WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play
Austin, Texas
In Sunday’s All-American Finals Match at Austin Country Club, 48-seed Kevin Kisner dispatched past champ and 23-seed Matt Kuchar 3-and-2 to win his first World Golf Championships event in his 14th overall WGC.
The World No. 50 wins at age 35 and as a pre-tourney 75/1 outright. He claims his third PGA TOUR title in 196 events, first since the 2017 DEAN & DELUCA (in Fort Worth) 1 year, 10 months and 48 starts ago.
The South Carolinian avenges a 7-and-6 beatdown in last year’s Championship Match to fellow Georgia alum Bubba Watson, when he lost the first five holes and six of the first seven, and only one of those to a Watson birdie (No. 1).
Kisner won just one hole on that (forgettable) Sunday afternoon, the par-3 11th with birdie from 34’6”, but the festivities would mercifully end one hole later at the par-5 12th with Watson’s birdie from 7’2”.
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This year, he won the first hole with birdie from 11’5”, never trailed, and was tied only once, after a Kuchar par-win at the 5th. In total, Kisner won five holes, two with birdies, and was the equivalent of 1-under-par (4 birdies, 3 bogeys) in the 16 holes required.
I’m not sure if the Players Advisory Council reviews this tournament with the TOUR hierarchy, but if they do, you can bet Kisner, who last month was named a Co-Chairman for 2019, will be a strong proponent of maintaining the status quo.
Under the previous single-elimination format, Kisner would’ve been gone on Wednesday, losing his first match 2 UP to 30-seed Ian Poulter.
Note: Kisner, who crushed Poulter 8-and-6 in last year’s Quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon, also beat him on Friday this year in a 3-hole playoff to determine the Group 14 winner, advancing with a 9’7” birdie.
To his credit, he chased that L on Wednesday with six consecutive W’s, the most notable being a 2-and-1 win over a red-hot 19-seed Louis Oosthuizen in Saturday’s Quarterfinals, and a 1 UP win over 7-seed, current Race to Dubai champion, and 2018 Ryder Cup hero Francesco Molinari in Sunday morning’s Semifinals.
Molinari, 5-0-0 entering the final day, famously went 5-0-0 in the 42nd Ryder Cup outside of Paris last year, including a 4-and-2 drubbing over captain’s pick Phil Mickelson in Sunday’s Singles to clinch the Cup for the home team.
Watson, who won last year as a 35-seed, was a pool-play victim this year. Unlike the two previous champions to him, however – 2017 winner Dustin Johnson and 2016 champ Jason Day – he did, at least, manage to win one match, a 1-UP Friday win over 28-seed and struggling ex-Longhorn Jordan Spieth.
4
This was Kisner’s fourth Dell Match Play, fourth consecutive, with progressively better finishes of T38-T17-2-1.
His three prior visits:
2016: 1-2-0 as 20-seed (Group Play exit)
2017: 2-1-0 as 34-seed (Group Play exit)
2018: 5-1-1 as 32-seed (Runner-up)
This year, Kisner was the third-ranked seed in Group 14 and posted a 6-1-0 mark, playing a total of 117 holes over the five days. Three of his seven matches went all 18 holes:
18 holes(L)-18(W)-17(W)-13(W)-17(W)-18(W)-16(W)
Technically, 120 holes, if you include Friday’s playoff with Poulter.
Q&A:
Q: Kevin, five days, seven matches, how difficult is it to win this event?
A: It was grueling. Overall, it was a long week, but I prevailed and am a World Golf Champion.
Kisner’s Road to the Finals:
Group Stage:
Lost to 30-seed Ian Poulter 2 UP
Defeated 14-seed (top-seed in the pod) Tony Finau 2 UP
Defeated 56-seed Keith Mitchell 2-and-1
Round of 16:
Defeated 36-seed HaoTong Li 6-and-5
Quarterfinals:
Defeated 19-seed Louis Oosthuizen 2-and-1
Semifinals:
Defeated 7-seed Francesco Molinari 1 UP
Finals:
Defeated 23-seed Matt Kuchar 3-and-2
Note: Kisner also beat Kuchar last year in the Round of 16 1 UP
Championship Match (Georgia vs. Georgia Tech):
Kisner won hole 1 with birdie from 11’5” and never trailed. He was tied only once, after bogey at 5, but won 6 (birdie) and 7 (par) to go 2 UP and never looked back. In all, Kisner won five holes, two with birdies, and was the equivalent of 1-under-par (4 birdies, 3 bogeys).
Kisner improves his WGC-Match Play record to a formidable 14-5-1 mark, 11-2-1 in his last two appearances.
21
This was the 21st overall edition of the WGC-Match Play, fourth as the Dell. It was also the fourth (and fourth consecutive) at the 7,108-yard par-71 (35-36) Austin CC.
Last Four Winners:
2019: Kevin Kisner: 48-seed, World No. 50, 75/1 outright
2018: Bubba Watson: 35-seed, World No. 39, 50/1
2017: Dustin Johnson: 1-seed, World No. 1, 9/1
2016: Jason Day: 2-seed, World No. 2, 12/1
Consecutive Top 10s in the event:
2: Kevin Kisner (1-2)
2: Matt Kuchar (2-9)
2: Sergio Garcia (5-9)
2: Louis Oosthuizen (5-9)
Strength of Field:
With a SOF rating of 781 (up 48 from last year), Kisner banks 76.00 world-ranking points and jumps 25 spots to 25th in the Official World Golf Ranking.
Note: Kisner’s career high OWGR is 14th after the 2016 Sony.
