64 players headed to Texas for the WGC Dell Match Play earlier in the week and going into the final day of the tournament just four players remain. Those four players are guaranteed to play another 36 holes to decide the finishing positions in the tournament.
We lost some big names on Saturday as we were always going to with the quality of player who had gone through. Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Dustin Johnson, Bill Haas, Matt Kuchar, Brooks Koepka and Zach Johnson were all star players who exited the competition over Saturday’s two rounds.
That leaves us with four and a semi-final line up which sees Rory McIlroy taking on Jason Day in the game we all want to see followed by a match between Louis Oosthuizen and the event’s surprise package Rafa Cabrera-Bello.
McIlroy and Day have the potential to play out a real cracker on a golf course which plays well for both and allows us to see the full range of stunning golf shots they have at their disposal. In terms of distance, short game, accuracy and all the other necessary attributes there is nothing between them so this should be a fantastic match to watch.
McIlroy has shown lapses of concentration at times this week but I would expect him to be extra focused in this match for a couple of reasons. Firstly Day has just regained top spot in the world rankings and McIlroy will want to keep him in his sights in that regard and secondly he is 36 holes away from being only the second man after Tiger Woods to retain the title.
One area where McIlroy could get an advantage is fitness. We all know Rory is an extremely fit guy who can do 36 holes back to back no problem. Usually Day is too but his back went on him during the first game of the tournament and you’ve got to think 36 tough holes on Saturday is the last thing that needed so it would only be natural for him to be a bit stiff and to tire the longer this round goes on.
That could be quite significant actually and bearing that in mind I will take McIlroy to win one of the highest profile matches we’ve seen in this tournament for quite some time.
The other semi-final has a trappy feel about it. In terms of comfort at this level and quality of game you would think Louis Oosthuizen is a good thing here but pressure can work in funny ways and really Cabrera-Bello isn’t under any at all.
Of course it would be a massive thing for his career to win this tournament now but he has opened so many doors to enhance his career as it is. He is in the top 50 in the world rankings as a result of this week which means he is eligible for The Masters and he has shown enough game to get sponsors invitations and all the other things he needs to be a global golfer.
Oosthuizen’s match play record is there for all to see. He has twice been a quarter finalist in this tournament since the format changed and on Saturday he took care of two of the best players in the world in Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson to prove that he is playing very well.
Cabrera-Bello has had a fantastic run so far this week but without wishing to diminish any of his achievements there is a question mark as to what he has beaten. In fairness wins over Kevin Kisner and Hideki Matsuyama were eye catching but they were group matches. They weren’t win or go home games.
On Saturday the Spaniard beat an injured Ben An and then Ryan Moore who only made one birdie in the 17 holes they played. In truth all RCB has done is take advantage of a soft draw. I think his run ends here but Oosthuizen is long odds on, justifiably so, so I’ll sit the second semi out.
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