Racing Post's WGC World Match Play predictions, best bets and free golf tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club, Texas.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Golf from 2.30pm Wednesday

Best bets

Scottie Scheffler
1.5pts each-way 16-1 Betfair, BoyleSports, Paddy Power
Billy Horschel
1.5pts each-way 28-1 Betfair, BoyleSports, Paddy Power
Louis Oosthuizen
1pt each-way 28-1Betfair, BoyleSports, Paddy Power

Spring has sprung and that means golfing thoughts are moving towards Magnolia Way and a sea of azaleas at Augusta National with The Masters just two weeks away.

But there is still business for the world's top players to do and this week's WGC Match Play provides the chance to gain a massive shot of confidence before the contest for the Green Jacket starts on April 7.

Some have elected not to head to Austin with Rory McIlroy deciding next week's Texas Open will be a better preparation for his latest tilt at completing the grand slam of Majors, while Hideki Matsuyama, who will be hosting the champions dinner in Georgia, is nursing a back injury.

But others have not been put off by a potentially gruelling WGC Match Play schedule – seven rounds will be played by those who reach the last four and, from a betting perspective, it could pay to support those who have stayed the course before on a road to glory paved with potential pitfalls.

Ian Wilkerson's top tip

Scottie Scheffler 16-1

Scottie Scheffler knows what it is like to go the distance in the WGC Match Play and the man who grew up three hours up the road in Dallas and went to college in Austin will be sure of plenty of local support.

But there are other factors to suggest he can go all the way and avenge the defeat he suffered to Billy Horschel last year, when he was still a PGA Tour maiden.

Scheffler's development into one of the game's best players has been one of golf's biggest stories of the last six months and his 2021 exploits at Austin must have entered Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker's mind when he selected him for last year's match at Whistling Straits.

Scheffler rewarded him with two victories in that USA triumph and it was his success over world number one Jon Rahm in the singles that really caught the eye.

Since then, he has pushed on to another level and established himself in the world's top ten, winning a playoff against Patrick Cantlay to claim glory at the Phoenix Open and then showing a similar degree of mettle to hold off Tyrrell Hatton, Horschel and Viktor Hovland to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the beginning of the month.

Those wins in prominent PGA Tour events showed he deserves his position in the rankings and he looks set for a bold bid this week.

Next best bet

Billy Horschel 28-1

The draw bracket has already been decided so each player can track their potential path to the final and we will not be seeing a repeat of last year's showdown as Scheffler and Horschel are set to meet in the last 16 if they win their respective groups.

However, with Betfair, BoyleSports and Paddy Power paying eight places compared to the four on offer elsewhere, there is scope to back both players as, should they meet in the first knockout round, the victor would guarantee an each-way return.

Horschel displays the sort of competitive streak that bodes well for this tournament and he could also have a burning desire to prove a few people wrong after his victory last year was not enough to earn him a Ryder Cup spot.

He had not won for four years before last year's triumph but, despite having to withdraw from the final round of the Players Championship two weeks ago with a sinus infection, he has played some of his best golf since the turn of the year.

Before he was in the group challenging Scheffler at Bay Hill, he had finished 11th at the Farmers Insurance Open, sixth at the Phoenix Open and 16th at the Honda Classic so he's been no stranger to high spots on leaderboards lately.

The winner of that potential last-16 clash would be confident of going all the way.

Other selection

Louis Oosthuizen 28-1

Louis Oosthuizen is on the other side of the draw and the South African, still searching for his first Stateside victory, can make an impression at a tournament in which he tends to flourish.

The number-ten seed closed with a 76 at the Players and disappointed at the Valspar last week, but he regularly contends in the bigger US tournaments and can be a force to be reckoned with in a competition where he has reached the last 16 in five of his last seven appearances.

That course form deserves respect in an event at which successful players can come out of nowhere to reward punters.

Players to note

Dustin Johnson
DJ won all five of his matches at the Ryder Cup, triumphed in this tournament at this venue in 2016, and equalled the course record in the final round at Sawgrass, so he has to be respected.

Tommy Fleetwood
Would have earned a place in the staking plan had he not been drawn alongside Scheffler in Group Five. Performed well at the 2018 Ryder Cup and has shown signs of life with five top-25 finishes in his last six events.

Shane Lowry
While he has reached the last 16 in just one of six attempts to win the WGC Match Play – that came at Dove Mountain in 2013 – he is in great form, having finished in the top 15 in six of his last seven tournaments.

Brian Harman
Bubba Watson was the last lefty to win this title but Brian Harman reached the quarter-finals last year and was fifth at the Valspar Championship last week.

Austin Country Club course guide

Course Austin Country Club, Austin, Texas
Prize money $12m ($2.1m to winner)
Length 7,108 yards
Par 71
Field 64

Tournament format The 64 competitors have been divided into 16 groups of four and will play each of the other players in their pool on a conventional match-play basis, so not all 18 holes will have to be completed.

One point will be awarded for a win, half a point for a draw and none for a loss and these matches will take place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

The group winners will then progress to the last 16. If two or more players are level at the top of a group, sudden-death strokeplay will decide the winners.

The tournament will then be a knockout to decide the winner with the last 16 and quarter-finals played on Saturday and the semi-finals and final on Sunday. There will also be a consolation game on Sunday afternoon for the losing semi-finalists.

Tournament record Tiger Woods beat Stephen Ames 9&8 (2006 first round)

Course winners taking part Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Kevin Kisner, Billy Horschel

When to bet By 2.20pm Wednesday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Golf from 2.30pm

Time difference Texas is five hours behind the UK & Ireland (US clocks have already gone forward)

Last week - Valspar Championship 1 S Burns 22-1, 2 D Riley 300-1, T3 J Thomas 10-1, M NeSmith 250-1, T5 M Fitzpatrick 22-1, B Harman 75-1.

Course overview Austin Country Club first hosted this tournament in 2016. The straight-knockout format was dropped for the first time in 2015, replaced by three days of group competition.

The course at Austin Country Club was designed by Pete Dye and opened in 1984. It features deep pot bunkers, heavily undulating turf, dramatic fairway falls, creeks, canyons and forced carries.

There are some short par-fours which are reachable by big hitters. The back nine borders on Lake Austin, with watery graves everywhere you turn. The 2016 edition was the first US Tour event to be staged at ACC.

Story of last year Billy Horschel took the honours by beating local favourite and debutant Scottie Scheffler in the final. Victor Perez and Matt Kuchar lost in the last four.

Weather forecast It looks like being a sunny and dry week in Austin with temperatures reaching 28C. Winds should be modest but are likely to be at their strongest on Sunday.

Type of player suited to the challenge Bombers Johnson and Watson won this early on but plodders like Kisner and Kuchar have also performed well so there is no definite trend identifiable in what is a small sample size. It is easy to lean on those who have shown a competitive streak in events such as the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, and the right fighting spirit can take you a long way into the tournament.

Key attribute Power

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