WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play: Day 5 match recaps

AUSTIN, Texas -- In the Championship finals for the second consecutive year, Kevin Kisner made the most of his opportunity this time, beating fellow American Matt Kuchar, 3 and 2, to win the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play.

Check below for recaps of Sunday's matches from Austin Country Club.

MATCH PLAY: Scores | Bracket

Championship

KEVIN KISNER def. MATT KUCHAR, 3 and 2

A year after being throttled in the final, Kisner wrote a different script, sealing the biggest victory of his career with a birdie putt from 20-1/2 feet at the 16th hole to close out the former Match Play champ.

It’s the first WGC win for Kisner, and the third in his PGA TOUR career. It’s also redemption for last year’s final, when he lost to Bubba Watson 7 and 6. This time, he never trailed and led for all but one hole of the match.

Kuchar, the Match Play winner in 2013, struggled on the greens for most of his round. But the runner-up result did move him atop the current FedExCup standings.

Kisner grabbed the quick lead with a 11-1/2 foot birdie putt on the opening hole. Kuchar had the advantage on the second, though, after Kisner found the native area with his tee shot and had to take a penalty. But Kuchar failed to convert the opportunity, as he three-putted from 16 feet – an early sign that his flat stick wasn’t working.

Kuchar had to lay up with his second shot after an errant drive left him with a poor lie, but his approach to 4 feet saved par, and Kisner missed his 12-footer for birdie.

Kisner bogeyed the fifth when he chunked his approach but regained the lead with a birdie at the par-5 sixth after a great third shot from near the grandstands that finished inside 5 feet. At the par-3 seventh, Kuchar suffered his second three-putt of the round, this time from 49 feet, to fall 2-down.

Kisner suffered his own three-putt at the ninth from 73 feet, while Kuchar got up-and-down for par from the greenside bunker, leaving Kisner 1-up at the turn. It was the first time all week Kuchar did not lead his match heading to the back nine.

Kisner padded his lead at the par-3 11th when Kuchar’s tee shot found the water. Both players then birdied the par-4 12th – it was Kuchar’s first birdie of the match.

Kuchar bogeyed the 15th, failing to get up-an-down from just off the green, as he missed the par-saving putt from 13 feet. Now 3-down, Kuchar found the green with his second shot at the par-5 16th, setting up an eagle opportunity from 21 feet. But his attempt came up one roll short, and Kisner followed with his winning putt.

Said Kisner: "I don't think either one of us played our best golf. But I drove it great all week with my Callaway driver, and love my good week."

Said Kuchar: "Certainly not what I'm looking for. It's tough to maintain the high level of play the entire tournament. You hope to do it and I feel like I've kind of built a game that I could rely on playing some good, steady golf. But I gave too many holes away. It's one of the things I pride myself on is not ever giving holes away. I knew against Kisner I couldn't do it, and he just plodded along and played good, steady golf, and let me make mistakes. And that was good playing by Kevin."

Match stats: Holes won - Kisner 5, Kuchar 2. Holes led - Kisner 15, Kuchar 0.

Consolation

FRANCESCO MOLINARI def. LUCAS BJERREGAARD, 4 and 2

Molinari birdied four of the first six holes, then held off the Match Play rookie from Denmark. Bjerregaard managed just one birdie (at the par-3 fourth) in a match in which no birdies were made by either player after Molinari birdied the par-5 sixth.

Said Molinari: "I think we were both really struggling for energy a little bit on the back nine. It was a very long week. But, yeah, we tried to keep going. And obviously I think I played very well on the front nine this afternoon. So maybe a bit of consolation from this morning."

Said Bjerregaard: "Today sucks. I'll be honest with you. I had a lot of confidence from yesterday and the group play. But today really sucks ... I didn't bring my game today, unfortunately. And, yeah, just kept making mistakes all day."

Holes won: Molinari 7, Bjerregaard 3. Holes led: Molinari 16, Bjerregaard 0.

