Golf
Which LIV Golf Players Would Be Eligible for the WGC-Match Play?
The field for the final edition of the WGC-Match Play event is set and features 64 of the top 77 players in the Official World Golf Ranking. Of those 64 golfers, 48 own at least one PGA Tour victory, six of whom have won this very event, those being Scottie Scheffler (2022), Billy Horschel (2021), Kevin Kisner (2019), Jason Day (2014, 2016), Rory McIlroy (2015), and Matt Kuchar (2013).
You might notice that the 2017 and 2018 WGC-Match Play champions aren’t listed above. You may also notice the absence of a 2020 champ, but that’s only because the tourney wasn’t held that year due to COVID-19. But I digress.
The two players referenced are 2017 winner Dustin Johnson and 2018 winner Bubba Watson. And what do those two have in common — I mean, outside of both being WGC-Match Play winners, past PGA Tour winners, and past Masters champions? You guessed it. They’re both currently members of the LIV Golf roster.
And while the PGA Tour doesn’t technically organize the WGC-Match Play, it’s still essentially a PGA Tour event. As such, no LIV Golf players, even those who would typically be eligible as one of the top 64 players in the OWGR, are in the field at Austin Country Club to close out the World Golf Championships era.
To be clear, if those who’ve defected to LIV Golf were competing in the WGC-Match Play, Johnson would be in the field as he’s still in the top 64. Watson, however, would not, as he’s fallen outside the top 200. So which other LIV Golf players would be in the field if they were allowed?
Which LIV Golf players would be in the WGC-Match Play field if they were allowed to play?
If the WGC-Match Play actually included the top 64 players in the OWGR, eight LIV Golf players would be in the field:
- Cameron Smith
- Joaquin Niemann
- Abraham Ancer
- Thomas Pieters
- Talor Gooch
- Mito Pereira
- Harold Varner III
- Dustin Johnson
And as Justin Thomas and Justin Rose are choosing to skip the event, Patrick Reed, who was ranked 65th in the world when the field was set, would have gotten in as well.
But with LIV Golf out of the picture, here’s what the actual field at the 2023 WGC-Match Play looks like.
- Scottie Scheffler
- Jon Rahm
- Rory McIlroy
- Patrick Cantlay
- Max Homa
- Xander Schauffele
- Will Zalatoris
- Viktor Hovland
- Collin Morikawa
- Tony Finau
- Matt Fitzpatrick
- Jordan Spieth
- Sam Burns
- Cameron Young
- Tyrrell Hatton
- Sungjae Im
- Tom Kim
- Hideki Matsuyama
- Kurt Kitayama
- Keegan Bradley
- Shane Lowry
- Tom Hoge
- Billy Horschel
- Tommy Fleetwood
- Brian Harman
- Sahith Theegala
- Sepp Straka
- Seamus Power
- Ryan Fox
- Chris Kirk
- Russell Henley
- Jason Day
- Adam Scott
- Si Woo Kim
- Corey Conners
- Harris English
- K.H. Lee
- Alex Noren
- Min Woo Lee
- Kevin Kisner
- Keith Mitchell
- Aaron Wise
- Adam Svensson
- Adrian Meronk
- J.T. Poston
- Lucas Herbert
- Taylor Montgomery
- Denny McCarthy
- Mackenzie Hughes
- Rickie Fowler
- Scott Stallings
- Adam Hadwin
- Victor Perez
- Davis Riley
- Andrew Putnam
- Davis Thompson
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout
- Maverick McNealy
- Matt Kuchar
- Nick Taylor
- J.J. Spaun
- Ben Griffin
- Cam Davis
- Justin Suh