Austin will reportedly stage the WGC-Match Play for the final time this year, casting doubt over the future of the event, according to Golfweek. (opens in new tab)
Austin Country Club has held the event since 2016 when Dell first sponsored it, but Golfweek is now reporting that this year’s tournament will be the last at the Texas venue.
And with the usual late March date of the competition set to be taken up by the Houston Open in 2024, the talk is now whether the WGC-Match Play as an event will even exist after this year.
The World Golf Championships were the best of the rest in terms of prestige when they were introduced in 1999, behind only the Majors and Players Championship.
With limited fields and no cut, the World Golf Championships had a special feel to them, but the four had been cut in half in 2021 with the FedEx St Jude being absorbed into the FedEx Cup play-offs, while the WGC Mexico Open was reduced to a regular PGA Tour event.
The WGC HSBC Champions hasn’t been staged in China since 2019 due to Covid and there has been no talk of when that could return.
The Match Play was on the agenda at the PGA Tour Player Advisory Council meeting at the Farmers Insurance Open last week, with Kevin Streelman confirming as much.
“They talked about that a little bit,” Streelman said. “Hopefully they can save it. It’s a sponsorship issue.
“It’s pretty common knowledge. There definitely hasn’t been any decision yet.”
Complicated issues surrounding sponsors, Austin Country Club and the PGA Tour all cloud the matter, but it is thought that the Tour don’t want to lose the Match Play as an event.
It’s an elevated event with a record $20 million prize fund this year, but with it being just one of 10 it does seem that the WGC aspect may well be over, as it has no real value on the new PGA Tour.
As they battle with LIV Golf, an event that’s not just a usual 72-hole strokeplay event should be something the PGA Tour want to keep hold of, to keep that variety in the schedule.
It just won’t be in Austin and does not look likely to have the WGC moniker attached to it if and when it returns in 2024.
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