The PGA Tour is set for some bracket play of its own this week as 64 top golfers tee off in the 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club. Group play begins Wednesday, with 16 golfers in each pod, the Round of 16 is set for Saturday, and the semifinals and finals are Sunday. World No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler headlines the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play 2023 field, along with Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy. Scheffler defeated 2019 winner Kevin Kisner 4 and 3 in last year's final. McIlroy was the 2015 champion and was the runner-up in 2012. Major champions like Jordan Spieth, and Collin Morikawa also are scheduled to compete, along with a bevy of stars like Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.
Scheffler is the 7-1 favorite, followed by Rahm (10-1) and McIlroy (12-1), in Caesars Sportsbook's latest 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play odds. Cantlay (15-1), Max Homa (16-1), Morikawa (19-1) and Spieth (20-1) also are expected to be top contenders. Before making any 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play picks, be sure you check out the PGA Tour predictions and best bets from SportsLine golf insider Patrick McDonald.
After spending time at FanSided and NBC Sports EDGE, McDonald joined CBS Sports as a golf writer in the spring of 2022. Now covering the sport from a broader perspective, McDonald still likes to dip his toes into the betting pools on a weekly basis on the PGA Tour. McDonald takes a measured approach to his outright selections and is having a profitable 2022-23 season. The expert is up almost 14 units this season, meaning a profit of nearly $1,700 for $100 bettors. He is having a strong season in both outright picks and head-to-head matchups.
McDonald nailed the Farmers Insurance Open, backing Homa (25-1) as his top choice. The expert also just missed a massive 130-1 score at the Sony Open when Hayden Buckley finished as runner-up. He hit another 25-1 shot at the Houston Open, taking Tony Finau to win. The expert finished the 2021-22 season up 42 units on his outrights, including a monster 250-1 payout on Hudson Swafford at The American Express. Anyone who follows McDonald's advice has been cashing in.
Now, McDonald has studied the 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play field and has locked in his best bets, top sleepers and favorites to avoid. You can head to SportsLine now to see all of McDonald's PGA picks and analysis.
Top 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play expert picks
Shockingly, one player McDonald plans to fade this week is McIlroy, even though he is within shouting distance of the world's top ranking. The Northern Irishman hasn't been the same since returning from a successful run in Europe. He tied for second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but that was his only top-25 in his past four events, and he missed the cut at the Players Championship. Now, McIlroy is switching to a shorter driver as he gears up for the Masters. McIlroy ranks 173rd in strokes gained putting and 186th in driving accuracy, so McDonald is looking in another direction.
On the other hand, Scheffler has shown few weaknesses during a more than year-long run that has included six victories. The 26-year-old has four titles to defend from last season, and he was already successful in Phoenix last month. He tied for fourth at the Arnold Palmer, so that leaves match play and the Masters in two weeks. Scheffler's game hasn't faltered a bit, as he is 94-under par over his past six tournaments. The all-around game that has made that possible is perfect for the match-play format, which is why he won last year and lost in the final in 2021. See who he is backing at SportsLine.
How to make 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play golf picks
McDonald has locked in his best bets for the 2023 WGC-Match Play and has tabbed his longshots, including one who comes in at odds of around 40-1. This golfer has succeeded on Pete Dye courses before and comes in at the top of his game. You can only see the picks at SportsLine.
So which players should you target or avoid for the 2023 WGC-Match Play? And which golfer in the WGC-Match Play 2023 field could bring a big payday of around 40-1? Check out the odds below, then visit SportsLine to see Patrick McDonald's top prop picks for WGC-Match Play 2023, all from the expert who is up nearly $1,400 on his PGA Tour picks this season.
2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play odds, field, contenders
See McDonald's picks, best bets and predictions here.
Scottie Scheffler +700
Jon Rahm +1000
Rory McIlroy +1200
Patrick Cantlay +1500
Max Homa +1600
Collin Morikawa +1900
Jordan Spieth +2000
Viktor Hovland +2200
Xander Schauffele +2200
Jason Day +2400
Tyrrell Hatton +2500
Tony Finau +2500
Will Zalatoris +2900
Sungjae Im +3100
Tom Kim +3100
Cameron Young +3400
Matthew Fitzpatrick +3700
Tommy Fleetwood +3700
Corey Conners +4200
Sam Burns +4500
Shane Lowry +4800
Keegan Bradley +4800
Hideki Matsuyama +4800
Rickie Fowler +5500
Matt Kuchar +6000
Keith Mitchell +6000
Sahith Theegala +6500
Min Woo Lee +6500
Si Woo Kim +6500
Billy Horschel +6500
Tom Hoge +6500
Chris Kirk +6500
Kevin Kisner +6500
Adam Scott +8000
Alex Noren +8000
Seamus Power +8000
Russell Henley +8500
Harris English +9500
Adam Hadwin +9500
Brian Harman +9500
Kurt Kitayama +9500
Justin Suh +9500
Victor Perez +9500
Taylor Montgomery +10000
Davis Riley +10000
Ryan Fox +10000
Denny McCarthy +10000
Maverick Mcnealy +11000
Adam Svensson +11000
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +12000
Cameron Davis +12000
Aaron Wise +12000
Nick Taylor +14000
K.H. Lee +14000
Adrian Meronk +14000
Lucas Herbert +14000
J.T. Poston +16000
Sepp Straka +16000
MacKenzie Hughes +17000
Ben Griffin +17000
Scott Stallings +19000
J.J. Spaun +21000
Andrew Putnam +21000
Davis Thompson +25000
