WGC Match Play: Field, groups, tee times, why LIV players can't compete, FAQ

The WGC Match Play returns this week for perhaps the very final time. 

Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion of this event, which is played at Austin Country Club in Texas. 

It has not been made official, but all signs point towards the demise of the WGC concept. 

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan hinted during the Players the circuit was going to be focused on their elevated events. 

Monahan said he would never say 'anything has run its course,' but added:

The WGCs were designed as small field, no-cut events that were meant to be prestigious, which allowed qualifying via various tours around the world. 

This week, LIV Golf players aren't allowed to play. You can click here to read why. 

The big difference going forward is that the elevated events will be limited to strictly PGA Tour members. 

GolfMagic have you covered with this handy guide. 

Related links:

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• Lowry drops F-bomb at fan
• R1 report
• R2 report; Rory McIlroy with an incredible drive
• R3 report: Spieth, Rahm dumped out

Scroll down for more information!

How it works...

The field of 64 is divided into 16 four-player groups. 

Each group plays round-robin matches on Thursday and Friday. 

Competitors play 18-hole matches. Matches tied after 18 holes are not extended. 

The winner of each match receives one point. If the match is tied each player gets half a point and the loser zero. 

The player with the best record in each group advances into the round of 16 for single-elimination match play. 

In the event that two or more players in a group are on equal points totals, a stroke-play hole-by-hole playoff determines who advances. 

The semi-finals are played over Saturday morning, followed by the championship match and consolation match on Sunday afternoon. 

RELATED: WGC MATCH PLAY PRIZE MONEY

Who is in the field?

• Bezuidenhout, Christiaan
• Bradley, Keegan
• Burns, Sam
• Cantlay, Patrick
• Conners, Corey
• Davis, Cam
• Day, Jason
• English, Harris
• Finau, Tony
• Fitzpatrick, Matt
• Fleetwood, Tommy
• Fowler, Rickie
• Fox, Ryan
• Griffin, Ben
• Hadwin, Adam
• Harman, Brian
• Hatton, Tyrrell
• Henley, Russell
• Herbert, Lucas
• Hoge, Tom
• Homa, Max
• Horschel, Billy
• Hovland, Viktor
• Hughes, Mackenzie
• Im, Sungjae
• Kim, Si Woo
• Kim, Tom
• Kirk, Chris
• Kisner, Kevin
• Kitayama, Kurt
• Kuchar, Matt
• Lee, K.H.
• Lee, Min Woo
• Lowry, Shane
• Matsuyama, Hideki
• McCarthy, Denny
• McIlroy, Rory
• McNealy, Maverick
• Meronk, Adrian
• Mitchell, Keith
• Montgomery, Taylor
• Morikawa, Collin
• Noren, Alex
• Perez, Victor
• Poston, J.T.
• Power, Seamus
• Putnam, Andrew
• Rahm, Jon
• Riley, Davis
• Schauffele, Xander
• Scheffler, Scottie
• Scott, Adam
• Spaun, J.J.
• Spieth, Jordan
• Stallings, Scott
• Straka, Sepp
• Suh, Justin
• Svensson, Adam
• Taylor, Nick
• Theegala, Sahit
• Thompson, Davis
• Wise, Aaron
• Young, Cameron
• Zalatoris, Will

What are the groups for the 2023 WGC Match Play?

Group: 1

• Scottie Scheffler (1)
• Tom Kim (17),
• Alex Noren (38)
• Davis Riley (54)

Group: 2

• Jon Rahm (2)
• Billy Horschel (22)
• Keith Mitchell, (39)
• Rickie Fowler (49)

Group: 3

• Rory McIlroy (3)
• Keegan Bradley (20)
• Denny McCarthy (48)
• Scott Stallings (52)

Group: 4

• Patrick Cantlay (4)
• Brian Harman (25)
• K.H. Lee (35)
• Nick Taylor (55)

Group: 5

• Max Homa (5)
• Hideki Matsuyama (18)
• Kevin Kisner (42)
• Justin Suh (63)

Group: 6

• Xander Schauffele (6)
• Tom Hoge (23)
• Aaron Wise (40)
• Cam Davis (64)

Group: 7

• Will Zalatoris (7)
• Ryan Fox (29)
• Harris English (37)
• Andrew Putnam (56)

Group: 8

• Viktor Hovland (8)
• Chris Kirk (28)
• Si Woo Kim (34)
• Matt Kuchar (59)

Group: 9

• Collin Morikawa (9)
• Jason Day (32)
• Adam Svensson (44)
• Victor Perez (51)

Group: 10

• Tony Finau (10)
• Kurt Kitayama (19)
• Adrian Meronk (45)
• Christiaan Bezuidenhout (60)

