WGC-Dell Technology Match Play: Johnson Claims Title

The field for the WGC-Dell Technology Match Play had gaping holes even before the tournament started, with three of the top-10 in the world not even entering. And then six more were gone by Friday. It doesn't take a math whiz, and certainly not a PGA Tour or NBC executive, to know that left only one.

There was a weekend full of golf yet to be played, and the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight was on another channel.

At least the one who was left was the best one: world No. 1 Dustin Johnson. And he went on to win his third straight tournament.

But it likely was a ratings washout for NBC, and the Tour, as they continue to struggle to find a way to keep the biggest names in the tournament as long as possible. A few years ago, they tweaked the format to eliminate the possibility of a first-round knockout by setting up three days of round-robin play.

As we saw last week at Austin Country Club, it didn't help. Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott and Rickie Fowler didn't even show up, pretty damning evidence that the PGA Tour schedule is just too jam-packed. And then Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Sergio Garcia couldn't even win their brackets. Jason Day withdrew after the first day to be with his mother, who was undergoing surgery.

After Johnson steamrolled through his first five matches, at least the semifinals and final on Sunday were somewhat competitive. Johnson defeated Hideto Tanihara and then Jon Rahm, both by 1-up scores. But Johnson had a big lead in each match, and you never really sensed he would lose.

Getting Rahm as a final opponent was actually a pretty good save for all those invested in seeing a successful tournament. He's certainly a star-in-the-making. The thing is, the "in-the-making" part means he's not known to anyone but the most serious golf fans, and he doesn't move the needle the way a Spieth or McIlroy would.

There likely won't be any tweaks to the format. What could they do? The round robin is better than lose-and-go-home, in terms of keeping the biggest names around longest. Although most golf fans like the knockout component.

It's something we don't have to fret about for another year.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Dustin Johnson

There's not much to say. With a third straight win, Johnson has extended his lead atop the world rankings by so much that he's assured of maintaining the No. 1 position even if one of his chief rivals wins the Masters. He's bound to be the top price by a decent amount in DraftKings in any tournament he enters for the foreseeable future; we just have to decide whether we want to pay it. It's hard to come up with a reason not to. That said, this might be a week to steer clear. Johnson rarely plays two weeks in a row, much less three. The Shell Houston Open could be akin to a trap game in the NFL or NBA – in between a WGC and a major. On the other hand, would it surprise anyone if Johnson won this week? No. UPDATE: Johnson withdrew from Houston on Monday morning, and that's a good thing for him. He had a long Match Play week, with 36 holes on Sunday, and fatigue could've been a factor heading into Masters week. There was little upside to playing Houston. Now he'll be in peak position to capture his first green jacket.

Jon Rahm

It's hard to believe Rahm has played only 21 PGA Tour events in his life, all 22 years of it. The Spaniard showed a lot by battling back from a huge deficit to force the distance against Johnson. Rahm is up to No. 14 in the world, but he's even better than that, seemingly almost on par with the likes of McIlroy and Spieth. Taking the next step – winning a major – is the biggest step of all. Let's see how Rahm handles Augusta.

Brooks Koepka

While Rahm has been soaring, another big, strapping golfer has been stumbling. Koepka has had an awful 2017, missing four of six cuts with no finish even in the top-40. It was startling how someone so good such a short time ago could all of a sudden lose it. At the Match Play, Koepka showed some positive signs, dusting off Patrick Reed, Kevin Kisner and Jason Dufner in a very-tough-on-paper bracket before losing a close round-of-16 match to Alex Noren. Is it enough to make noise in the Masters? We probably have to see more evidence before saying yes.

Bubba Watson

Watson is another star golfer who has fallen on hard times, only he's a much bigger star than Koepka and has been slumping for more than a year now. He went 2-0-1 in round-robin play, fending off Thomas Pieters to advance before falling to Ross Fisher. Watson now heads to Augusta, where he's a two-time champ. As with Koepka, he hasn't shown us enough to think that he'll be in the conversation there.

Phil Mickelson

Mickelson went 3-0 in the not-especially-difficult bracket with Daniel Berger, J.B. Holmes and Si Woo Kim. He did, however, continue on, besting Marc Leishman before being beaten by Bill Haas in the quarterfinals. That's too bad. Wouldn't a Mickelson-Johnson match been intriguing? Mickelson has been playing well all season, and the belief here is that he'll have something to say at Augusta but not so much this week in Houston.

Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama and Jordan Spieth

The Nos. 2, 4 and 6 golfers in the world all were eliminated in round-robin play. McIlroy has been decent since missing two months with a rib injury, but the vagaries of match play will happen. Matsuyama has definitely cooled since his torrid fall and winter. Spieth won at Pebble Beach early last month but doesn't have a top-10 since. Any and all could be in the mix at the Masters, but it doesn't appear any of them is playing anywhere near the level that Johnson is. Spieth may have the added baggage of returning to the scene of his greatest failure as a pro, where he gagged away the green jacket on the back nine last year.

D.A. Points

At the opposite-field Puerto Rico Open, the 40-year-old Points won his third career tournament, his second being the 2013 Houston Open. This latest win doesn't get Points into the Masters, so he'll have to win again this week to get there. That probably won't happen, of course, just like it probably won't happen that Points will become relevant again in fantasy golf. It was a terrific story, but it was his first top-25 of the season and it came in a very weak field.

Retief Goosen

Goosen fell two strokes shy of Points in a tie for second, and a victory for the South African would've been an even bigger story than Points' win. This was the first cut the 48-year-old Goosen made all season, in eight tries. In other words, it could be his lone highlight of the entire season.

Bryson DeChambeau

Unlike Points and Goosen, DeChambeau is young and, even though his tie for second did come in a puny field, the experience of being in contention could provide confidence for the rest of the season. Last year's wunderkind has already been left in the dust by this year's wunderkind, Rahm, and needs all the help he can get. DeChambeau is now up to 107th in the world. It will be important to see how he does in his next two or three times out, and in significantly tougher fields.

RotoWire value picks

Last week: Winner (Leishman), four top-10s, nine top-25s, two missed cuts.

This week: There was no DraftKings game for the Match Play, and we didn't field a team for the dart throw that is the Puerto Rico Open.