FedExCup:
With the win, Kisner collects 550 FEC points and vaults 60 places to 13th in the standings.
14
This was Kisner’s 14th WGC event and third top 10. His previous bests were 2nd here last year, and 2nd at the 2016 HSBC in China.
196
Kisner claims his third TOUR title in 196 career events, second and second straight in Texas, joining the 2017 DEAN & DELUCA at Colonial CC, where he was a 36-hole co-leader. He had to come from three back in the final round however, carding a 4-under 66 to win by one.
Kisner’s first victory came at the 2016 RSM Classic (as 54-hole leader) in his 109th career start.
Wins by Season:
2019: 1
2018: 0
2017: 1
2016: 1
2015: 0
2014: 0
2013: 0 (played on Web.com)
2012: 0
2011: 0
Career:
Starts: 196
Cuts Made: 135 (68.8%)
Top 25s: 56 (28.5%)
Top 10s: 30 (15.3%)
Top 3s: 12 (6.1%)
Wins: 3 (1.5%)
Season:
Kisner is 10-for-11 on the season with five top 25s, four straight, and two top 10s, bettering a T7 at the RSM back in November.
Season Form: 1-24-22-23-27-28-26-57-69-7-MC
As you can see, he entered off six consecutive finishes between 22nd and 28th place, including a T24 at last week’s Valspar, where he was T3 after 18 holes.
The week prior, he was T7 at THE PLAYERS thru 36 holes, and the week prior to that, was T3 thru 54 holes at Bay Hill.
Season Leaders in Top-10 Finishes:
7: Rory McIlroy
5: Marc Leishman, Sungjae Im, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas
4: Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Jason Day, Lucas Glover, Patrick Cantlay, Charles Howell III, Scott Piercy
Consecutive Top 10s on TOUR:
7: Rory McIlroy (9-1-6-2-4-5-4)
2: Justin Rose (9-8)
2: Paul Casey (9-1)
2: Sungjae Im (7-4)
Consecutive Top-10 Streak Ended at:
4: Dustin Johnson (40-6-5-1-9)
2: Tommy Fleetwood (24-5-3)
Runner-Up:
Matt Kuchar: The 23-seed and Group 8 winner ran into a buzz saw against the increasingly confident Kisner and settles for 2nd with a 5-1-1 record.
His short game, particularly his arm-barred putter, let him down in the finale, most notably a 3-putt bogey at the 2nd (from 16’4”) that turned an easy hole win into a tie. A win there would’ve tied the match.
The 2013 champ at Dove Mountain (AZ) does record his 13th top 10 in 33 overall WGC’s, first since T9 here last year, where he won his Group (16) as the top-seed in the pod but then lost 1 UP to Kisner in the Round of 16.
The 40-year-old won just two holes on Sunday afternoon, both with pars, and was the equivalent of 3-over (2 birdies, 3 bogeys, 1 double).
This was his 10th Match Play and seventh top 10, and now owns a 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-place finish.
Match Play Form: 2-9-30-9-34-9-1-5-3-17
The Florida native, who was attempting to become the season’s first player to reach three wins, is 10-for-10 on the season with six top 25s and four top 10s, first since a T4 at the WM Phoenix Open five starts ago.
Season Form: 2-26-50-28-22-4-1-19-1-57
Overall, he was chasing his 10th TOUR title in 436 events but settles for his 11th runner-up, first since the 2017 Open Championship (Royal Birkdale), where he lost by three to 54-hole leader Spieth in the final pairing, both players ending with 1-under 69s.
3rd-Place:
Francesco Molinari: The Group 7 winner and 7-seed took down Match Play first-timer and 50-seed Lucas Bjerregaard 4-and-2 to claim 3rd place with a 6-1-0 record. His only loss was to eventual champ Kisner 1 UP in the Semifinals on Sunday morning.
In his ninth Match Play appearance, the Italian advanced past the Group Stage for the first time and records his first top 10. Overall, this was his 33rd WGC event, fourth top 10 and third top 3, first since T3 at the 2011 Cadillac (Doral).
The 36-year-old’s experience came to the fore in the afternoon session against the upstart Dane, taking control early with four hole wins in the first six out of the gate, all four with birdies.
He won 10 and 12 with pars, now 4 UP, and closed out four holes later with a par-win at 16. In all, Molinari won seven holes and was the equivalent of 2-under with four first-nine birdies against two bogeys.
4th Place:
Lucas Bjerregaard: Making his tournament debut, the Group 5 winner and 50-seed opened 4-0-1 but lost 1 UP in the Semifinals to eventual runner-up Kuchar. He ends on a sour note with back-to-back losses, but certainly didn’t lay down against the more-seasoned veterans.
The 27-year-old is a two-time winner on the European Tour in 149 events, most recently a one-shot victory the 2018 Alfred Dunhill Links back in October. He records his first top 10 in eight TOUR starts as a non-member, bettering a T12 at the Honda two starts ago on a sponsor exemption.
Overall, this was his third WGC event, all this season, brushing aside a pair of previous-best 69th-place finishes in Mexico and China.
Bjerregaard’s notable wins this week:
R1: 3-and-2 over 5-seed Justin Thomas, who was the top-seed in their pod
Round of 16: 4-and-2 over past champ and 37-seed Henrik Stenson
Quarterfinals: 1 UP over three-time past champ and 13-seed Tiger Woods, highlighted by a 29’0” eagle-3 at 16 to level the match.
In the finale, he mustered three hole wins, one with birdie, and was the equivalent of 2-over, outbalancing one birdie with three back-nine bogeys, lowlighted by two 6’s.
The Dane ended with a 4-2-1 record.
