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AUSTIN, Texas – For those who don’t know anything about golf – and there were many rambling around the grounds at Austin Country Club on Saturday – it would have been hard to tell who won and who lost as Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar stepped off the …
AUSTIN, Texas — For those who don’t know anything about golf — and there were many rambling around the grounds at Austin Country Club on Saturday — it would have been hard to tell who won and who lost as Jordan Spieth and Matt Kuchar stepped off the 18th green after their Round-of-16 match.
With thousands in attendance, Spieth—who played at the nearby University of Texas—received a rousing ovation as he hurried past the masses. Meanwhile, Matt Kuchar wide-clapped as he trudged across the green, soaking up the moment and the inevitable “Koooooch” that seems to follow him throughout the PGA Tour.
By virtue of a 6-foot putt on the 18th hole, Kuchar moved into the quarterfinals on Saturday, heading off to meet up with Brian Harman.
But the match’s climactic moment actually took place on the par-5 16th hole, when Kuchar pushed his second shot well right and needed to rally a search party to find it.
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With the match all-square and Spieth safely 90 yards in front of the green, Kuchar looked to the crowd to help find his wayward shot. Even Spieth offered a look as time started to tick away.
Since the throng matted down the grass, when his ball was found he was offered a free placement, meaning a much-improved lie.
Fans watch Matt Kuchar and Jordan Spieth finish #16 during the Round of 16 of the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play golf tournament at Austin Country Club. Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY SportsFans help Matt Kuchar find his ball in the rough on No. 16 during the Round of 16 of the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play golf tournament at Austin Country Club. Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY SportsFans and Jordan Spieth, top right, help Matt Kuchar find his ball in the rough on No. 16 during the Round of 16 of the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play golf tournament at Austin Country Club. Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY SportsAfter fans helped him locate his ball, Matt Kuchar hits from the rough on No. 16 during the Round of 16 of the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play golf tournament at Austin Country Club. Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports
Kuchar still had plenty of work to do, however, as Spieth hit his third shot to inside seven feet. Kuchar responded with a solid wedge in, then held his breath as Spieth looked to take the edge.
Instead, Spieth missed the putt and the two left the 16th all square. Kuchar went on to win it on the 18th hole with a 6-foot birdie putt.
“I’m just sad that one had to end,” Kuchar said.
A slim 1UP victory for Matt Kuchar over Jordan Spieth.
Three rounds are in the books at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play.
After Friday’s round, the field of 64 was cut to 16 for the knockout matches on Saturday and Sunday. Among those competing are Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth and Sergio Garcia. Rahm, ranked 3rd, is the only golfer in the top 20 to advance to the weekend.
The round of 16 begins Saturday morning with the quarterfinal matches immediately following in the afternoon. The semifinal, third-place and final matches will be held Sunday.
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On the 11th hole, Johnson picked up his ball on what would have been a 13-inch putt, and Na then approached him.
AUSTIN, Texas — Being the top player in the world doesn’t exclude you from listening to the concerns (or frustrations) of your fellow players.
Such was the case during the third round of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play when the World No. 1 Dustin Johnson drew the ire of Kevin Na over the concession of a putt.
On the 11th hole, Johnson picked up his ball on what would have been about a 13-inch putt. Na then approached him and insisted that Johnson should have waited for Na to concede before touching his ball.
At the time, Johnson was 1 up, but Na played with renewed vigor from there, dropping a birdie on No. 12 to square the match and then winning it with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18.
Don't see this often.
Kevin Na and Dustin Johnson having a discussion about conceding a putt at the #DellMatchPlay.
Seems like Na wanted to say the putt was good first, while DJ just picked it up. pic.twitter.com/iXJdZLOzOQ
As his putt on 18 dropped, Na went to his signature move and followed the ball in. The rally knocked Johnson out of the tournament as Robert MacIntyre tied Adam Long in his match to advance out of Pool 1.
Na explained the incident after the round’s conclusion.
“I had about a two and a half, just inside three feet for a par uphill; it’s straight putt, and his lipped out and everybody was like Ah, and he had six inches and obviously it’s good, but I hadn’t said anything and he whacked it, ” Na said. “I froze there and looked at Kenny and I wasn’t going to say that’s a penalty, you’re going to lose the hole. I was going to say, you know what, that was good anyway. I didn’t want to be over that putt and be thinking about that.
“So I called him over and said, ‘Hey, I’m not going to take the hole from you but I just want to let you know before I said something, you whacked the ball. But I’m going to give that putt to you so we’ll call it a halve and go to the next hole.’
