The madness of March bleeds onto the PGA TOUR as the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play brackets are filled out and ready to roll.

Many brackets have been busted at the Austin Country Club since this event moved here for the 2016 edition. Pete Dye's Texas design stretches to only 7,108 yards (par-71) but provides the humps, bumps, and risk-reward shots that fit this event and the match play format.

The 64 players entered this week are drawn into 16 groups of four. Job No. 1 is to win the round robin group play, as only top point-earner from each group will advance. The Round of 16 is a true knockout format: win and advance.

As Austin welcomes the event for the seventh time in eight years, it's fitting that the defending champion is a Texan. Scottie Scheffler (+800) has played this even twice in his career and Billy Horschel (+6600) is the only player to defeat him in this event during the knockout phase. Speaking of Horschel, the 2021 winner returned last year and won his group for the second consecutive season. Pete Dye has had Horschel's number in Florida, but his ability to grind and hole putts in Texas has shined recently.

Last year Scheffler exacted his revenge on Horschel by sending him home in the Round of 16. The list of names Scheffler has taken down in just the past two seasons? Former champions Jason Day, Matt Kuchar and Horschel, plus Ryder Cup stars Jon Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick.

Knocked out in last year's final by Scheffler, 2019 champ Kevin Kisner (+12500) picked up his second runner-up medal in the last four editions. He was looking to join a very exclusive list of multiple champions in this event, which began in 1999. It's no secret that Bermuda is his preferred surface and he prefers tracks where length doesn't matter. With a win and two seconds in his last four he can't be ignored this week at this venue.

Major champion Jason Day (+3300) is the only player not named Tiger Woods to have his name on this trophy twice. The Australian won the last edition at Dove Mountain in Arizona and then picked up his second victory in the inaugural edition at ACC in 2016. When healthy – and there's nothing in his recent play to suggest he's not – his ability to get up and down and hole putts translates well in this format.

Similarly to Day, Matt Kuchar (+8000) has found success in this format regardless of which state it is played. The 2013 winner at Dove Mountain has painted the top 10 in four of his five visits in Austin. The crafty veteran was beaten by another plodder, Kisner, in the final in 2019. Last year he pushed eventual champion Scheffler to the final hole in the semis before winning the consolation match.

Oddsmaker's Extra

(events/cuts made, odds)

On the line this week is a prize pool of $20 million with the winner receiving $3.6 million plus 550 FedExCup points. The field of 64 has been split into 16 groups of four players. The winner of each group at the conclusion of the round robin play will advance to the knockout stage (Round of 16) which begins Saturday.

In the group stage players will receive 1 point for winning their match, a half-point for tying their match and zero points for losing. If tied after three matches, a sudden-death playoff will be used to break the tie to determine who advances. In the knockout rounds, extra holes will be used to determine who wins and advances to the next round.

-Odds courtesy of BETMGM.COM-

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