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Here's who qualified for the WGC-Dell Match Play -- and who needs help getting in
Selections for the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship were revealed on Sunday, but that wasn't the only bracket affected by what happened over the weekend. The Valspar Championship represented the last chance golfers had to play their way into next week's WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play -- and there was plenty of movement on the bubble.
The latest edition of the Official World Golf Ranking was released Sunday night and those in the top 64 automatically earned a spot in the field at Austin Country Club. However, if you're just outside the cutoff, that doesn't necessarily mean you're out.
Valspar Championship winner Adam Hadwin (who vaulted from No. 98 to No. 51) is getting married on the Friday of the tournament so he's skipping the event (Smart call, Adam). So too are Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott and Justin Rose, who have all decided playing in the Shell Houston Open is better practice for next month's Masters. Players have until Friday at 5 p.m. EDT to commit to the field; those who don't commit are then replaced with No. 65 on the the World Ranking, then No. 66, No. 67, etc., until there are 64 players in the field.
That means if you're in (at least) the top 68 you will have the opportunity to play in this lucrative event (A $9.75 million purse with no cut). So who is in and who is out? Let's take a look at the current ranking:
1 Dustin Johnson
2 Jason Day
3 Rory McIlroy
4 Hideki Matsuyama
5 Henrik Stenson
6 Jordan Spieth
7 Justin Thomas
8 Adam Scott
9 Rickie Fowler
10 Sergio Garcia
11 Alex Noren
12 Patrick Reed
13 Justin Rose
14 Danny Willett
15 Paul Casey
16 Tyrrell Hatton
17 Bubba Watson
18 Phil Mickelson
19 Branden Grace
20 Matt Kuchar
21 Russell Knox
22 Jimmy Walker
23 Brooks Koepka
24 Brandt Snedeker
25 Rafa Cabrera Bello
26 Jon Rahm
27 Charl Schwartzel
28 Louis Oosthuizen
29 Thomas Pieters
30 Matthew Fitzpatrick
31 J.B. Holmes
32 Emiliano Grillo
33 Francesco Molinari
34 Gary Woodland
35 Tommy Fleetwood
36 Ryan Moore
37 Daniel Berger
38 Bernd Wiesberger
39 Yuta Ikeda
40 Kevin Chappell
41 Scott Piercy
42 Zach Johnson
43 Bill Haas
44 Martin Kaymer
45 Jeunghun Wang
46 Kevin Kisner
47 Kevin Na
48 Byeong Hun An
49 Lee Westwood
50 Jim Furyk
51 Adam Hadwin
52 William McGirt
53 Brendan Steele
54 Ross Fisher
55 Chris Wood
56 Andy Sullivan
57 Shane Lowry
58 Hideto Tanihara
59 Jhonattan Vegas
60 Webb Simpson
61 Thongchai Jaidee
62 Marc Leishman
63 Charles Howell III
64 Soren Kjeldsen
65 Jason Dufner
66 K.T. Kim
67 Joost Luiten
68 Pat Perez
As you can see, Pat Perez is No. 68 after falling one spot from last week. Joost Luiten dropped from No. 64 to No. 67, but he gets in thanks to the WDs. And K.T. Kim (No. 66) and Jason Dufner (No. 65) can both breathe easier now. Dufner's T-11 at Innisbrook brought him up from No. 70.
Tony Finau shot a clutch 64 on Sunday to finish solo fifth at the Valspar, but it might not be enough. Finau jumped up seven spots, but he still sits at No. 70. He'll need two more players to pull out to get in. Needing one more player to WD is 69th-ranked Si Woo Kim, who fell from No. 63 after withdrawing following a first-round 81 at Innisbrook.
Charley Hoffman will need even more help after missing the cut in Tampa and dropping to No. 71. And it doesn't look like Wesley Bryan, one of the surprises of the young season, will get into the Match Play field, either. Bryan, the former trick-shot artist who has gone T-4, T-4, T-7 in his past three starts during his rookie season, only moved up to No. 72.
Jim Herman, No. 76, also appears like he won't head to Austin even though he finished T-3 at the Valspar. And neither will runner-up Patrick Cantlay, despite making the week's biggest jump from No. 1,419 to No. 239. Cantley did earn his PGA Tour card, though, which means there will be plenty more opportunities for him to qualify for the next World Golf Championship -- the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational -- in August.