WGC Match Play groups revealed

The initial 16 groups of four were announced for this week's WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas.

The 64 participants are seeded according to their Official World Golf Ranking entering the week.

Notable names who will not play in Austin include Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and recent PGA Tour winners Cameron Smith of Australia and Sam Burns.

Players will play everyone else in their group in a round-robin format Wednesday through Friday. The winners of the 16 groups will advance to the weekend in a single-elimination bracket.

Spaniard Jon Rahm, who has clung to the No 1 world ranking all season, will open in a group with US Ryder Cup wizard Patrick Reed, plus Cameron Young and Colombia's Sebastian Munoz.

World No. 2 Collin Morikawa also must face a match-play veteran, Spain's Sergio Garcia, in group play. Group 2 also features Jason Kokrak and Scotland's Robert MacIntyre.

Scottie Scheffler, the 2021 Match Play runner-up, earned the fifth overall seed after winning his first two PGA Tour titles earlier this season. A trio from England await him in a difficult Group 5: Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood and Ian Poulter.

Bryson DeChambeau, who hasn't competed since early February in Saudi Arabia due to hip and hand injuries, committed to play the event and has the ninth overall seed. His group includes Talor Gooch and two veteran Englishmen, Lee Westwood and Richard Bland.

Jordan Spieth faces stiff competition in Group 11 with Adam Scott of Australia, Justin Rose of England and Keegan Bradley. Not only have all four men won major titles, but Scott, Rose and Bradley have won a World Golf Championship event.

WGC-Match Play defending champion Billy Horschel has the 12th seed and will face Belgium's Thomas Pieters, Tom Hoge and Australia's Min Woo Lee in his group.

The groups and seedings are:

Group 1: Jon Rahm (1), Patrick Reed (23), Cameron Young (40), Sebastian Munoz (58)

Group 2: Collin Morikawa (2), Jason Kokrak (22), Sergio Garcia (43), Robert MacIntyre (61)

Group 3: Viktor Hovland (3), Will Zalatoris (24), Cameron Tringale (45), Sepp Straka (63)

Group 4: Patrick Cantlay (4), Sungjae Im (21), Seamus Power (42), Keith Mitchell (62)

Group 5: Scottie Scheffler (5), Matt Fitzpatrick (20), Tommy Fleetwood (41), Ian Poulter (59)

Group 6: Justin Thomas (6), Kevin Kisner (29), Marc Leishman (37), Luke List (53)

Group 7: Xander Schauffele (7), Tony Finau (18), Lucas Herbert (39), Takumi Kanaya (56)

Group 8: Dustin Johnson (8), Max Homa (30), Matthew Wolff (38), Mackenzie Hughes (51)

Group 9: Bryson DeChambeau (9), Talor Gooch (27), Lee Westwood (47), Richard Bland (54)

Group 10: Louis Oosthuizen (10), Paul Casey (19), Corey Conners (36), Alex Noren (50)

Group 11: Jordan Spieth (11), Adam Scott (32), Justin Rose (46), Keegan Bradley (60)

Group 12: Billy Horschel (12), Thomas Pieters (26), Tom Hoge (33), Min Woo Lee (49)

Group 13: Tyrrell Hatton (13), Daniel Berger (17), Si Woo Kim (48), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (52)

Group 14: Joaquin Niemann (14), Kevin Na (25), Russell Henley (34), Maverick McNealy (64)

Group 15: Abraham Ancer (15), Webb Simpson (31), Brian Harman (44), Bubba Watson (57)

Group 16: Brooks Koepka (16), Shane Lowry (28), Harold Varner III (35), Erik van Rooyen (55) — Field Level Media