“That’s what we did. I think it’s the right thing to do. I don’t want to say, we all know he can make a six-inch putt, so I think I did the right thing.”
Johnson hasn’t advanced out of the round-robin portion of the tournament since winning the whole thing back in 2017 when he topped Jon Rahm, 1 up.
Two rounds are in the books with just one left in pool play at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play.
The top-12 players in the Golfweek/Sagarin men’s ranking are all at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas, competing for a grand total of $10.25 million, with the winner taking home a cool $1.82 million. After Friday’s round, the field of 64 will be cut to 16 for the knockout matches on Saturday and Sunday.
Check out the Friday matches and tee times below, as well as the full broadcast, streaming and radio schedule for the week in Austin. All times listed are Eastern.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout vs. Bubba Watson (Group 7)
3:39 p.m.
Matt Fitzpatrick vs. Matthew Wolff (Group 15)
3:50 p.m.
Corey Conners vs. Jordan Spieth (Group 15)
4:01 p.m.
Kevin Kisner vs. Matt Kuchar (Group 2)
Format
The field of 64 players has been split into 16 groups of four players. Players play everyone within their group in match play Wednesday-Friday and earn one point for a win and half of a point for a tie. The player with the most points in each group moves on to the knockout rounds. The group tiebreaker is sudden death stroke play.
The round of 16 and quarterfinal matches are then played on Saturday, followed by the semifinal, third-place and final matches on Sunday.
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Leave it to Bryson DeChambeau to narrowly avoid defeat and instantly proclaim his biggest moments are still to come.
AUSTIN, Texas — Leave it to Bryson DeChambeau to narrowly avoid defeat and instantly proclaim his best moments are still to come.
DeChambeau—who fell in Wednesday’s biggest upset at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, losing to virtually unknown Frenchman Antoine Rozner—got back on track on Thursday by grinding out a victory over Si Woo Kim.
But it was by no means a breeze.
In fact, DeChambeau, the fifth seed, was 1 down on the back at Austin Country Club before dropping a 25-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole to pull even. The 2020 U.S. Open champ eventually closed out the match on No. 17 when Kim knocked his tee shot into a penalty area.
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Despite being pushed to the limit, DeChambeau said he was happy with his play.
“Other than this little weird stretch, my longest drive of the year on 10, and the water ball on 11, you know, I played pretty good otherwise,” DeChambeau said. “A couple weird things happened. I played the par-3s beautifully on the front, and consequently, I just kept putting pressure on him and eventually, I was able to make a few key putts and he missed a couple and that’s the game.
“That’s what it is. Yesterday was the same thing, just in the opposite way. That’s the game.”
Through two rounds, DeChambeau would sit at 3 under in a standard stroke-play event, but he insisted that point is moot. In fact, he pointed out that he’s played far different lines than normal, even if the strategy has yet to truly pay off.
“I would say for the most part I wouldn’t be taking some of the lines I’m doing out here on the golf course, so I don’t know what my score would be if I was playing stroke play,” he said. “A lot of it is gamesmanship and trying to put the golf ball in certain places to make people feel certain ways. I haven’t done that very well this week, haven’t taken advantage of 6, and so as you look at it from a stroke play perspective, I think my score would be different. In a positive way or negative way, I don’t know.
“But I will tell you that I would not be taking some of the lines that I would be in stroke play.”
Bryson DeChambeau hits his approach on No. 12 during the second day of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club. The Pennybacker Bridge, one of the signature landmarks of Austin, spans Lake Austin in the background. (Photo: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports)
The world’s fifth-ranked player needs to beat Tommy Fleetwood for an opportunity to advance to the weekend, but he feels his best golf—and biggest swings—at ACC are still in front of him.
“I haven’t hit that great a drive on 1 the past couple days, but hopefully tomorrow I get a good drive on the green. Ten is another one I thought I could go at it, too bad there was a tree limb in the way and it caught the ball,” DeChambeau said. “A few others out there, 18 I can go for, 5 is always fun. There’s just some holes I can take some advantage on and haven’t really done that to the fullest this week, but hopefully tomorrow I can do it.”
The win continued a remarkable run for Kisner, who is now 18-5-1 in the event’s history.
AUSTIN, Texas — Kevin Kisner has had nearly two full years to enjoy the title of reigning World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play champion.
And through the first two days of this year’s event, it appears the University of Georgia product isn’t keen on giving it up just yet.
