Match Play To Adopt Pool Play Format Starting In 2015

Ron Kroichick reports in anticipation of Wednesday's big day of announcements at Harding Park that the 2015 WGC Match Play will adopt a round-robin pool play format providing some guaranteed great golf viewing for the first three days.

This will keep the full field around through Friday but keep the final 16 format the same as in the past.

The top 64 players in the Official World Golf Ranking will qualify for the event, as in the past. Starting next year at Harding, the field will be divided into 16 four-player “groups,” with round-robin match play on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of tournament week.

Then the winner of each group will advance to the round of 16 on Saturday morning. (Head-to-head results will be used to break two-way ties, with sudden-death playoffs for three-way ties.)