I say this every year but I am not a fan of doing a Daily Fantasy Golf tournament around the WGC-Match Play event.  DraftKings has chosen to do a game for this special event while Fanduel is doing a typical DFS week for the Corales Puntacana Championship.  I do love this event as a spectator but not as a DFS game.  It is another “Designated Event” with lots of top tier talent obviously.  They format the event similarly to the NCAA March Madness tournament, which makes it nearly impossible to predict with so many variables.  

The Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas plays host to this event for the seventh time in 2023.  The first thing these players will have to take into account are the winds, anyone that’s played in Texas knows that there is just something different about the winds in the Lone Star state.  The course falls from high ground to low ground from the front nine to the back.  This gives the golfers plenty of risk reward opportunities along the way.  

There will be 16 groups of four golfers, in each of these groups, every player will match up against all three other players in their group and the player with the best overall record moves to the round of 16 which will be played over the weekend.  The basic strategy is to take six players from six different groups, obviously you don't want one of your rostered players eliminating one of your other players.  This will be a different playbook.  I am giving you my pick for each of the 16 groups and why I like them.  You will see the name of the golfers and their seeding listed next to them.  I have bolded the players who I think will win.  You can mix and match these picks to build DFS lineups. 

Group: 1

Scottie Scheffler (1) - It is hard to pick against the guy who has finished second and first in his last two trips to the WGC Match Play.  He’s also the number one player in the world.  Don’t overthink this one, just go with Scottie.

Tom Kim (17)

Alex Noren (38)

Davis Riley (54)

Group: 2

Jon Rahm (2) - I was thinking about going with Horschel cause he is a previous winner of this event but I have to go with Rahm here.  It’s been a couple weeks since Rahm withdrew from THE PLAYERS with an illness and have to think he’s feeling better.  He’s finished Top 10 in this event in his last two trips. 

Billy Horschel (22)

Keith Mitchell, (39)

Rickie Fowler (49)

Group: 3

Rory McIlroy (3) - He won this event in 2015 and has a second and fourth place finish over his long history at the WGC.  I think the missed cut in his last start at THE PLAYERS will give him a little added motivation to get out of the group stage.    

Keegan Bradley (20)

Denny McCarthy (48)

Scott Stallings (52)

Group: 4

Patrick Cantlay (4) - Believe it or not, Patrick has never made it out of the group stage in this event but this has got to be the year.  He is a superior talent in this group and he has terrific experience at the Ryder Cup under his belt now.  

Brian Harman (25)

K.H. Lee (35)

Nick Taylor (55)

Group: 5

Max Homa (5)

Hideki Matsuyama (18)

Kevin Kisner (42) - I know Kevin has missed the cut in four of his last five starts but this is a totally different format and he loves it.  He has two runner up finishes and a win in his last four trips to Austin for this event.  I think he could be a sneaky value play, everyone will be on Homa.

Justin Suh (63)

Group: 6

Xander Schauffele (6) - Another surprising player who has never made it out of the group stage but this has got to be the year.  Just look at his competition and know that he’s the superior talent.  None of these guys give me a reason to think they can upset him.

Tom Hoge (23)

Aaron Wise (40)

Cam Davis (64)

Group: 7

Will Zalatoris (7)

Ryan Fox (29)

Harris English (37) - It has been a slow grind for Harris returning to action after hip surgery.  He showed flashes at Bay Hill where he finished runner up.  Harris made it out of the group stage in his debut at this event in 2014.  This could be a real sneaky play in this group and salary cap relief.

Andrew Putnam (56)

Group: 8

Viktor Hovland (8)

Chris Kirk (28)

Si Woo Kim (34)

Matt Kuchar (59) - Here is another chance for salary relief this weekend.  Matt may be the oldest man in the field but he can still get it done at the WGC.  He won this event way back in 2013 but since then he has three Top 10s, a third place, and a runner up. 

Group: 9

Collin Morikawa (9)

Jason Day (32) - He won this event in both 2014 and 2016 but not much to write home about since then.  We have spoken about his resurgence this season, he has made 10 of his last 11 cuts with five Top 10 finishes and another five finishes of 21st or better.  You have to think he could bounce back in an event he has proven successful in the past. 

Adam Svensson (44)

Victor Perez (51)

Group: 10

Tony Finau (10)

Kurt Kitayama (19) - He is still riding the high of his first career win at the Arnold Palmer.  Every other player in this group has either never played in this event or never made it out of the group stage.  While he hasn’t participated before, he’s playing good golf.

Adrian Meronk (45)

Christiaan Bezuidenhout (60)

Group: 11

Matt Fitzpatrick (11)

Sahith Theegala (26) - While this is his first trip to the WGC, I like his toughness for this event.  He has an ability to bounce back after a rough stretch.  Fitzpatrick has never made it out of the group round in six trips to the event.  Sahith has three Top 14 finishes in his last five starts.

Min Woo Lee (41)

J.J. Spaun (61)

Group: 12

Jordan Spieth (12)

Shane Lowry (21) - Shane has never made it out of the group stage at the Austin Country Club in six trips.  I know that doesn’t bode well but when you look at the other guys in this group, he’s the most stable.  Every one of these guys can implode at any point during a round.  I’m going with the safe play in this group.

Taylor Montgomery (47)

Mackenzie Hughes (50)

Group: 13

Sam Burns (13)

Seamus Power (30) - He missed his first cut in his last 10 starts at THE PLAYERS.  He’s having a terrific season with a win in Bermuda followed by a third at the Mayakoba and a fifth at the RSM.  Power finished 5th at this event in his debut last season.  Burns has never played here before and Scott has only made it out of the group stage one time in his last seven trips.

Adam Scott (33)

Adam Hadwin (53)

Group: 14

Tyrrell Hatton (14) - The dude is playing lights out golf right now.  He has three finishes of 6th or better in his last five starts.  He has also made it out of the group stage three times in his five trips to the WGC.

Russell Henley (31)

Lucas Herbert (46)

Ben Griffin (62)

Group: 15

Cameron Young (15)

Sepp Straka (27)

Corey Conners (36) - While Corey missed the cut in his last start at THE PLAYERS, it was only his second in his last 15 starts.  Corey finished third at this event last year.  We all know how good of a ball striker he is and can park the ball next to the hole at any point.  

Davis Thompson (57)

Group: 16

Sungjae Im (16)

Tommy Fleetwood (24)

J.T. Poston (43)

Maverick McNealy (58) - It looks like he’s getting his form back after his injury.  He has made back to back cuts and improved his finish in each week.  Maverick went 2-0-1 in his debut at this event last year while only Tommy has ever made it out of the group stage.

This tournament begins on Wednesday morning, this is why you're seeing this article put on Tuesday instead of my typical Wednesday morning.  I'll post an article with example lineups for the Corales Puntacana on Wednesday afternoon morning.  When you think about it, there is a real possibility that all six of your golfers won't make it to the round of 16 and that just stinks.   

I wish you Godspeed and good luck this week.

My One and Done Play is Jason Day.