WGC-Dell Match Play predictions: Seamus ready to bring the Power
- This year's event will be the 24th and final WGC-Dell Match Play
- Eight of the world's top 10 will be teeing it up
- Recommended bets:
- Seamus Power to win and each-way @ 80/1
- Matt Kuchar to win and each-way @ 100/1
After debuting back in 1999, the Match Play will be leaving our screens following the conclusion of this week's edition and there is a star-studded lineup that will be battling it out for the spoils at Austin Country Club, Texas.
No less than eight of the world's top 10 will be present in Austin, with Australian Cameron Smith (5) ineligible to play after his switch to LIV Golf and American Justin Thomas (10) opting not to compete.
For those who are au fait with the format of this tournament, there are 16 groups of four players with the winner of each advancing into the knockout stage of the tournament, which runs over five days from Wednesday to Sunday.
The last-16 ties will then be followed by the quarter-finals, semi-finals, third/fourth-place play-off and the final.
World number one Scottie Scheffler lifted the trophy last year and he is the 8/1 favourite with LiveScore Bet to join Tiger Woods in becoming the only players to have successfully defended the title.
Spaniard Jon Rahm and Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy are both 11/1 with LiveScore Bet to come out on top, while Patrick Cantlay is priced at 18/1 and big-hitting US star Tony Finau is 20/1.
Irishman looks a big price
While the likes of Scheffler, Rahm and McIlroy deserve huge respect at the head of the market, there looks to be real value in siding with 80/1 Seamus Power, who reached the quarter-finals on debut last year before falling to Scheffler.
Since that last-eight exit the Irishman's game has gone to another level, as he landed his second PGA Tour title at the 2022 Bermuda Championship and now sits 35th in the world rankings.
Power has been drawn in Group 13 alongside Sam Burns, Adam Scott and Adam Hadwin, so his path through to the last 16 is not an easy one, but he has proven himself in match play golf and will be eager to shine again with the Ryder Cup coming up later this year.
Experienced American a value shot
Another big price to claim the spoils is 100/1 Matt Kuchar, who won this event in 2013 at Dove Mountain and looks to have been drawn in a winnable Group 8 that includes Viktor Hovland, Chris Kirk and Si Woo Kim.
Since the event moved to Austin Country Club, the American reached the last-16 stage twice in 2016 and 2018 before finishing runner-up in 2019 and then third 12 months later.
In the 11 Match Play tournaments Kuchar has appeared in, his win-loss-halve record stands at an impressive 33-10-4 and he has only failed to get out of the group stage on three occasions.
The 44-year-old has an affinity for this event and it would be no surprise to see him enjoy another deep run.