Group: 11

• Matt Fitzpatrick (11)
• Sahith Theegala (26)
• Min Woo Lee (41)
• J.J. Spaun (61)

Group: 12

• Jordan Spieth (12)
• Shane Lowry (21)
• Taylor Montgomery (47)
• Mackenzie Hughes (50)

Group: 13

• Sam Burns (13)
• Seamus Power (30)
• Adam Scott (33)
• Adam Hadwin (53)

Group: 14

• Tyrrell Hatton (14)
• Russell Henley (31)
• Lucas Herbert (46)
• Ben Griffin (62)

Group: 15

• Cameron Young (15)
• Sepp Straka (27)
• Corey Conners (36)
• Davis Thompson (57)

Group: 16

• Sungjae Im (16)
• Tommy Fleetwood (24)
• J.T. Poston (43)
• Maverick McNealy (58)

Results from day one:

Match winners are in bold followed by the final score

• Matt Fitzpatrick vs J.J. Spaun 5&3
• Sahith Theegala vs Min Woo Lee 1up
• Xander Schauffele vs Cam Davis 4&3
• Tom Hoge vs Aaron Wise 1up 
• Tyrrell Hatton vs Ben Griffin 3&1
• Russell Henley vs Lucas Herbert 1up
• Rory McIlroy vs Scott Stallings 3&1
• Keegan Bradley vs Denny McCarthy Tied
• Tony Finau vs Christiann Bezuidenhout 2&1
• Kurt Kitayama vs Adrian Meronk 2&1
• Will Zalatoris vs Andrew Putnam 3&2
• Ryan Fox vs Harris English 2&1
• Cameron Young vs David Thompson 3&2
• Sepp Straka vs Corey Conners 6&5
• Jon Rahm vs Rickie Fowler 3&1
• Billy Horschel vs Keith Mitchell Tied
• Jordan Spieth vs Mackenzie Hughes 4&3
• Shane Lowry vs Taylor Montgomery 2&1
• Max Homa vs Justin Suh 3&2
• Hideki Matsuyama vs Kevin Kisner 1up
• Sam Burns vs Adam Hadwin 3&2
• Seamus Power vs Adam Scott 1up
• Patrick Cantlay vs Nick Taylor 1up
• Brian Harman vs K.H. Lee 3&1
• Collin Morikawa vs Victor Perez 2&1
• Jason Day vs Adam Svensson 4&2
• Viktor Hovland vs Matt Kuchar 2&1
• Chris Kirk vs Si Woo Kim 4&3
• Sungjae Im vs Maverick McNealy 8&6
• Tommy Fleetwood vs J.T. Poston 3&2
• Scottie Scheffler vs Davis Riley 1up
• Tom Kim vs Alex Noren 2&1

WGC MATCH PLAY R2 RESULTS

Group 10

T Finau (2-0-0) beat A Meronk (1-1-0) 4&3

K Kitayama (1-1-0) beat C Bezuidenhout (0-2-0) 2&1

Group 7 

H English (1-1-0) beat W Zalatoris (0-2-0) 5&3

A Putnam (2-0-0) beat R Fox (1-1-0) 2&1

Group 15 

C Young (2-0-0) beat C Conners (1-1-0) 1up

D Thompson (1-1-0) beat S Straka (0-2-0) 4&3

Group 2 

J Rahm (1-1-0) beat K Mitchell (0-1-1) 4&3

B Horschel (1-0-1) beat R Fowler (1-1-0) 3&2

Group 12

T Montgomery (2-0-0) beat J Spieth (1-1-0) 2&1

M Hughes (1-1-0) beat S Lowry (0-2-0) 4&3

Group 5 

M Homa (2-0-0) beat K Kisner (0-2-0) 3&2

J Suh (1-1-0) beat H Matsuyama (1-1-0) 3&1

Group 13 

S Burns (2-0-0) beat A Scott (1-1-0) 1up

S Power (1-1-0) beat A Hadwin (0-2-0) 1up

Group 4 

P Cantlay (2-0-0) beat KH Lee (0-2-0) 4&2

B Harman (2-0-0) beat N Taylor (0-2-0) 3&2

Group 9 

C Morikawa (1-0-1) tied with A Svensson (0-1-1)

J Day (2-0-0) beat V Perez (0-2-0) 2&1

Group 8 

SW Kim (2-0-0) beat V Hovland (0-2-0) 4&3

M Kuchar (1-0-1) tied with C Kirk (0-1-1)

Group 16

JT Poston (2-0-0) beat S Im (1-1-0) 1up

M McNealy (0-1-1) tied with T Fleetwood (0-1-1)

