By JOEL BEALL
Lee Westwood’s played just once in the past six weeks, a T-33 at the WGC–Mexico Championship in late February. And it’s a schedule, or strategy, that’s produced dividends.
Overnight, our time, tournament officials announced the field for next week’s WGC–Dell Technologies Match Play, a field predicated off the top 64 players in the Official Golf World Ranking. Westwood, who jumped from 119th in the world to 64th after winning the Nedbank at the end of 2018, was able to hold onto the last spot.
The 45-year-old Westwood will be making his 18th appearance at the Match Play, although the tournament has not treated him kindly. He’s advanced to the round of 16 just twice, his best showing a fourth-place finish in 2012.
Also qualifying for the event was Jim Furyk. The former US Open champ vaulted 110 spots to 57th thanks to his turn-back-the-clock performance at TPC Sawgrass. Furyk, who failed to qualify in two of the past three seasons, has a runner-up and two fourth-place finishes at the Match Play.
Abraham Ancer, Russell Knox and Tom Lewis were other players on the bubble that gained entry while Satoshi Kodaira – who’s missed five of his past seven cuts – fell from 61st to 65th. Any player withdrawing – and Adam Scott is just one player who has already indicated he won’t be at Austin Country Club – will earn the Japanese player a start.
Tiger Woods, who had indicated he would wait and see how he felt after the Players Championship, also committed to playing in the event. Though Woods is a three-time Match Play winner, he’s not played in the event since 2013, and not advanced past the round of 32 since 2008.
Though the qualification period has ended, seedings based on pods (the Match Play’s first three days are a round-robin elimination) will wait until the completion of this week’s events. Should any more qualified players drop out, Luke List will be the second alternate after Kodaira.
The WGC–Match Play returns to Austin Country Club for the fourth straight year. Bubba Watson is the defending champion.
