It is the final day of group matches at the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play Championship on Friday and by the end of what will be another busy day we will know the identity of the 16 men going forward into the knockout stages.
Although this is a match play tournament we may have a visit to stroke play for some play-offs to decide the winners of the groups which will add to the intrigue and most certainly the drama and excitement of the day.
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Day 2 Recap
It was another bad day for the finalists of last year as world numbers one and three Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm both lost and they are now out of the tournament even with a match to spare. Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson both won on Thursday to keep their hopes alive while the likes of Bubba Watson, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Ian Poulter were among a large group to pick up a second win.
It was an up and down day for us betting wise with Bubba Watson coming through but sadly Zach Johnson fell to a defeat to Ross Fisher. On the flip side of that three of our outrights, Paul Casey, Patrick Reed and Kiradech Aphibarnrat moved to two wins while Louis Oosthuizen is still alive too.
Friday Preview
Although this is still the group stage we have five straight knockout matches on Friday with the pick of them being the all-American clash between Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed. Another good match is The Masters champion Sergio Garcia against Xander Schauffele while Alex Noren and Tony Finau will meet in another knockout clash. Justin Thomas takes on Francesco Molinari in another with Webb Simpson and Si Woo Kim also in that predicament.
There are some decent other matches for us to enjoy on Friday, some of which have stuff riding on them such as Matt Kuchar against Ross Fisher and Jason Day against Louis Oosthuizen and some that are dead rubbers like Pat Perez against Gary Woodland. We’re focusing on matches with something at stake and like four bets.
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Friday Betting
Jon Rahm vs Kiradech Aphibarnrat
Match tees off at 15.36 GMT
Jon Rahm is already out of this tournament and he doesn’t strike me as the sort of player who is going to throw everything into a dead rubber which could well be to the benefit of Kiradech Aphibarnrat who still needs a half to guarantee his progression without a play-off.
The Thai has won both his matches this week so far and I see no reason why he can’t win this one either. Rahm is clearly not playing his best stuff and his putting has been ordinary by his high standards. The fact that he was outplayed by one of the shortest men in the field in Chez Reavie on Thursday speaks volumes. Aphibarnrat looks good to me and at 7/4 he’s worth a punt.
Alex Noren vs Tony Finau
Match tees off at 18.10 GMT
One of the straight knockout matches on Friday is the one between Alex Noren and Tony Finau and that should help them both as they will both have clear minds about what they need in order to go into the next round.
Both men have seen off Thomas Pieters and Kevin Na with the minimum of fuss so far this week but they have done it in different ways. For all his length Finau has only been one and two under par with just seven birdies whereas Noren is yet to make a bogey and has shot five under and seven under for his two rounds so far.
Noren is a former winner of the Paul Lawrie Match Play so he enjoys this format and I’ve got to think he will progress here especially with the wind expected to be strong on Friday.
Ian Poulter vs Kevin Chappell
Match tees off at 19.05 GMT
Ian Poulter goes into his final match knowing that a half against Kevin Chappell will see him into the knockout stage while the American will force a play-off should he come out on top in this one so both men have something to play for here.
Poulter has that look about him this week. He isn’t just motivated to go well in this tournament but he wants to qualify for The Masters and needs at least a quarter final appearance for that. He loves match play and off the back of seven birdies in his win over Daniel Berger on Thursday he’s coming into form at the right time.
Chappell shot worse than par on seven of the 12 holes he played against Tommy Fleetwood which shows that he isn’t the best when the wind blows which isn’t going to help his chances on Friday. Poulter can go 3-for-3 here.
Adam Hadwin vs Bernd Wiesberger
Match tees off at 20.11 GMT
Both Adam Hadwin and Bernd Wiesberger can still qualify for the knockout stages if they win this match and then Dustin Johnson beats Kevin Kisner in the other match. Hadwin will be guaranteed a play-off regardless of what happens in the other match if he wins here.
Wiesberger was all the news on the opening day when he took care of Johnson but what never really came out was that he was two over par for his own ball and only made two birdies that day. He only made one in a heavy defeat to Kisner and was two over again so if the Austrian is to win this he has improve.
Hadwin was largely mundane when he faced Kisner on Wednesday. He was only level par and only made two birdies but he went bogey free on Thursday and carded five under par in a destruction of Johnson. Hadwin looks in better form of the two and I expect that to translate into a Canadian win here.
Tips
WON – Back K.Aphibarnrat to beat J.Rahm for a 3/10 stake at 2.75 with BetVictor
Back him here:
WON – Back A.Noren to beat T.Finau for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with 888sport
Back him here:
WON – Back I.Poulter to beat K.Chappell for a 4/10 stake at 2.25 with LeoVegas
Back him here:
A.Hadwin to beat B.Wiesberger for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with Unibet
Back him here:
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