v Woodland

Round 2, Thursday – Holmes v Henley, Koepka v Warren

Round 2, Thursday – Fowler v Lowry, McDowell v English

Round 2, Thursday – Kuchar v Gallacher, Mahan v Martin

Round 2, Thursday – Reed v Willett, Moore v Sullivan

Round 2, Thursday – Matsuyama v Luiten, Na v Levy

ROUND 3

Round 3, Friday – McIlroy v Horschel, Snedeker v Dufner

Round 3, Friday – Spieth v Westwood, Every v Ilonen

Round 3, Friday – Stenson v Haas, Todd v Senden

Round 3, Friday – Watson v Oosthuizen, Bradley v Jimenez

Round 3, Friday – Furyk v Kaymer, Jaidee v Coetzee

Round 3, Friday – Rose v Palmer, Lahiri v Leishman

Round 3, Friday – Day v Johnson, Grace v Hoffman

Round 3, Friday – Johnson v Dubuisson, Schwartzel v Jones

Round 3, Friday – Scott v Kirk, Casey v Molinari

Round 3, Friday – Garcia v Donaldson, Wiesberger v Fleetwood

Round 3, Friday – Walker v Poulter, Simpson v Woodland

Round 3, Friday – Holmes v Koepka, Henley v Warren

Round 3, Friday – Fowler v McDowell, Lowry v English

Round 3, Friday – Kuchar v Mahan, Gallacher v Martin

Round 3, Friday – Reed v Moore, Willett v Sullivan

Round 3, Friday – Matsuyama v Na, Luiten v Levy

Round of 16, Saturday morning:

Winner Group 1 v Winner Group 16

Winner Group 2 v Winner Group 15

Winner Group 3 v Winner Group 14

Winner Group 4 v Winner Group 13

Winner Group 5 v Winner Group 12

Winner Group 6 v Winner Group 11

Winner Group 7 v Winner Group 10

Winner Group 8 v Winner Group 9

Quarter-finals, Saturday afternoon
 
Semi-finals, Sunday morning

Consolation match, Sunday afternoon

Championship match, Sunday afternoon

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