DeChambeau hasn’t played since January. On his first swing, at least, it showed.
Bryson DeChambeau made his return to competitive golf on Wednesday for the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play after missing two months of action. His swing at the first tee box could’ve gone better.
Before we go any further and dissect this absolutely inexplicable drive, it’s worth noting the reason DeChambeau hasn’t been on tour lately is because he was busy rehabbing a fractured hamate bone in his left hand and a torn labrum in his left hip. The 28-year-old reportedly hadn’t even tried using his irons until a week ago and admitted he won’t be going full tilt at the Austin, Texas tournament.
Officially, DeChambeau drove 342 yards and out of bounds to the right. Had his shot stayed playable at that distance, he would’ve had a look at the green on a tricky par 4 at Austin Country Club. DeChambeau found a tent off the cart path and came to a rest next to an outlet underneath a folding table instead.
Again. Yikes.
Bryson posted a video of himself testing out his driver on Monday, and if that was supposed to inspire any confidence heading into his first round matchup against Richard Bland, it may have been deflated at hole No. 1.
Fortunately, the error only led to a bogey. After take a drop, DeChambeau used three more strokes to halve the hole and reset himself at the No. 2 tee box.
Tipico Sportsbook listed DeChambeau at +4000 to win this weekend before play began. Anyone who grabbed those odds couldn’t have been too comforted by his start to the day.
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One player has dominated the WGCs over the years, having won three times as many titles as the golfer in second place.
The World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play starts on Wednesday at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas. The event offers a unique format for the PGA Tour, allowing players to go head-to-head for once on the schedule.
The first three WGCs started in 1999 and there have been 83 in all. There are currently four WGC events each season, although the WGC-HSBC Champions in China was postponed in 2021 for a second year in a row due to COVID.
One player has dominated the WGCs over the years, having won three times as many titles as the golfer in second place.
Check out who’s playing (and who’s not) at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas.
The field is set for the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas, next week.
There will be 64 players in the bracket and there will only be five golfers who are eligible who will not be there. Austin Country Club will once again host the five-day tournament, March 24-28.
The top 11 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are set to play, including the top-ranked player in the world and Masters and FedEx Cup champion Dustin Johnson. Justin Thomas, ranked second and fresh off his Players Championship is also set to play. Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa and Bryson DeChambeau round out the current top 5 in the ranking.
Defending champion Kevin Kisner will be back. He won the event in 2019; the 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID pandemic. Also, No. 69-ranked Dylan Frittelli is in the field. He gets the final spot because of the five players ranked ahead of him who will not be heading to Austin this week.
The final seeds will be determined based on the Official World Golf Ranking as of Monday, and that will finalize the bracket, which will be unveiled live on the PGA Tour’s digital platforms on Monday, March 22 at 11 a.m. ET.
Memphis’ premier golf tournament is still on and, for now, fans will be able to watch the world’s best golfers in person at TPC Southwind The World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational will take place July 30-Aug. 2, the PGA Tour announced …
Memphis’ premier golf tournament is still on and, for now, fans will be able to watch the world’s best golfers in person at TPC Southwind
“We’re moving forward that we will have a tournament with fans,” WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational executive director Darrell Smith told the Memphis Commercial-Appeal.
The tournament was moved back four weeks from its original date of July 2-5 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The PGA Tour said that its schedule would resume with its first four events closed to the public, starting with the Charles Schwab Challenge on June 11-14 in Fort Worth, Texas.
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In a statement, the Tour said it will “continually review available COVID-19-related protocols that could be implemented at PGA Tour events to ensure the health and well-being for all involved.”
Smith added that while he remains optimistic this year’s tournament will proceed in a similar fashion to last year, he will adjust to whatever guidelines are set by local and national health organizations.
“The key point is we are going to not do anything that’s not safe for our players, our sponsors, our volunteers and the community of Memphis,” Smith said. “We will be 100 percent aligned with local health department officials, CDC and World Health Organization as we move forward in the planning. We want to be responsible and thoughtful and transparent with all the different constituents as we move forward with the planning of the event.”
Last year, Brooks Koepka won by three strokes after being paired with Rory McIlroy for the final round.
Tickets remain on sale at the tournament website. Smith acknowledged the tournament would be willing to work with customers who already purchased tickets but can’t make it now due to the date change.
