The 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play was the 17th WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship, played April 29 – May 3 at

TPC Harding Park TPC Harding Park, formerly Harding Park Golf Club and commonly known as Harding Park, is a municipal golf course on the West Coast of the United States, located in western San Francisco, California. It is owned by the city and county of It is ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It was the second of four

World Golf Championships The World Golf Championships (WGC) are a group of annual professional golf tournaments created by the International Federation of PGA Tours as a means of gathering the best players in the world together more frequently than the pre-existing four ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. Top-ranked

Rory McIlroy Rory Daniel McIlroy (born 4 May 1989) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who is a member of both the European and PGA Tours. He is the current world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking, and has spent over 100 weeks in tha ...

defeated

Gary Woodland Gary Woodland (born May 21, 1984) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Woodland won the U.S. Open in 2019, his first major championship and sixth professional victory. Following a successful college career, he turned ...

in the final, for his second win in a WGC event, after his win in the

2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational The 2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational was a professional golf tournament held July 31 – August 3 on the South Course of Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. It was the 16th WGC-Bridgestone Invitational tournament, and the third of the World ...

. On September 30, 2014,

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

was announced as the new title sponsor.

Field

The field consisted of the top 64 players available from the

Official World Golf Ranking The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolli ...

on April 19. However, the seedings were based on the World Rankings on April 26.

Luke Donald Luke Campbell Donald MBE (born 7 December 1977) is an English professional golfer and former world number one. He plays mainly on the U.S.-based PGA Tour but is also a member of the European Tour. Donald had an outstanding year in 2011, winnin ...

(ranked 50 on April 19, personal reasons), Tim Clark (ranked 57, injury), and

Phil Mickelson Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970), nicknamed Lefty, is an American professional golfer who plays for LIV Golf. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters To ...

(ranked 18, personal reasons) did not compete, allowing entry for

Miguel Ángel Jiménez Miguel Ángel Jiménez Rodríguez (born 5 January 1964) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has won 21 times on the European Tour and has been a member of two victorious Ryder Cup teams. Early years Born in Málaga in southern Spain, Jiménez ...

(ranked 65),

Francesco Molinari Francesco Molinari (born 8 November 1982) is an Italian professional golfer. He won the 2018 Open Championship, his first and only major victory, and the first major won by an Italian professional golfer. The Open Championship win capped a su ...

(ranked 66), and

Mikko Ilonen Mikko Ilonen (born 18 December 1979) is a retired Finnish professional golfer who played on the European Tour, winning five times. He is considered to be the greatest golfer from Finland. Career Ilonen was born in Lahti, Finland. He won the 2000 ...

(ranked 67). Two players made their WGC debut: Andy Sullivan and Ben Martin.

Nationalities in the field

Past champions in the field

Format

A new format was introduced in 2015. Previously, the Championship was a single elimination

match play Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 h ...

event. Beginning in 2015, the championship started with pool play, with 16 groups of four players playing round-robin matches, on Wednesday through Friday. There are no halved matches in pool play with extra holes played to determine the winner. The top 16 seeded players were allocated to the 16 groups, one in each group. The remaining 48 players were placed into three pools (seeds 17–32, seeds 33–48, seeds 49–64). Each group had one player randomly selected from each pool to complete the group. The winners of each group advanced to a single-elimination bracket on the weekend, with the round of 16 and quarterfinals on Saturday, and the semi-finals, finals, and consolation match on Sunday. If two players are tied at the top of the group, the result of their head-to-head match determines the group winner. If three players are tied, the winner is determined by a sudden-death playoff. Rank –

on April 26, 2015.

Results

Pool play

Players were divided into 16 groups of four players and played round-robin matches on Wednesday to Friday. *Round 1 – April 29 *Round 2 – April 30 *Round 3 – May 1 Notes: Round 1 Of the 32 matches played, 14 were "upsets" with the lower seeded player beating the higher seeded player. These included #3

Henrik Stenson Henrik Olof Stenson (; born 5 April 1976) is a Swedish professional golfer. He is the first male Swedish and first male Nordic major champion, having won the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon with a major championship record score of 264. ...

(lost to #60

John Senden John Gerard Senden (born 20 April 1971) is an Australian professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Senden was born in Brisbane, Queensland and turned pro in 1992. Senden has played all over the world. He is a regular competitor on the PGA ...

), #6

Justin Rose Justin Peter Rose, (born 30 July 1980) is an English professional golfer who plays most of his golf on the PGA Tour, while keeping his membership on the European Tour. He won his first major championship at the 2013 U.S. Open (golf), 2013 U.S. O ...

(lost to #56

Marc Leishman Marc Leishman (born 24 October 1983) is an Australian professional golfer. He has won six times on the PGA Tour. In 2009 he won the Rookie of the Year award on the PGA Tour, the first Australian to win the award. Career Leishman was born in W ...

), #7

Jason Day Jason Day (born 12 November 1987) is an Australian professional golfer, PGA Tour member and winner of the 2015 PGA Championship. He is a former world number one in the World Golf Ranking, having first achieved the ranking in September 2015. ...

(lost to #49

Charley Hoffman Charley Lindley Hoffman (born December 27, 1976) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Early years and amateur career Born in San Diego, California, Hoffman won the California state high school championship in 1994 and 199 ...

), and #9 Adam Scott (lost to #64

). Notes: Round 2 Of the 32 matches played, 16 were upsets. These included #5

Jim Furyk James Michael Furyk (born May 12, 1970) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. In 2010, he was the FedEx Cup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year. He has won one major championship, the 200 ...

