LostGolfBalls.com BLOG

Information and tips on everything golf ball related from the largest recycler of used golf balls in the world

Match Play Golf Is The Best

Read More →

Posts by Tag

see all
All Posts

Match Play Golf Is The Best

 

 
 
 

I could care less about the college basketball March Madness Tournament – men’s or women’s – going on now.

While most of the sports world in North America is consumed by these hoops tournament – and a big reason for this is betting or maybe it’s a fascination with Gonzaga in the men’s version and UConn with the women’s – my interest lies with golf, specifically this week’s WGC-Dell Technologies at the Austin Country Club in Texas.

Look, if I was into college basketball, I’d probably have little interest in a golf event.

Fair enough.

But if you are reading this, you are a golf fan, so enough with the reasoning.

Is there anything better than bracket play? To me, it’s way more exciting than stroke play.

Fortunately for the people betting on this week’s tournament or involved in pools, we aren’t limited to one player.

There are 16 four-man pools in the tournament and the players with the best records after their bracket is completed advance to the next record. Ties are resolved by sudden-death playoffs.

Billy Horschel (Titleist Pro V1) won last year’s tournament beating Scottie Scheffler (Titleist Pro V1). I have tremendous confidence that Scheffler will go far this year and maybe even win. He has progressively been the best player on tour.

So, here’s my predictions:

Group 1: Patrick Reed (Srixon Z-Star XV), who loves match play, pulls off an upset, sending Jon Rahm (Callaway Chrome Soft X) packing early. Reed is better in this type of format and I worry about Rahm’s putting.

Group 2: Collin Morikawa (TaylorMade TP5) is the favorite, but he hasn’t been sharp in recent weeks. Jason Kokrak (Titleist Pro V1) whom I picked last week as one of my two players in the PG Golf Pool and didn’t make the cut, could pull off an upset. Sergio Garcia (TaylorMade TP5x) is in this bracket and he loves this format. He’s also played well this year.

Group 3: This is tough because it has Viktor Hovland (Titleist Pro V1) Will Zalatoris (Titleist Pro V1), Cameron Tringale (Titleist Pro V1) and Sepp Straka (Srixon Z-Star Diamond). Hovland should win, but I think he’s playing way too much instead of taking a break to focus on the big tournaments. I keep waiting for Zalatoris to take his game to the next level. My pick is Straka, who is playing well.

Group 4: Patrick Cantlay (Titleist Pro V1x) should win, though I find it incredibly difficult to watch him play because of the amount of time it takes him to set his feet before putting. I think Keith Mitchell (Titleist Pro V1) may pull off an upset or Sunjae Im (Titleist Pro V1x).

Group 5: Scheffler is the favorite, followed by Matt Fitzpatrick (Titleist Pro V1x). I can’t use Fitzpatrick in the PG Golf pool because I’ve already selected him the maximum two times this year. I think he’s in tough anyway because of Scheffler.

Group 6: Justin Thomas (Titleist Pro V1x) is the favorite, but Kevin Kisner (Titleist Pro V1) had a good week last week at the Valspar and loves this tournament. Thomas has not fared well in this event, so I’m taking Kisner.

Group 7: Xander Schauffele (Callaway Chrome Soft X LS) is top seed, but he always lets me down. He was playing well last week in the Valspar, until he double bogeyed the last hole and dropped down in the standings. All that said, he’s still better than my second choice, Tony Finau (Titleist Pro V1).

Group 8: Dustin Johnson (TaylorMade TP5X) is the top-ranked player in this group, but I like Max Homa (Titleist Pro V1) because he’s steadier and I look for him to go far in this tournament.

Group 9: Bryson DeChambeau (Bridgestone Tour B) is the best on paper, but he’s been off for several weeks with an injury. I’m going with Talor Gooch (Titleist Pro V1), who’s been in and out in his last four tournaments.

Group 10: This is, in my opinion, the toughest to choose. It includes Louis Oosthuizen (Titleist Pro V1), Paul Casey (Titleist Pro V1), Corey Conners (Titleist Pro V1) and Alex Noren (Callaway Chrome Soft X). For me it’s a tossup between Casey and Noren, but I’m leaning to Noren.

Group 11: Interesting bracket with Jordan Spieth (Titleist Pro V1x), Adam Scott (Titleist Pro V1), Justin Rose (TaylorMade TP5) and Keegan Bradley (Srixon Z-Star). I like either Spieth or Rose.

