PGA TOUR and ZOZO Inc. announce 2021 ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP will be contested in Japan

One is an annual tournament in which the objective is to get a ball into a hole to survive and advance. The other is the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. College basketball doesn't have a monopoly on compelling competition in March. The best golfers in the world have descended on Austin Country Club for their own version of madness. The top 16 of this Power Rankings are who I've identified as the most likely to emerge from the three-day Group Stage launched on the only Wednesday start on the PGA TOUR. With Nos. 1-4 determined logically based on my winners of the championship and consolation matches, Nos. 5-8 are a subjective rank of the quarterfinalists. The golfers in positions 9-16 are my Group Stage survivors who are eliminated in the first round of the Knockout Stage. RELATED: The First Look | Inside the Field | Play the Bracket Challenge | Print out your bracket POWER RANKINGS: WGC-DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY POWER RANKINGS CONTINUED 17. Rory McIlroy 18. Ryan Palmer 19. Tony Finau 20. Louis Oosthuizen 21. Patrick Cantlay 22. Brendon Todd 23. Joaquin Niemann (first-timer) 24. Max Homa (first-timer) 25. Matt Fitzpatrick 26. Lee Westwood 27. Hideki Matsuyama 28. Tyrrell Hatton 29. Jason Day 30. Ian Poulter 31. Webb Simpson 32. Russell Henley 33. Viktor Hovland (first-timer) 34. Kevin Kisner 35. Lanto Griffin (first-timer) 36. Carlos Ortiz (first-timer) 37. Shane Lowry 38. Tommy Fleetwood 39. Corey Conners (first-timer) 40. Collin Morikawa (first-timer) 41. Scottie Scheffler (first-timer) 42. Erik van Rooyen (first-timer) 43. Kevin Streelman 44. Christiaan Bezuidenhout (first-timer) 45. Matt Wallace 46. Harris English 47. Marc Leishman 48. Adam Long (first-timer) 49. Kevin Na 50. Bubba Watson 51. Matt Kuchar 52. Mackenzie Hughes (first-timer) 53. Jason Kokrak (first-timer) 54. Victor Perez (first-timer) 55. Talor Gooch (first-timer) 56. Dylan Frittelli 57. J.T. Poston (first-timer) 58. Sebastián Muñoz (first-timer) 59. Matthew Wolff (first-timer) 60. Bernd Wiesberger 61. Robert MacIntyre (first-timer) 62. Si Woo Kim 63. Andy Sullivan 64. Antoine Rozner (first-timer) Just as devotees of college buckets rush to complete their brackets every year, arguably more than anything else in professional golf, the Match Play is the best way for fans to connect emotionally and still have success relative to others as seeds are merely fact more often than friction. In the first four spins of the Match Play at Austin CC, only 23 of a possible 64 top seeds in every pod survived the Group Stage format. Sixteen advanced from the grouping ranked 17-32 upon entry, 14 moved on from the golfers seeded 33-48, and 11 from the bottom 16 played on. Perhaps the best example of the competitive balance occurred in 2018 when Dustin Johnson went 0-3-0 as the defending champion and top seed of the tournament. You can play the Bracket Challenge for bragging rights and for a fantastic prize package. It's free to play. Consider the AUTOPICK feature and select from overall seed or odds. You also can copy my bracket as yours. If you select any, you can customize as usual from there. Since it's been two years from the last edition of the Match Play, there are 22 first-time participants in the field. Only the four-man pods headlined by Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Thomas don't include at least one debutant. Anytime that match play is the format, a unique Power Rankings could be constructed for every round. Matchups and momentum are the primary components that establish expectations, so a full-tournament Power Rankings must be consumed with a grain of salt. What doesn't change is the course, naturally. Austin CC is a par 71 with three par 5s. It tips at just 7,108 yards. The only relevant change is that the bunkers have new sand (as a result of a project to update drainage). TifEagle bermuda greens are overseeded and dialed to 12 feet on the Stimpmeter. The only cut of rough framing overseeded bermuda fairways and other areas of the shortest grass is two inches, and it is not overseeded. The weather will be worse before it gets better. A delay due to inclement conditions on Wednesday cannot be ruled out. Showers will linger into Thursday morning before dry air takes over and hangs throughout the weekend. And of course, given its location, wind will be a through line for most of the week. Course knowledge and applied experience in it should have value as a result. After posing for pictures with the Walter Hager Cup, the champion will receive 550 FedExCup points and PGA TOUR membership through at least 2023-24. As usual, if a non-member prevails, his equivalent of FedExCup points collected in either of the WGCs completed this season will not contribute to his membership total if he accepts his card. ROB BOLTON'S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM's Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings (Match Play) TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Corales); Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM's Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.

