WGC-Cadillac Match Play 2015: Ranking the Best Potential Weekend Matchups
If the new WGC-Cadillac Match Play format was designed to minimize upsets, it hasn't done so. Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Adam Scott and Jimmy Walker all failed to make it to the round of 16.
Rory McIlroy's extra-holes win over Billy Horschel put an exclamation point on three days of group-stage play. It also made him only one of two top-10 seeded golfers to advance to the round of 16, proving that anything can still happen in match play, even with addition of a round-robin group stage.
McIlroy's matchups, of course, will be of particular interest over the next two days. What other matchups will we be hoping to see show up on our busted brackets?
Read on to have a look at our ranking, factoring in a player's starpower and the strength of the potential match's storyline.
6. Quarterfinals: Tommy Fleetwood vs. Lee Westwood
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We could be in for the battle of the English "woods" if both players advance to the quarterfinals. That's fun, right? Plus, Lee Westwood is an aging English star and Tommy Fleetwood an emerging one, which adds another layer of intrigue.
Match-play stalwart Westwood entered the tournament as the 27th seed. Westy took care of business in the group stage, impressively toppling second-seeded Jordan Spieth with birdies at the 17th and 18th holes of their Friday match.
Fleetwood, at 24, is relatively unknown on the national stage. He's won once on the European Tour and he was able to rise to the occasion in San Francisco, rolling in a birdie in extra holes against Bernd Wiesberger to advance.
Even better, whichever "wood" advances could meet...wait for it...Gary Woodland in the semifinals.
5. Quarterfinals: Hunter Mahan vs. Gary Woodland
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If Gary Woodland can handle Marc Leishman and Hunter Mahan is able to vanquish John Senden, the pair will meet in the quarterfinals.
Woodland and Mahan are both pure strikers of the golf ball and low-key guys, so the matchup would be a pleasure to watch. Woodland fended off three tough match-play competitors in Webb Simpson, Ian Poulter and Jimmy Walker, so he has to be moving on with a great deal of confidence (especially as he was the lowest seeded player in his group at 52).
Hunter Mahan is surging as well. With a thorough 5&4 beating of Matt Kuchar, he moves to 20-6 in his Cadillac Match Play career.
If these two meet in the quarters, expect a power-punching slugfest from the two Americans.
4. Semifinals: Hideki Matsuyama vs. Rickie Fowler
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If both golfers find themselves on the right side of round of 16 and quarterfinal wins, we'll be treated to a semifinal showdown between two of golf's most promising young talents from opposite sides of the world.
Rickie Fowler, 26, and Hideki Matsuyama, 23, have both won on tour and are ranked inside the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Fowler has been blessed with a hot putter this week and proved his aptitude for match play at Dove Mountain last year, where he finished third. Matsuyama is overwhelmingly consistent, and he disposed of Kevin Na 5&4 in his final group-stage match.
Fowler will face Louis Oosthuizen in the round of 16 and then would battle either Jim Furyk or J.B. Holmes. Matsuyama is looking at either Paul Casey or Charl Schwartzel in his potential quarterfinal match.
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3. Semifinals: Rory McIlroy vs. Rickie Fowler
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With seemingly every top group seed falling by the wayside, including Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy is the only top-five golfer in the world still alive in the competition. He is also, unquestionably, the biggest star still standing, so all of his future matches will be of particular interest.
After the Ulsterman's thrilling 19th-hole victory over Billy Horschel, he'll draw Hideki Matsuyama in the round of 16, which should provide for an immensely entertaining matchup that will feature, among other things, two golf swings that are pure poetry.
If Rory can beat the young Japanese phenom, a Rory McIlroy vs. Rickie Fowler semifinal would have high entertainment value and pack the most starpower of any matchup. Golf fans have to be pulling for this matchup above all others.
It would only be a semifinal matchup, true, but this showdown would revisit last year's Open and PGA Championships and feature two of the brightest stars in the game.
2. Finals: Lee Westwood vs. Paul Casey
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Two veteran Brits battle for the WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship. If Lee Westwood is able to beat Danny Willett in his round-of-16 match, Tommy Fleetwood/Brendan Grace in the quarterfinals and Gary Woodland/Hunter Mahan/John Senden/Marc Leishman and Paul Casey takes care of business on his side of the bracket, the two will meet in the final.
Casey has been resurgent this season, entering the tournament as the No. 37 golfer in the world with top-10 finishes in his last two starts. Westwood, 27th in the world, won the Indonesian Masters in his last start.
Westwood is 42. Casey if 37. While neither golfers is going to be ready for the Champions Tour any time soon, they are both long-established veterans on tour. Both have been resilient this week. It'd be a thrill to see the former Ryder Cup teammates battle.
1. Finals: Jim Furyk vs. Lee Westwood
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The aging American plodder vs. the aging British flusher. This would be a great match to behold.
This potential finals matchup presents a tremendous contrast in styles. This season, Lee Westwood is 42nd on tour in driving distance, averaging 294.2 yards per drive. Jim Furyk, on the other hand, is 198th on tour in driving distance, averaging just 272.7 yards per drive.
Thus, Furyk ought to be more than 20 yards shorter than Westwood on every par four and par five, which means he'll be playing his approach shot first all day long. It will be interesting to watch the scenario play out as the all-business-crafty-around-the-greens veteran tries to put pressure on the longer-hitting-hands-of-stone Westwood.
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