“It’s extremely exciting for us to know that while none of us know exactly what’s going to happen, this provides us four additional weeks of planning, four additional weeks of time,” Smith said, “and it puts us in the best position to put on a tournament that the city of Memphis and the entire surrounding area deserves.”
Evan Barnes is a staffer for the Memphis Commercial-Appeal, part of the USA Today Network. You can follow Evan Barnes on Twitter (@Evan_B) or by email at evan.barnes@commercialappeal.com
Analyzing the best fantasy golf options for the 2020 WGC-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec.
Club de Golf Chapultepec hosts the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship for the fourth straight year and eight of the top-10 golfers in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings are in attendance. All 72 members of the field will play all four rounds, barring withdrawal, at the no-cut event. Here, we break down the best fantasy golf picks for the WGC-Mexico Championship.
WGC-Mexico Championship: Fantasy Golf Top 30
February 13, 2020; Pacific Palisades, California, USA; Dustin Johnson hits from the fourth hole tee box during the first round of The Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. (Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports)
Here are my top-30 fantasy golf rankings for the 2020 WGC-Mexico Championship at Club de Golf Chapultepec.
30. Jordan Spieth
Spieth was T-12 in 2017 and T-14 in 2018 before slipping to T-54 last year. He was coming off a great all-around performance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am before a dismal tee-to-green display at the Genesis Invitational resulted in a T-59th-place finish.
29. Cameron Smith
Six weeks removed from his win at the Sony Open in Hawaii, Smith returns to Mexico following a T-6 last year. He has missed the cut in each of his last two events, but he at least gained 1.9 strokes on approach last week.
28. Danny Willett
Ignore Willett’s T-3 at “this event” in 2016, as it came at Doral Golf Resort in Florida when the tournament was known as the WGC-Cadillac Championship. He also missed the cut last week, but he won the BMW PGA Championship in September to remind people he can still compete in strong fields.
27. Rafa Cabrera Bello
RCB tied for third in 2018 and 19th last year. He had a strong T-17 showing last week after missing the cut at Pebble Beach in his 2020 North American debut.
26. Sungjae Im
Im’s missed cut last week snapped a worldwide streak of 15 straight events in which he played all four rounds dating back to the Open Championship. He’s assured four rounds this week.
Jan 19, 2020; La Quinta, California, USA; Abraham Ancer gestures after finishing his final round of The American Express golf tournament at Stadium course at PGA West. (Photo Credit: Orlando Ramirez – USA TODAY Sports)
25. Abraham Ancer
The top golfer in the field from Mexico, Ancer has disappointing results of a T-52 and T-39 in the last two years at this event. He’s coming off of back-to-back strong putting performances, and he has a great approach game.
24. Byeong Hun An
An has been off since a ninth-place finish at the Waste Manage Phoenix Open. Putting, like usual, was his problem, as he ranked among the best in the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and SG: Around-the-Green. He’s a great scrambler and is well-equipped for the tight fairways of Chapultepec.
23. Bubba Watson
Watson picked up second- and third-place finishes in the last two years this event was held at Doral. His best showing in three years in Mexico was a T-9 in 2018. He’s coming off a rare missed cut at the Genesis, but it was almost entirely the result of a horrid and uncharacteristic putting performance.
22. Chez Reavie
Reavie is one of the best in the field on SG: Approach, and he’s good from this week’s key proximity distance of 150-175 yards. He has put together back-to-back strong performances to snap a skid of three straight missed cuts.
21. Corey Conners
Conners will make his debut in Mexico following his win at last year’s Valero Texas Open. He’s second in the field in Opportunities Gained and is an expert ball-striker.
20. Kevin Kisner
Kisner’s lone career WGC win was at the 2019 Match Play. He has finished outside the top 25 each of the last two years here following an 11th-place finish in Mexico in 2017.
19. Brandt Snedeker
Snedeker has skipped this event each of the last two years following a T-7 finish in 2017. He missed the cut at Pebble Beach and Phoenix following a third-place result at the Farmers Insurance Open. His approach game and play around the greens has remained strong.
Jul 19, 2019; Portrush, IRL; Tyrrell Hatton reacts to his tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Portrush Golf Club – Dunluce Course. (Photo Credit: Ian Rutherford – USA TODAY Sports)
18. Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton will play an event in North America for the first time since The Northern Trust in mid-August. He has since won the Turkish Airlines Open for his fourth career victory and he’ll return to competitive play for the first time since late November.