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Curious about the top performances in golf’s Grand Slam events? We’ve compiled them for you below. No surprise, but the names Nicklaus and Woods appear on this list several times. Rory McIlroy has a growing presence here, as well. LOW 72-HOLE SCORE (with relation to par) Masters Tournament 18 under, Tiger Woods: 1997, 70-66-65-69; Jordan Spieth: 2015, 64-66-70-70 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. U.S. Open 16 under, Rory McIlroy: 2011, 65-66-68-69 at Congressional Golf Club in Bethesda, Maryland Open Championship 19 under, Tiger Woods: 2000, 67-66-67-69 at St. Andrews (Old) in St. Andrews, Scotland PGA Championship 20 under, Jason Day: 2015, 68-67-66-67 at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan, Wisconsin LOW 18-HOLE SCORE Masters Tournament 63, Nick Price (1986, third round); Greg Norman (1996, first) U.S. Open 63, Johnny Miller (1973, fourth round); Jack Nicklaus (1980, first); Tom Weiskopf (1980, first); Vijay Singh (2003, second); Justin Thomas (2017, third). Open Championship 63, Mark Hayes (1977, second round); Isao Aoki (1980, third); Greg Norman (1986, second); Paul Broadhurst (1990, third); Jodie Mudd (1991, fourth); Nick Faldo (1993, second); Payne Stewart (1993, fourth); Rory McIlroy (2010, first); Phil Mickelson (2016, first); Henrik Stenson (2016, fourth). PGA Championship 63, Bruce Crampton (1975, second round); Raymond Floyd (1982, first); Gary Player (1984, second); Vijay Singh (1993, second); Michael Bradley (1995, first); Brad Faxon (1995, fourth); Jose Maria Olazabal (2000, third); Mark O’Meara (2001, second); Thomas Bjorn (2005, third); Tiger Woods (2007, second); Steve Stricker (2011, first); Jason Dufner (2013, second), Hiroshi Iwata (2015, second); Robert Streb (2016, second). YOUNGEST CHAMPIONS Masters Tournament Tiger Woods, 1997 (21 years, 3 months, 14 days) U.S. Open Johnny McDermott, 1911 (19 years, 10 months, 14 days) The Open Championship Seve Ballesteros, 1979 (modern era, 22 years, 3 months, 12 days); Tom Morris Jr., 1868 (pre-modern era, 17 years, 5 months, 8 days) PGA Championship Gene Sarazen, 1922 (20 years, 5 months, 22 days) OLDEST CHAMPIONS Masters Tournament Jack Nicklaus, 1986 (46 years, 2 months, 23 days) U.S. Open Hale Irwin, 1990 (45 years, 15 days) The Open Championship Roberto De Vicenzo, 1967 (modern era, 44 years, 3 months, 3 days); Old Tom Morris, 1867 (pre-modern era, 46 years, 3 months, 10 days) PGA Championship Julius Boros, 1968 (48 years, 4 months, 18 days) OLDEST FIRST-TIME MAJOR WINNERS Jerry Barber (45 years, 3 months, 6 days, 1961 PGA Championship) Roberto De Vicenzo (44 years, 3 months, 1 day, 1967 Open Championship) LONGEST TIME BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND MAJORS 11 years, Julius Boros  (1952 U.S. Open-1963 U.S. Open) 11 years, Ben Crenshaw (1984 Masters-1995 Masters) PLAYERS WINNING THE WEEK BEFORE A MAJOR (since 1934) 2014, Rory McIlroy (WGC-Bridgestone Invitational-PGA Championship) 2007, Tiger Woods (WGC-Bridgestone Invitational-PGA Championship) 2006, Phil Mickelson (BellSouth Classic-Masters Tournament) 1988, Sandy Lyle (Greater Greensboro Open-Masters Tournament) 1971, Lee Trevino (Canadian Open-Open Championship) 1959, Art Wall (Azalea Open-Masters Tournament) 1949, Sam Snead (Greater Greensboro Open-Masters Tournament) 1946, Ben Hogan (Winnipeg Open-PGA Championship) 1945, Byron Nelson (Chicago Victory Open-PGA Championship) 1939, Ralph Guldahl (Greater Greensboro Open-Masters Tournament) 1939, Henry Picard (Scranton Open-PGA Championship)   Read more stories about the Grand Slam

