Drama ahead on “Cut Day” at the WGC-Dell Match Play

It’s Cut Day at the WGC-Dell Match Play — the first of three in a row.

Friday is the final day of round-robin group play at Austin Country Club, with the last of the six matches in 16 groups of four unfolding. At the conclusion of the 32-match docket on Friday, the starting field of 64 will be whittled down to the individual group winners, which will come together for the weekend in a 16-man, bracket-style tournament to determine a champion.

However, only about two-thirds of the field still has a chance to make the weekend. A total of 22 players have already been eliminated in the first two days of pool play. That leaves 42 players competing with a chance of winning their group outright or, if the circumstances allow, ending up in a tie for the group title. If there is a tie — and there are some possibilities of an entire group having the same record — then the players in that tie will immediately move to a stroke-play playoff to determine the group winner.

That’s a chance from last year’s event, the first time the round-robin group format was introduced. Last year, the 18-hole group play matches had to end with a winner, with the triumphant player getting a point and the loser getting nothing. Unfortunately, that led to a sizable portion of the Friday docket proving to be meaningless matches for both players, creating a somewhat underwhelming final day to group play. This year, matches could end in an 18-hole tie, with each player getting a half-point. That may have created a few underwhelming finishes in the first two days, but the compromise makes Friday much more exciting.

Jordan Spieth, who won his first two matches and can do no worse than a playoff on Friday, isn’t necessarily a fan of the change, but he gets why it was made.

“I like it if you beat somebody you go through,” Spieth said. “I like the head-to-head. But I understand that last year there were three or four scenarios where guys were already through without playing their last match, and it’s not necessarily as exciting. But I still think if you beat somebody heads up, you should have the advantage to go through over them.”

There remain six matches on Friday that have no bearing whatsoever on the group outcome. However, the tournament payout structure distingishes players who don’t make the final 16 based on their group record, so there is some incentive to win on Friday, even if, at best, a player can only be a spoiler.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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