Five matches to watch Thursday at WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play

AUSTIN, Texas -- A clash of styles. Two guys emerging in their mid-30s. Fire and … fire. Those are some of the storylines from five matches that caught our eye for Thursday’s second day of action at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play.

RELATED:Tee times | Scoring | Match recaps from Wednesday

Group 9: Bryson DeChambeau, USA, (9) vs. Lee Westwood, England, (47), 1:16 p.m.

A clash of styles and a matchup of the protagonists from the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, where DeChambeau came out on top. Westwood came into this week with 42 matches under his belt in this event (19-22-1) and went deep in 2012 (lost consolation match). Since the start of group play in 2015, he’s gotten out of his group once and lost playoffs to do so twice. The long-hitting DeChambeau is coming back from hand and hip injuries and admits he won’t be at full speed this week in his first TOUR start since late January. He has not made it out of pool play in two previous starts here.

Group 6: Justin Thomas, USA, (6) vs. Marc Leishman (37), Australia, 3:06 p.m.

Thomas could be building up to something, with top-10 finishes in four of his six starts in 2022. The only exceptions: a T20 at the Farmers Insurance Open, where he fell back with a rough weekend (73-74), and a T33 at THE PLAYERS, where he was on the wrong side of the draw but nonetheless authored a remarkable second-round 69 in the toughest conditions. He hasn’t made it out of pool play since finishing fourth in 2018. Leishman has made it out of pool play twice in his last four starts in this tournament but has never made the quarterfinals.

Group 12: Billy Horschel, USA, (12) vs. Tom Hoge, USA, (33), 11:48 a.m. ET

In an era being defined by the twenty-somethings, Horschel and Hoge are peaking in their mid-30s. Horschel, the former FedExCup champ, is trending nicely after finishing second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, T16 at The Honda Classic, and T6 at the WM Phoenix Open. He’s playing the best golf of his life after a 2021 that included wins in this event and the DP World Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship. So, too, is Hoge, fifth in the FedExCup after edging Jordan Spieth for his first TOUR win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. That’s where the similarities end, though, as Hoge is making his first start here, whereas Horschel is the defending champ.

Group 13: Tyrrell Hatton, ENG, (13) vs. Si Woo Kim, South Korea, (48), 12:32 p.m. ET

Hatton has advanced out of pool play in two of his last three starts in this tournament, compiling a 6-6-2 record going into Wednesday’s first round. If the cool weather and breezes persist, it may benefit him as he is best on difficult courses. Kim is an extravagant talent who became the youngest-ever winner of THE PLAYERS at 21. He’s streaky, though, and has emerged from pool play just once in four tries, only to lose 6 and 5 to Justin Thomas in 2018. Whatever happens, Hatton and Kim bear watching for not just their golf – they are two of the hottest-running players on TOUR.

Group 2: Collin Morikawa, USA, (2) vs. Sergio Garcia, Spain, (43), 11:26 a.m. ET

The seeds suggest Morikawa is favored here, but seeds can be deceiving. In his one start in this event, last year, Morikawa had a week to forget, losing to Max Homa and eventual champion Billy Horschel. He tied J.T. Poston and didn’t emerge from group play. In short, one of the game’s most ascendant talents has yet to make his mark in Austin. Garcia, on the other hand, has built his career on match play. The Ryder Cup legend was 28-22-1 at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play coming into this week, tied for fourth in the category of most matches won. He finished fourth in 2010 and was a quarterfinalist in 2019 and ’21. The putter may be the difference between two of the game’s pre-eminent ball-strikers.