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The weight of history was almost too much. In his first interview since winning the Masters and returning home to Japan, Hideki Matsuyama said becoming the first from his country to win the coveted Green Jacket – or any men’s major, for that matter – was almost too overwhelming to think about as he navigated the course Sunday. “I was filled with nerves from the first hole to the last,” said Matsuyama, who bogeyed three of the last four holes but still edged Will Zalatoris by one. “I never felt there was a time for me to let up even a little bit and relax.” The victory was huge in Japan, with congratulations pouring in from all corners. Retired golfers like Isao Aoki and Jumbo Ozaki weighed in, as expected, but so did tennis pro Kei Nishikori and even Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. Matsuyama, who spoke Sunday of inspiring kids back home, said in his press conference in Japan that he hopes his daughter will be among them. Japan’s women golfers, he added, have been pushing the men for years. His breakthrough victory came a decade after he was the low amateur at Augusta, and he climbed from 33rd to seventh in the FedExCup. Now comes the question of what’s next. More history? Perhaps. Asked about capturing the remaining three major titles, he said he’ll have to draw up some new goals. He laughed when asked about the next 10 years, but he’s still just 29, and absent the weight of history he could feel liberated to summon his A game more often. He was T7 in greens in regulation and second in scrambling at Augusta. And his putting, always hot and cold, was good enough. Most crucially, swing changes that Matsuyama had been working since the outset of this year – he was trying to break a win drought that dated to 2017 – have finally set. He sensed it prior to the opening round last week. “Technically, I’ve had some pretty frustrating days since the beginning of this year and haven’t been able to see the results that I’ve wanted,” he said. “But after my practice round on Wednesday, I felt like I kind of found something and started to feel pretty good about my chances that week. It’s hard to define what those feeling were but that was probably the biggest impression I had going into the tournament.” Matsuyama did not play in the 2012 PGA Championship at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, where it will return May 20-23. Nor did he play in the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where the tournament will return June 17-20, or the 2011 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s, which will host that tournament a year later than originally planned, July 15-18. After a three-week break, he will return to action at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, May 6-9. His best in five Wells Fargo starts is a T11 in 2016, although he finished T5 at the 2017 PGA there. Most top of mind, of course, for Matsuyama and throughout all of Japan, is the Olympics Men’s Golf Competition at Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama, Japan, July 29-Aug. 1. “To be honest, I don’t know what will happen yet, but I think I will be selected via the rankings,” he said. “So right now, I just plan to be careful and try and avoid any injuries in the tournaments I have left to play before the Olympics, and then go there and win a gold medal. “That’s my goal,” he added, “and I’ll do my best to accomplish it.” Given the barrier he just broke, don’t bet against him.

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