The first day of action at the WGC Dell Matchplay sees the 64 players gracing the Austin Country Club course competitively for the first time this week with everyone having a common goal – win and ease the pressure for the matches to come!
The way the group draw and schedule is designed we have to wait until later in the week for the two top seeds in each section to go at it. Wednesday sees the highest ranked player in the group playing the lowest ranked while the middle two ranked also go against each other.
The pick of the matches on the card might well be the first one to tee off as Rory McIlroy meets Ian Poulter while Jordan Spieth vs Matt Fitzpatrick, Patrick Reed vs Bubba Watson and Justin Thomas vs Matt Kuchar are all matches that appeal. In terms of a bet there are two I like for the opening day.
Hideki Matsuyama vs Carlos Ortiz
Match tees off at 14.24 GMT
The first match which catches my attention from a betting point of view is one which involves two men who could very well be teammates in the Presidents Cup next year when Hideki Matsuyama goes up against Carlos Ortiz over in Group 10.
You would think Matsuyama would have a good record around here but that isn’t actually the case and in the last couple of attempts he hasn’t done much at all. While he won’t be missing many fairways, the rest of his game doesn’t look as strong as it did a couple of years ago which opens the door for the Mexican, who has good memories of Texas. He won the Houston Open here last year and is one of the best putters on the PGA Tour. His work off the tee and around the greens can’t be understated either and you have to scramble well around here. That is very much the weak part of the Japanese ace’s armoury so this looks a good match for Ortiz at a nice price.
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Matthew Wolff vs Corey Conners
Match tees off at 15.08 GMT
The second match which catches my eye comes from Group 15 which looks a good group. Matthew Fitzpatrick and Jordan Spieth are the headliners in this section so Matthew Wolff and Corey Conners both know this is a match they can’t afford to lose if they hope to progress.
The big question going into this match is whether Wolff is healthy. He has withdrawn from events this season having carded shocking rounds due to injury and while he is still smacking it miles there has been nothing in the rest of his game to get excited about. He might just be here to pick up some prize money. With The Masters in a couple of weeks I can’t see him pushing himself but even if he does his short game is far too weak anyway. Conners is a class act. If Collin Morikawa wasn’t on the scene the Canadian would hold leading claims at being the best iron player in the world right now. He isn’t too bad on the greens either, as we saw at Bay Hill and TPC Sawgrass, and I think he has the potential to take Wolff apart here regardless of the fitness of the American.
Tips
WON – Back C.Ortiz to beat H.Matsuyama for a 3/10 stake at 2.50 with Coral
Back him here:
Back C.Conners to beat M.Wolff for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with William Hill
Back him here:
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