Kisner claims world golf crown
Print Edition
Kevin Kisner, who shared a runner-up spot in last year’s British Open, defeated Matt Kuchar 3&2 in Sunday’s WGC Match Play Championship final to win his third career PGA title.
On a cold and windy last day of the 64-player showdown at Austin (Texas) Country Club, Kisner dominated 2013 winner Kuchar in the all-American final to capture the US$1.745 million top prize.
“It was grueling and the winds were tough,” Kisner said. “It was a hard week but I prevailed and I’m world golf champion.”
Kisner, last year’s WGC Match Play runner-up to Bubba Watson, was 48th seed but became the lowest-seeded winner since Australian Geoff Ogilvy in 2006 after taking a key lesson from his 2018 defeat.
“I learned not to get too amped up for that final,” Kisner said.
In the morning semifinals, Kisner edged Italy’s Francesco Molinari 1-up and Kuchar dispatched Danish 50th seed Lucas Bjerregaard 1-up.
Kisner, who edged Kuchar 1-up in last year’s round of 16, won his earlier PGA titles in 2015 at Sea Island, Georgia, and in 2017 at Colonial.
At 40, Kuchar would have been the oldest champion in tournament history and the first player to win three titles in a PGA season since Steve Stricker in 2009.
In the consolation match, Molinari defeated Bjerregaard 4&2, denying the Dane who ousted Tiger Woods in the quarterfinal a special temporary US PGA membership with the victory.
Molinari, the reigning British Open champion, was Europe’s hero in last year’s Ryder Cup, winning all five matches in a victory over the US team, and was 5-0 here before Sunday.
Both semifinals were all square after 10 holes, no one enjoying more than a 1-up edge on the front nine. Kisner birdied the par-5 12th and par-4 14th to go 2-up, but Molinari answered with a tap-in birdie to win the par-5 16th and then sank a 4-foot birdie putt at the par-3 17th to level the match.
At 18, Kisner found a fairway divot but landed his approach 14 feet from the cup and got down in two while Molinari escaped a bunker to 26 feet, rolled his birdie putt seven feet past the cup and missed the par putt to hand Kisner the victory. Kuchar won 12 but Bjerregaard sank a 23-foot birdie putt at the par-4 15th to square the match again.
Bjerregaard made bogey to drop the 16th hole and both sank dramatic birdies at the par-3 17th. At 18, Kuchar needed only two putts from 14 feet to halve the hole and win the match.
Former US Open champion Graeme McDowell ended a near four-year title drought with a one-stroke victory on Sunday in the US PGA Tour’s Puntacana Resort Championship.
The 39-year-old from Northern Ireland, who arrived in the Dominican Republic ranked 257th in the world, took a big step toward his stated goal playing his way into the British Open at Royal Portrush. He fired a 3-under par final round of 69 for a 19-under total of 270 and a one-stroke win over American Chris Stroud and Canadian Mackenzie Hughes.
Stroud also closed with a 69 while Hughes climbed the leaderboard with a 6-under 66.
Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher claimed a stunning one-shot victory at the Indian Open on Sunday and the “special” win came with his son by his side as caddy.
Gallacher, 44, shot 71 to finish at 9-under 279 and edged out Masahiro Kawamura of Japan to clinch his first European Tour title in five years at the DLF course in Gurgaon. Gallacher, who shared the first round lead but started the final day three shots behind leader Julian Suri, birdied three of his last four holes to come up trumps in the event.
“It was great to have my son, Jack, on the bag and this being Mother’s Day (in Scotland) as well makes it even more special,” said Gallacher.
“I have always loved coming to India, I love my curries and to have my son, Jack, on the bag for the win was special. Last year I played in the final group with Matt Wallace and I enjoyed and I was seventh, so it felt great to get this Trophy this time around.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