Group 12: Horschel is my choice over the vastly improving Tom Hoge (Titleist Pro V1).

Group 13: Really tough with Tyrrell Hatton (Titleist Pro V1x) and Daniel Berger (Titleist Pro V1). I’m leaning toward Berger.

Group 14: Joaquin Niemann (Titleist Pro V1) on top over Kevin Na (Titleist Pro V1x), Russell Henley (Titleist Pro V1x) and Maverick McNealy (Callaway Chrome Soft). Niemann is the best on form, but Henley is quietly making some noise.

Group 15: This one includes Abraham Ancer (Titleist Pro V1x), Webb Simpson (Titleist Pro V1), Brian Harman (Titleist Pro V1) and Bubba Watson (Titleist Pro V1x). Simpson is making his third start following neck surgery and might be poised for an upset.

Group 16: Brooks Koepka (Srixon Z-Star Diamond), Shane Lowry (Srixon Z-Star XV), Harold Varner III (Titleist Pro V1) and Erik van Rooyen (Titleist Pro V1). Koepka played well last week in the final round of the Valspar for a top-10 finish after failing to make the cut in the Players. He’s been playing a lot lately, way more than he usually does, so it’s hit-and-miss in terms of will he care? I kind of like Lowry, who has played well this year.

My overall choice to win is Scheffler. I like Niemann to be a major player as well.

Perry Lefko
Perry Lefko
Perry Lefko is an award-winning writer who has published nine books, three of them bestsellers. He has been involved in sports writing for more than 35 years and has interviewed many superstar athletes. He lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and enjoys watching golf and playing it.

Related Posts

Genesis Invitational Gives Us The Reality Of Sports

I’ve written this before and I’m repeating it because it never ceases to amaze me how televised sports is the ultimate reality show, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, as the now-defunct ABC Wild Word of Sports used as its intro. On the final hole of the Pebble Beach Open, Jacob Bridgeman (TaylorMade TP5x) was hitting a shot off of pebbles on the beach on the 18th hole. His ball ended up in the ocean and resulted in a bogey, tying him for eighth place when he was close enough starting the hole for a much better finish. I thought his spirits were crushed and dismissed him for the Genesis Invitational. So what does he do? Goes on a tear and headed into the final day, chasing a tournament record score. But he nearly frittered away the win, coming undone on the back half of the back nine and eking out a single stroke victory, and only because he parred a four-foot putt that must have seemed much longer because of the pressure. That’s drama, real drama, not manufactured reality. He won the event for the first time in his 66th tournament on the PGA Tour and only 65 days after marrying.

It's Time To Talk About Tiger Woods Again

Some thoughts on the world of golf with the Masters less than eight weeks away: When Tiger Woods (Bridgestone Tour B XS) speaks, we all listen. As the host of the Genesis Invitational this week, Woods held his annual address about his health, career, playing in the Masters and the PGA Tour at large. Woods is gradually returning to swinging his clubs from his latest back surgery last fall, which naturally had reporters asking him about his playing status. He did not specify when he will return to playing again, yet he tersely and emphatically did not rule out playing in the Masters. “No,” he said. Woods has always tried to play in the Masters, no matter his physical condition.

Chris Gotterup Making A Name For Himself

Who is Chris Gotterup (Bridgestone Tour B X), and why is he tearing it up early in the 2026 PGA Tour season? If you had asked golf fans heading into this year’s season, some may have known him and success he has had, but I don’t think there would be many who would say he was slated for a breakthrough season. But now the word is out: Not only is he a long-ball hitter off the tee and someone who can keep it in the fairway, but he also has a complete game and championship mettle. With two victories in only three tournaments in 2026, most recently last weekend beating two-time winner Hideki Matsuyama (Srixon Z-Star XV) in a playoff in the WM Phoenix Open, Gotterup is on a heater. Matsuyama, the tournament leader heading into the final round, was spraying his ball all over the course and was scrambling most of the day. Gotterup was quietly doing his own thing. In fact, while Scottie Scheffler (Titleist Pro V1) was making a serious run for the lead that just fell one shot short after a seven-under par, Gotterup was putting together a similar round. He had the tournament lead after round one with an eight-under par – Scheffler was just hoping to make the cut after opening two-under par – but shot one-under par in his next two rounds. Gotterup really turned it on in the final round. He was two-under after the front nine, but five-under on the back nine, including birdying five of the last six holes.