Group 1 

S Scheffler (2-0-0) beat A Noren (0-2-0) 5&4

D Riley (1-1-0) beat T Kim (1-1-0) 1up

Group 11 

M Fitzpatrick (1-1-0) beat MW Lee (1-1-0) 2&1

JJ Spaun (2-0-0) beat S Theegala (0-2-0) 5&4

Group 6 

X Schauffele (2-0-0) beat A Wise (1-1-0) 2&1

C Davis (1-1-0) beat T Hoge (0-2-0) 3&1

Group 14

L Herbert (2-0-0) beat T Hatton (0-2-0) 2&1

R Henley (1-1-0) beat B Griffin (1-1-0) 5&4

Group 3

R McIlroy (2-0-0) beat D McCarthy (1-1-0) 2up

K Bradley (1-0-1) beat S Stallings (0-2-0) 6&5

WATCH RORY HIT INSANE DRIVE TO 3FT AT 18!

Players eliminated after day two: 

C Bezuidenhout 

W Zalatoris

S Straka

S Lowry

K Kisner

K Mitchell

KH Lee

A Hadwin

N Taylor

V Hovland

V Perez

A Svensson 

A Noren

C Kirk

T Fleetwood

S Theegala

M McNealy

S Stallings

T Hoge 

T Hatton

D McCarthy

Day three results

• K.H. Lee vs. Nick Taylor 3&2
• Adam Svensson vs. Victor Perez 5&4
• Viktor Hovland vs. Chris Kirk 4&3
• Denny McCarthy vs Scott Stallings 1UP
• Jordan Spieth vs. Shane Lowry 2&1
• Taylor Montgomery vs. Mackenzie Hughes 6&4
• Max Homa vs. Hideki Matsuyama - Matsuyama WD
• Kevin Kisner vs. Justin Suh - 2UP
• Sam Burns vs. Seamus Power 2UP
• Adam Scott vs. Adam Hadwin 3&2
• Patrick Cantlay vs. Brian Harman 2&1
• Collin Morikawa vs. Jason Day 4&3
• Si Woo Kim vs. Matt Kuchar 7&6
• Sungjae Im vs. Tommy Fleetwood - 4&3
• J.T. Poston vs. Maverick McNealy - 3&1
• Scottie Scheffler vs. Tom Kim 3&2
• Alex Noren vs. Davis Riley - AS
• Matt Fitzpatrick vs. Sahith Theegala - 2&1
• Min Woo Lee vs. J.J. Spaun 2&1
• Xander Schauffele vs. Tom Hoge - 1UP
• Aaron Wise vs. Cam Davis - 1UP
• Tyrrell Hatton vs. Russell Henley 3&2
• Lucas Herbert vs. Ben Griffin 3&1
• Rory McIlroy vs. Keegan Bradley 3&2
• Tony Finau vs. Kurt Kitayama 4&3
• Adrian Meronk vs. Christiaan Bezuidenhout 5&4
• Will Zalatoris vs. Ryan Fox - Zalatoris WD
• Harris English vs. Andrew Putnam - 4&3
• Cameron Young vs. Sepp Straka 5&3
• Corey Conners vs. Davis Thompson - 3UP
• Jon Rahm vs. Billy Horschel - 5&4
• Keith Mitchell vs. Rickie Fowler 1UP

Playoff results:

Group 10

T. Finau, K. Kitayama, A. Meronk

Group 12

T. Montgomery, M. Hughes

WGC Match Play Round of 16 Results

S. Scheffler vs. J.T Poston 1UP 

M. Kuchar vs. J. Day 1UP

P. Cantlay vs. S. Burns 2&1

M. Homa vs. M. Hughes 3&2

B. Horschel vs. C. Young 5&4

A. Putnam vs. K. Kitayama 6&5

R. McIlroy vs. L. Herbert 2UP

X. Schauffele vs. J.J. Spaun 3&2

Quarterfinal results

S. Burns vs. M. Hughes 3&2

S. Scheffler vs. J. Day 2&1

R. McIlroy vs. X. Schauffele 1UP

C. Young vs. Kurt Kitayama 1UP

Semi-final results

S Burns def S Scheffler 21st hole

C Young def R McIlroy 19th hole

WGC Match Play Final Result

S Burns def C Young 6&5

WGC Match Play 3rd/4th Playoff

R McIlroy def S Scheffler

Why aren't LIV Golf players allowed?

The WGC Match Play is a 64-player tournament that goes strictly off the Official World Golf Ranking. 

A number of LIV Golf players are currently inside the top 66 players in the world: Cameron Smith, Joaquin Niemann, Abraham Ancer, Thomas Pieters, Talor Gooch, Harold Varner III, Mito Pereira, Dustin Johnson and Patrick Reed.

Via reporting from Sports Illustrated's Bob Harig:

HERE'S HOW MUCH THEY ARE ALL PLAYING FOR AT THE WGC MATCH PLAY: 

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