(lost to #44

Thongchai Jaidee Thongchai Jaidee ( th, ธงชัย ใจดี; , born 8 November 1969) is a Thai professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions. He formerly played on the Asian Tour and the European Tour. On the Asian Tour, he holds the record for ...

), #7 Day (lost to #38

Branden Grace Branden John Grace (born 20 May 1988) is a professional golfer from South Africa who currently plays for LIV Golf. He formerly played on the European Tour, the PGA Tour, and the Sunshine Tour. In 2012, he became the first player in the histor ...

), #8

Dustin Johnson Dustin Hunter Johnson (born June 22, 1984) is an American professional golfer. He has won two major championships, the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club with a 4-under-par score of 276 and the 2020 Masters Tournament with a record score ...

(lost to #37

Charl Schwartzel Charl Adriaan Schwartzel ( ; born 31 August 1984) is a South African professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf Invitational Series and has previously played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and the Sunshine Tour. He has won one maj ...

), #9 Scott (lost to #36

Paul Casey Paul Alexander Casey (born 21 July 1977) is an English golfer who is a member of LIV Golf. He has also played on the US-based PGA Tour and the European Tour. In 2009, he achieved his highest position, third, in the Official World Golf Ranking. ...

), and #10

Sergio García Sergio García Fernández (; born 9 January 1980) is a Spanish professional golfer. He has played on the European Tour, PGA Tour and LIV Golf Invitational Series. García has won 36 international tournaments as a professional, most notably th ...

(lost to #39

Bernd Wiesberger Bernd Klaus Wiesberger (; born 8 October 1985) is an Austrian professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the LIV Golf Invitational Series. He finished the 2019 season in third place on the Race to Dubai standings, his best finish to da ...

). Two players, #13

Rickie Fowler Rick Yutaka Fowler (born December 13, 1988) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He was the number one ranked amateur golfer in the world for 36 weeks in 2007 and 2008. On January 24, 2016 he reached a career high fourth ...

and #60

, were guaranteed to advance. Notes: Round 3 Of the 32 matches played, 18 were upsets. These included #2

Jordan Spieth Jordan Alexander Spieth (born July 27, 1993) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour and former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is a three-time major winner and the 2015 FedEx Cup champion. Spieth's first majo ...

(lost to #26

Lee Westwood Lee John Westwood (born 24 April 1973) is an English professional golfer. Noted for his consistency, Westwood is one of the few golfers who has won tournaments on five continents – Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Oceania – including ...

), #3 Stenson (lost to #23

Bill Haas William Harlan Haas (born May 24, 1982) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and won the 2011 FedEx Cup. He is the son of former PGA Tour player Jay Haas. Early life Haas was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and was r ...

), #4

Bubba Watson Gerry Lester "Bubba" Watson Jr. (born November 5, 1978) is an American professional golfer. He has played predominantly on the PGA Tour, and is a multiple major champion, with victories at the Masters Tournament in 2012 and 2014. In February 201 ...

(lost to #29

Louis Oosthuizen Lodewicus Theodorus "Louis" Oosthuizen (; born 1982) is a South African professional golfer who won the 2010 Open Championship. He has finished runner-up in all four major championships: the 2012 Masters Tournament, the 2015 and 2021 U.S. Op ...

), #7 Day (lost to #24

Zach Johnson Zachary Harris Johnson (born February 24, 1976) is an American professional golfer who has 12 victories on the PGA Tour, including two major championships, the 2007 Masters and the 2015 Open Championship. In 2023, Johnson will captain the U ...

), #9 Scott (lost to #25

Chris Kirk Christopher Brandon Kirk (born May 8, 1985) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour. He won four tournaments on the PGA Tour between 2011 and 2015. He finished second in the 2014 FedEx Cup Playoffs and re ...

), and #10 García (lost to #30

Jamie Donaldson James Ross Donaldson (born 19 October 1975) is a Welsh professional golfer who plays on the European Tour. Professional career Donaldson was born in Pontypridd. He turned professional in 2000. Having failed to come through the European Tour ...

). Day, Scott and

Jimmy Walker James John Walker (June 19, 1881November 18, 1946), known colloquially as Beau James, was mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932. A flamboyant politician, he was a liberal Democrat and part of the powerful Tammany Hall machine. He was forced t ...

were the only top seeds to lose all three matches. Only five of the top seeds advanced: #1

, #5 Furyk, #12

J. B. Holmes John Bradley "J.B." Holmes (born April 26, 1982) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. Early life Holmes, born in Campbellsville, Kentucky, began to play on the varsity golf team at Taylor County High School in Campbel ...

, #13 Fowler, and #16

Hideki Matsuyama is a Japanese professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He is the first-ever Japanese professional golfer to win a men's major golf championship the 2021 Masters Tournament. As of January 2022, Matsuyama has 17 worldwide wins, eight car ...

. 12 of the 16 group winners advanced with perfect 3–0 records. Three groups winners advanced based on head-to-head tie-breaker and one group went to a three-way sudden-death playoff.

defeated

and

on the third extra hole in group 7. In Group 11, all six matches of the three rounds were upsets. A total of 18 of the 96 matches went extra holes, causing some to suggest altering the format next year to include halved matches.

Final 16 bracket

The match between Rory McIlroy and Paul Casey was completed on May 3 having been all square after 21 holes when it became too dark to continue.

Breakdown by country

Prize money breakdown

* Source:

References

External links

*
Coverage on the European Tour's official site
{{coord, 37.724, N, 122.493, W, display=title WGC Match Play Golf in California WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship