2015 WGC Cadillac Match Play bracket: Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth headline field

Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods may be missing from this week’s WGC-Cadillac Match Play, but groupings picked in Monday’s blind draw broadcast on Golf Channel should make for an exciting week in a reformatted event in a new spot on the schedule and at a new venue -- San Francisco’s Harding Park.

Rory McIlroy, the world No. 1 and one of the top 16 players in the tourney to lead a separate group in this year’s overhaul of the tournament structure, drew reigning FedEx Cup champ Billy Horschel, putting wizard Brandt Snedeker, and a struggling Jason Dufner in group play. McIlroy gets Dufner on Wednesday.

Second-ranked Masters winner Jordan Spieth gets Lee Westwood, Matt Every, and Mikko Ilonen. Ilonen made it into the field when Mickelson withdrew late on Sunday.

Another interesting group includes 2012 Masters finalists Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen, along with Keegan Bradley and Miguel Angel Jimenez, with Bubba vs. M.A. to start on Wednesday. Experts predict fireworks from the grouping of Jimmy Walker, Ian Poulter, Webb Simpson, and Gary Woodland.

Under the new round-robin format, the tourney starts with group play for the first three days at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. The 64 players are in 16 groups of four each, with a winner from each foursome moving on to the traditional one-and-done match play format on Saturday and Sunday. There will be 36 holes on both Saturday and Sunday to trim the field from the Sweet 16 to a champion.

As for the notable absences of the marquee attractions, this will be the second consecutive match play championship that Woods will miss, after he skipped last year’s competition due to injury and did not qualify for the 2015 edition. Given his recent struggles, it seems odd to recall that Tiger has won the tournament three times, though he has been pretty much a non-factor in the event since his last Match Play win in 2008. Most recently, in 2013, Tiger lost in the second round.

Lefty, who cited personal reasons for officially withdrawing from this year’s contest, has not even played in the event since 2011.

Without the two aging superstars, this week seems a microcosm of the passing of the baton and it would be terrific if McIlroy and Spieth could race to the finals and face each other in what many believe will be an amazing rivalry over the next several years. Rory has reached the finals once, while Jordan chalked up three wins in his Match Play debut last year before Ernie Els took him down.

Here are the round-robin pools for the new format, which guarantees a player three matches from Wednesday through Friday. Each pool winner then moves on to that 16-man traditional single elimination bracket on the weekend.

Under the new format, the final 16 bracket will not be set until Friday night. But here’s a full printable bracket with all 64 names in their pools.

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