17. Collin Morikawa
Morikawa has made the cut in all 18 of his PGA Tour events as a professional. He’ll participate in his first WGC event this week, after his first career win came at the alternate Barracuda Championship running the same week as the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.
16. Sergio Garcia
Sergio tied for sixth last year following a T-7 in 2018 and a T-12 in 2017. The 2017 Masters champion has never won a WGC event, but he has been a frequent top-10 finisher in no-cut tournaments.
15. Marc Leishman
The Farmers Insurance Open champ returned to competitive play last week and again dominated on approach, gaining 5.3 strokes. He has lost strokes putting in two of his last three events but needs just to be average for a top finish.
14. Matt Kuchar
A co-leader entering Sunday’s final round of the Genesis, Kuch finished as a co-runner-up and enters this week 24th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. He hasn’t had much success in Mexico, however, finishing 50th last year and T-58 in 2018 after a T-20 debut in 2017.
Aug 22, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Louis Oosthuizen hits his tee shot on the 2nd hole during the first round of the Tour Championship golf tournament at East Lake Golf Club. (Photo Credit: Adam Hagy – USA TODAY Sports)
13. Louis Oosthuizen
Oosthuizen has been playing very well on the European and Australasian Tours and will play in North America for the first time since the 2019 Tour Championship. He finished T-25 last year for his best result in three appearances in Mexico.
12. Patrick Reed
Reed’s best result at Chapultepec also came last year with a T-14 result. He’s an average putter on the Poa Annua surface, but his approach game has been excellent of late.
11. Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau’s debut at this event last year ended with a T-56 result. He tied for fifth last week while gaining 10.6 strokes from tee-to-green and 3.5 strokes on approach.
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10. Paul Casey
Casey tied for third here in 2019 for his best result in this event. He’s generally a poor putter on Poa Annua, but it hasn’t held him back here, and he gained 5.6 strokes on approach last week.
9. Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood was the runner-up at this event in 2017, but he slipped to T-14 and T-19 in each of the last two years, respectively. He’ll participate in his first PGA Tour event since a T-53 result at the WGC-HSBC Champions. He has since won the Nedbank Golf Challenge and finished second at both the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai and Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
February 13, 2020; Pacific Palisades, California, USA; Xander Schauffele hits from the tenth hole tee box during the first round of The Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. (Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports)
8. Xander Schauffele
Schauffele improved on a T-18 result in 2018 to finish T-14 in 2019. His best putting surface has historically been Poa Annua, and he has gained strokes off the tee in seven straight measured events.
7. Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama enters the week ninth in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. He has two career wins in WGC events and finished T-19 here last year in his second appearance in Mexico.
6. Webb Simpson
Simpson benefits from the elevation of Chapultepec making it play much shorter than its 7,345-yard measurement. He has finished outside the top 35 each of the last two years, but he hasn’t finished worse than T-30 in 17 stroke-play events since missing the cut at last year’s Valspar Championship.
5. Justin Thomas
Thomas has strangely missed the cut in two of his last three events, but he still has more wins (3) than missed cuts since the US Open. He has finished inside the top 10 in all three years this event has been held in Mexico.
Feb 16, 2020; Pacific Palisades, California, USA; Adam Scott poses with the winner’s trophy following his victory of the The Genesis Invitational golf tournament at Riviera Country Club. (Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports)
4. Adam Scott
Scott’s lone Mexico appearance was a T-45 in 2017. He’ll return this week off his win at the Genesis Invitational. His last WGC win – the 2016 Cadillac Championship – came the week after he claimed victory at the Honda Classic.
3. Jon Rahm
Rahm tied for third in 2017, but he slipped to T-20 in 2018 and T-45 last year. He’s a great putter on Poa Annua, but he has struggled around the greens in each of his last two events.
2. Rory McIlroy
McIlroy was the runner-up last year, and he tied for seventh in 2017 but skipped the 2018 event. He’s a top scrambler and is able to escape the trouble of the tight fairways.
1. Dustin Johnson
Johnson has won this event two of the last three years since it moved to Mexico. He has six career WGC titles, including the 2017 Match Play.
