The benefit of a round-robin format

When some of the upsets started coming in during Wednesday's WGC Dell Technologies Match Play first-round play, the flashbacks to the dangers of match play may have terrorized fans initially. That splendid golfer-versus-golfer format that provides so much drama has long been a TV golf nightmare for the unavoidable dread it brings of knocking out star players. It has always been a match-play drawback on the pro tour, and is the reason match-play events have come and gone for much of tour history.

But--sigh of relief--the WGC Match Play is using a round-robin format, whereby 16 groups of four players will go through three days of match play, with each player in a group playing the other three in 18-hole matches one day at a time. The 16 top players after that will then continue on Saturday.

That type of format means the higher-ranked players who fell--Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Brandt Snedeker, Emilio Grillo, Francesco Molinari, Jimmy Walker, Danny Willett, Matthew Fitzpatrick and J.B. Holmes--will live to fight another two days. It also means they started digging a hole for themselves and can't afford any more misteps or they really will be out after Friday. If a player loses their first two matches, Friday's match will purely be to play well enough to get out of town with at least one win.