Semifinals

MATT KUCHAR (23) def. LUCAS BJERREGAARD (50), 1 up

Kuchar is back in the Championship match for the first time since winning this event in 2013, as he held off the upstart from Denmark. The win was the 28th in Kuchar’s Match Play career, the third most behind Tiger Woods and Ian Poulter in tournament history.

Kuchar will be seeking his third win of the PGA TOUR season against Kevin Kisner in the Championship match.

Bjerregaard, who defeated Tiger Woods in Saturday’s quarterfinals, missed a birdie putt from 34 feet on the final hole that would’ve extended the match.

Kuchar opened with a birdie from 9 feet to grab the lead, but after both players bogeyed the second, Kuchar suffered another bogey at the fourth when he missed a par putt from 5 feet. Kuchar regained the lead at the par-5 sixth when Bjerregaard found the rough with his second shot. But Kuchar again gave back the lead with a bogey at the seventh.

Bjerregard followed his bogey at the ninth with a birdie from 8 feet at the 10th to tie the match again. A two-putt birdie at the par-5 12th put Kuchar 1-up, but Bjerregaard answered with a birdie putt from 23-1/2 feet at the 15th.

Kuchar regained the lead with another two-putt birdie at the 16th and rolled in a birdie putt at the 17th from 12 feet to force Bjerregaard to answer – which he did from 10 feet to extend the match to 18.

Said Kuchar: ""I feel that this was NCAA Tournament survive and advance. It was not great golf. Certainly the last couple of holes for me to hit the shot in 16, birdie 17 finally felt like I needed to make a move, I've got to do something."

Said Bjerregaard: "I didn't get to put the pressure on him today like I did in my two matches yesterday. I didn't make the putts I had to. I didn't hit the shots when I had the chance. So, yeah, disappointed now."

Match stats: Holes won – Kuchar 5, Bjerregaard 4. Holes led – Kuchar 11, Bjerregaard 0.

KEVIN KISNER (48) def. FRANCESCO MOLINARI (7), 1 up

Kisner reached the Championship final for the second consecutive year, winning the final hole with par after Molinari three-putted from 27 feet. Not since Hunter Mahan in 2013 has a player advanced to the final in two straight years. Kisner lost to Bubba Watson in last year’s final after beating Alex Noren in 19 holes in the semifinals.

The match was tied going to the par-4 18th. Molinari’s tee shot left him in the fairway bunker while Kisner found the fairway. Both players were on the green in two, but Molinari’s downhill putt ran 7 feet, 8 inches past the hole. Kisner’s birdie putt from 14 feet left him with a tap-in par, and Molinari’s par save just missed on the left side.

The loss was Molinari’s first of the week. Kisner has won his last five matches after opening with a loss to Ian Poulter in the group stage.

The lead changed six times in the first seven holes, with each player producing three birdies in that stretch. Kisner won the opening hole with a birdie but gave it right back when his approach at the second from 133 yards found the native area. Molinari won the third with a birdie from 14-1/2 feet but gave it right back when he failed to get up-and-down from the greenside bunker at the fourth.

A Kisner birdie putt from 27-1/2 feet at the fifth gave him the lead. Both players birdied the sixth, then Molinari won the par-3 seventh after his tee shot finished inside 3 feet.

Kisner took the lead at the par-5 12th as Molinari found the water with his third shot from off the green. That led to a stretch of three bogeys in four holes for Molinari, but he bounced bback with consecutive birdies, while Kisner found trouble at the par-5 16th. Molinari’s tee shot at the par-3 17th finished inside 5 feet, as he tied the match entering the last hole.

Said Kisner: "The front nine I was freezing, and we actually made more birdies on the front nine than we did the back. It's an interesting game and match play brings out interesting things. I never dreamed he would three-putt the last hole to let me win the match. Hats off to him. He's a great player. He's been playing great all year."

Said Molinari: "Just didn't quite play my best. We played quite well on the front nine and then just dropped too many easy shots on the back nine, unfortunately. It is what it is. Still a positive week. ... I bogeyed 12, 14, 18 from decent spots in the middle of the fairway. So it's not something really you're allowed to do."

Match stats: Holes won - Kisner 6, Molinari 5. Holes led - Kisner 9, Molionari 1.