Kisner rolled out to a big lead in his Thursday match, watched as world No. 2 Justin Thomas rallied to cut the margin, but then closed out his friend, 2 and 1, to stay perfect through his first two matches at Austin Country Club. The win continued a remarkable run for Kisner, who is now 18-5-1 in the event’s history. He won the 2019 tournament — last year’s event was canceled due to the pandemic — and was runner-up in 2018.
And with the victory, he knocked out Thomas, who previously lost to Matt Kuchar in Wednesday’s opening round.
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Kisner was 4 up after seven holes on Thursday, using birdies on Nos. 2, 3, 6 and 7 to build an advantage. Thomas got rolling on the back nine with some luck — his tee shot on the 11th hole missed a little left, but took a great kick and wound just a few feet from the hole. Kisner bogeyed 12 and Thomas birdied No. 13 to pull the match close, but a birdie by Kisner on the 16th hole stemmed the tide.
“I knew that he wasn’t playing well early and I had thrown a couple birdies in too, so you expect him to make a run there at some point,” Kisner said. “So I didn’t like giving away 12, that was not kind of my MO in match play, so when it got to one, you’ve got to put your back against the wall and really grind it out.”
Kisner has only been defeated three times in his last 18 matches at this event — falling in his opening match of 2017 to Brooks Koepka, in the 2018 championship match to Bubba Watson and then in the opening round of the 2019 event to Ian Poulter.
While Thomas hasn’t managed much success in Austin, emerging from group play just once now in five attempts and winning just seven of 18 total matches, Kisner continues to show this format is perfect for his mental approach.
Justin Thomas during the second day of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club. (Photo: Erich Schlegel-USA TODAY Sports)
“I really enjoy the one-on-one competitive nature of the event. I really like knowing what I have to do on every shot compared to a four-day event,” Kisner said. “I kind of get lost in the motions sometimes when it’s a Friday morning or Friday afternoon and everything’s not going perfect. I think you got to grind all 18 holes and that keeps my head in the game.”
Interestingly, Kisner needs a repeat of his previous championship performance to qualify for the round of 16. He’ll square off with Kuchar — who he beat, 3 and 2, in 2019 — on Friday.
Kisner, who entered the event as the 34th seed, certainly has confidence heading into the showdown.
“Experience helps,” he said. “Obviously the more you play with your peers and the more you understand that you’re equal to everyone else, it helps a lot easier on the grind.”
Others who control their own destiny heading into Friday include Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay and Dylan Frittelli.
Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa are playing some must-watch matches at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play on Thursday.
The world’s best players are all in Austin, Texas, for a unique stop on the men’s professional golf schedule.
Austin Country Club plays host to the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play once again this week. With the top-12 players in the Golfweek/Sagarin men’s ranking, as well as 64 of the top 69 in the Official World Golf Ranking set to compete, there are some matches each day that stand out among the rest.
Thursday’s slate features a bout between former Cal Bear stars and winners on Tour this year, two tantrum-prone players squaring off as well as the defending champion against one of the hottest players in the game.
Check out these seven second-day matches in Austin.
If you enjoyed the first day of matches at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, wait until you see who’s set to square off on Thursday.
The top-12 players in the Golfweek/Sagarin men’s ranking are all at Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas, competing for a grand total of $10.25 million, with the winner taking home a cool $1.82 million. With 32 matches on, a few stand out from the rest.
Check out the Thursday matches and tee times below, as well as the full broadcast, streaming and radio schedule for the week in Austin. All times listed are Eastern Standard Time.
The field of 64 players has been split into 16 groups of four players. Players play everyone within their group in match play Wednesday-Friday and earn one point for a win and half of a point for a tie. The player with the most points in each group moves on to the knockout rounds. The group tiebreaker is sudden death stroke play.
The round of 16 and quarterfinal matches are then played on Saturday, followed by the semifinal, third-place and final matches on Sunday.
We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.
Antoine Rozner used a magnificent flop shot on the final hole to close out heavy favorite Bryson DeChambeau on the opening day of Match Play.
AUSTIN, Texas — Since the World Golf Championships’ match play event moved to an opening round-robin structure in 2015, the tournament lost its March Madness-like one-and-done format, but losses on the first day are still costly.
The WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play saw its fair share of upsets on Wednesday and even though those who fell will live to see another day, they’re now in a tough position.
A pair of top 5 seeds lost opening matches on a gloomy day at Austin Country Club, one in which tee times were moved up to avoid the possibility of rain storms.
