Team Match Format

WTDGC 2026 uses a team Match Play format designed specifically for national team competition.

A Match is the complete contest between two national teams. Each Match consists of four Games played simultaneously:

• two Singles Games
• two Modified Alternate-Shot Doubles Games

Each Game is played over 18 holes, subject to the applicable time-cap procedures.

Game Points and Match Result

Each individual Game awards:

• Win – 2 Game Points
• Draw – 1 Game Point
• Loss – 0 Game Points

With four Games in each Match, a total of 8 Game Points are available.

The combined results of the four Games determine the overall Match result.

For example:

Country A 5 : 3 Country B

Country A wins the Match.

The overall Match result then determines the Match Points used in the Championship standings:

• Match win – 2 Match Points
• Match draw – 1 Match Point
• Match loss – 0 Match Points

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Match Rosters

For each Match, teams select six eligible players.

The selected players form the team’s Match Roster and are assigned to the required playing positions according to the team’s fixed Internal Team Player Ranking (ITPR).

Open Division

The six Match positions are:

• MPO1
• MPO2
• MPO3
• MPO4
• FPO1
• FPO2

Masters Division

The six Match positions are:

• MP40-1
• MP40-2
• MP40-3
• FP40-1
• FP40-2
• MP50

Teams select which eligible players will compete in the Match, but cannot freely change their relative ranking or decide which selected players play Singles and Doubles.

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Internal Team Player Ranking

Each team has a fixed Internal Team Player Ranking (ITPR) for each division.

The ranking is based on each player’s Player Rating for the Event, using the applicable August 2026 PDGA ratings.

Once established, the ranking remains fixed for the Championship.

For each Match, the ITPR is applied to the six selected players to determine their relative playing positions. The official round-specific assignment then determines which positions play Singles and which play Doubles.

This allows teams to change their six-player Match Roster between rounds while preventing strategic manipulation of player order.

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Round-Specific Player Assignments

The combination of Singles players and Doubles pairs changes from round to round.

Different predefined assignment patterns are used throughout the Championship so that players move between Singles and Doubles roles and different player combinations are used.

The assignment for each round is fixed and cannot be changed by the team.

Modified Alternate-Shot Doubles

Doubles Games use a Modified Alternate-Shot format.

Before the Game begins, each Doubles pair determines which player will tee on each of the 18 holes:

• each player must tee on exactly nine holes
• a player may not be assigned more than three consecutive tee shots
• the complete tee assignment must be determined before the Game begins

After the tee shot, the two players alternate throws until the hole is completed.

The predetermined tee assignment for the next hole applies regardless of which player made the final throw on the previous hole.

Detailed Match Play and Modified Alternate-Shot Doubles rules are provided in the official competition rules.

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Starting Groups

For most rounds, WTDGC uses a shotgun start.

The four Games in each Match are divided into two starting groups:

Starting Group 1

• Singles 1
• Doubles 1

Starting Group 2

• Singles 2
• Doubles 2

Starting Group 1 begins on the Match’s assigned starting hole. Starting Group 2 begins on the next consecutive hole.

For example, if a Match is assigned Hole 7, Starting Group 1 begins on Hole 7 and Starting Group 2 begins on Hole 8.