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The Last 16: How they line up in the knockout section of the WGC Dell Match Play

It’s been carnage for the big names so far with Jon Rahm the only top-20 seed to advance to the straight knockout phase at Austin Country Club

The WGC Dell Match Play lends itself to shocks.

Even though the group stage gives the elite players three chances to show their extra touch of class, the 18-hole match play format is still a great leveller.

And that's pretty obvious when looking at the line-up for the start of the knockout section of the tournament on Saturday.

Had the world rankings worked out perfectly, this next phase of action would be a shootout between the top 16 seeds. Each would have won their groups and the lower seeds would be heading home.

But instead of 1-16, these are the seeds still standing: 3, 21, 30, 31, 32, 39, 41, 48, 49, 52, 53, 54, 55, 60, 62, 64.
In terms of how many made it through from each pot:

1-16 seeds: 1
17-32 seeds: 4
33-48 seeds: 3
49-64 seeds: 8

That's quite a split! Of course, the seedings were never going to play out perfectly but the fact that half of the last 16 players left in came from the final pot (49th to 64th seeds) is still a big surprise. 

So, what happens next? Do the shocks keep coming? Let's check the revised draw:

Last 16 line-up at Austin Country Club

(All match odds are provided by Paddy Power)

Robert MacIntryre (41) v Victor Perez (31)

The Scot v the Frenchman. Few predicted this last-16 clash. MacIntyre earned the decisive tie in his closing match against Adam Long by hitting a drive at the par-4 18th to three feet and having it conceded for eagle. Two wins were enough for Perez, the latter coming against group favourite Sungjae Im.

Betting: 9/10 MacIntyre, 9/10 Perez

Sergio Garcia (39) v Mackenzie Hughes (48)

Sergio produced the highlight of the week so far with an amazing hole-in-one at the fourth extra hole of a playoff to defeat Lee Westwood after both had finished the group with two wins and a loss. Canadian Hughes went unbeaten, winning matches against Webb Simpson and Paul Casey when clear underdog in both.

Betting: 8/13 Garcia, 5/4 Mackenzie

Billy Horschel (32) v Kevin Streelman (53)

Horschel produced a great burst of scoring to beat PGA champion Collin Morikawa in Friday's final match and then took down Max Homa in a playoff. Streelman made it through in similar fashion. He bagged two wins out of three before beating Abraham Ancer in a playoff.

Betting: 8/11 Horschel, 11/10 Streelman

Tommy Fleetwood (21) v Dylan Frittelli (64)

Along with Rahm, Fleetwood is the only player seeded under 30 to progress. It was far from easy though. He made a 10-footer to halve his opener against Si Woo Kim and then edged out Bryson DeChambeau 1up in their winner-takes-all Friday match-up. South African Frittelli has some surprise home advantage as he lives near the course.He lost his final match but earlier wins against Tony Finau and Jason Kokrak proved enough.

Betting: 4/6 Fleetwood, 6/5 Frittelli

Matt Kuchar (52) v Jordan Spieth (49)

An intriguing clash which pitches the 2019 beaten finalist against his resurgent Ryder Cup teammate. Kuchar was a big underdog in his group but won all three matches against Justin Thomas, Louis Oosthuizen and Kevin Kisner. Texas local Spieth also went unbeaten via two wins and a tie against Matthew Wolff.

Betting: 4/6 Spieth, 11/10 Kuchar

Bubba Watson (55) v Brian Harman (54)

The battle of the lefties - one a huge hitter the other a plotter. Bubba won one and halved two (including his opener against Patrick Reed) in a tight group before winning a playoff against Joaqin Niemann. Harman had his back to the all after an opening loss to Patrick Cantlay but won his next two and then defeated Cantlay in a playoff.

WGC Dell Match Play

Betting: 10/11 Watson, 5/6 Harman

Jon Rahm (3) v Erik van Rooyen (62)

With all his big-name rivals falling, Rahm is now the clear favourite to take victory. The 2017 finalist only just scraped through himself though, halving his final match against Ryan Palmer and then beating the American in a playoff. Van Rooyen secured his place in the knockout phase with a Friday win over Brendon Todd followed by a playoff success over group favourite Daniel Berger.

Betting: 2/5 Rahm, 15/8 Van Rooyen

Scottie Scheffler (30) v Ian Poulter (60)

Match play king Poulter set the tone with a 6&5 thrashing of Rory McIlroy and followed it up with wins over Cameron Smith and Lanto Griffin. It meant he was one of just two players to emerge with a perfect 3-0-0 group record. Scheffler, a local Texan, scraped through with just a single win and two halved matches. He punched his ticket with a playoff win over Xander Schauffele.

Betting: 5/6 Scheffler, 10/11 Poulter

Paddy Power outright betting: 9/2 Rahm, 13/2 Spieth, 15/2 Fleetwood, 8/1 Garcia, 11/1 Scheffler, 14/1 Horschel, Watson, Harman, Poulter, 16/1 Kuchar, 20/1 Perez, 22/1 Frittelli, MacIntyre, 25/1 Hughes, 28/1 Van Rooyen, Streelman.

READ MORE: Sergio Garcia slams door shut on Westwood with incredible hole-in-one

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